Broth

Every serious cook will tell you that a rich, flavorful stock can spell the difference between the success and failure of a dish. Auguste Escoffier, the turn-of-the-century chef credited with modernizing French cuisine, wrote, "Stock is everything in cooking. . . . Without it, nothing can be done." So why do many otherwise serious vegetarian cooks content themselves with bouillon cubes, or even plain water?

I beg to differ with the headline "Smart Packages" describing Swanson's new resealable packaging for its chicken broth (Cookstuff, April 2). Swanson's inseparable combination of paper and plastics makes it unrecyclable and is, therefore, a tremendously irresponsible choice of packaging ecologically. Your article's praise of the package's "convenience" overlooks the fact that at least one readily available means of packaging broth and other liquids, the tin can, is easily recyclable.

Tony Cuffe is that rare individual who embraces tradition and change. The singer-songwriter-guitarist from Scotland is fond of his cultural roots. But a purist he definitely is not: He says Celtic music must evolve and expand to flourish in modern times. "It's not a dead music," he said in his thick brogue. "It's hundreds of years old, but it's a healthy music because we're experimenting with different strains and blends of folk, rock, jazz and dance.

The classic pairing of leeks and potatoes makes for a delicious low-fat soup when simmered with nonfat chicken broth. It's a creamy soup with no cream, and it's great to make when time is short. After the vegetables are cooked, puree them with the broth in a food processor or a blender. Garnish the soup with toasted garlic-and-Parmesan croutons and a sprinkling of fresh tarragon leaves.

To chowder aficionados, the debate has simmered for a hundred years: White? Or red? It's not a question of the proper wine, but the proper broth. Creamy versus tomato. In fact, the debate boiled over in Maine in 1939 when a legislator introduced a bill banning tomatoes from the traditional New England stew.

Since coming to The Times Test Kitchen, I have taken on the task of making our weekly batch of chicken stock. Admittedly, making stock is not the most glamorous kitchen job, nor is it one that requires any outstanding culinary talent. Nonetheless, I take pride in it. There is nothing like a good pot of stock or broth to start out a recipe right. Some weeks, I start with a whole chicken and make a broth. But when I have only leftover scraps and bones, I make a stock. Stock, broth; broth, stock.

"The Five Mrs. Buchanans" may be one Mrs. Buchanan too many. Set in an Indianapolis suburb, the new CBS comedy series is an unlikely gathering of wives: four of them married to Buchanan brothers, the fifth their miserable, meddling wretch of a mother-in-law. The young Mr. Buchanans are invisible on the premiere, and one appears briefly in Episode 2. Their main role is as joke fodder for the young Mrs.