Candy

The British government said Thursday it has warned all airlines using its airports to be on the lookout for containers of a Middle Eastern candy that could conceal bombs. The Transport Department said it issued an air security alert after a package of candy was found to contain Semtex, a plastic explosive that is odorless and can be molded into any shape. "There is information to suggest that improvised explosive devices may be disguised as tins of confectionery with the brand name Halawi," a department memo said.

  Total time: 20 minutes, plus macerating time Servings: 1 Note: From Peter Birmingham at Norman's, where the drink is made with Ron Matusalem Platino rum. Birmingham also recommends Bacardi Silver or Cruzan Estate Light rum. You'll have enough simple syrup and candied kumquats for up to 12 drinks. Candied kumquats 1 cup boiling water 1 cup sugar 12 kumquats, whole 1 stalk lemongrass, ends trimmed and two outer layers removed, slightly smashed with the side of a chef's knife 1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water 1. Add the boiling water to the sugar.

I'm in my traditional Cupidian buying frenzy leading up to Valentine's Day, my major organs bursting with good intentions, not knowing quite where to turn, getting a little angry about it actually -- the frustrations of unbridled romance, bordering on malice, verging on angina. Is this what they call lovesick? Or is it that wad-nut of food still stuck in my gullet from the Super Bowl party? During the power outage, I washed down the perfect barbecue sandwich with a double dose of chili, chased by teriyaki meatballs and fistfuls of Lebanese chicken, topped by about 50 oatmeal cookies.

Quirky grocery chain Trader Joe's is dealing this week with some concern over its products, including a public statement from a major advocacy group criticizing the presence of antibiotics in meat and a lawsuit from the state of California alleging undisclosed lead content in candies. In an advertisement in the Los Angeles Times on Thursday, Consumers Union singled out Trader Joe's for selling meat from animals fed a steady stream of antibiotics. The full-page spread featured the word “WARNING!

With more than 4 million people visiting Yosemite National Park last year ? and that number expected to increase this year ? it's no wonder lodging inside the park is snatched up quickly. "We typically sell out during the summer season," Delaware North Cos. spokeswoman Lisa Cesaro said of its Yosemite accommodations (Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, Curry Village and the housekeeping camp on the Merced River; the Wawona Hotel, and in the back country, Tuolumne Meadows Lodge, White Wolf Lodge and the High Sierra camps)

Karla Rendon stood in front of the vending machine at Maplewood Mall in St. Paul, Minn., staring at an assortment of items ? diapers, baby wipes, sippy cups, bottles, grape juice and diaper rash ointment. Just what a mother shopping with her 13-month-old baby needed. "I wish there had been one of these when I was at the Mall of America," said Rendon of Maplewood, Minn., recalling a recent excursion with daughters Makayla, 5, and Daisy, 13 months. On that day, Rendon had forgotten Daisy's bottle.

Warning: Just reading this might give you cavities . More candy than you've ever imagined in one place is now housed at the just-opened Sweet! Hollywood in the Highland & Hollywood complex. Sweet! Hollywood is 30,000 square feet of all things candy: chocolate, lollipops, jelly beans and bubble gum, brought to you by Nestle -owned Willy Wonka Candy Co . There are tasting machines, interactive candy games, bins of candies sold by the pound and a build-your-own-chocolate-bar workshop called the Chocolate Lab. The candy mega-store features 12 themed boutiques with candy collections curated from around the world, including the U.S. debut of Sticky, made on the premises.

The Food and Drug Administration and state health authorities warned consumers Friday not to eat any flavors of White Rabbit candy imported from China because they may be contaminated with the chemical melamine. The California Department of Public Health specifically identified White Rabbit candies imported and distributed by Queensway Foods Co. of Burlingame, Calif. Queensway is voluntarily recalling the chewy sweets after state testing detected melamine in some pieces.

Americans are expected to spend more than $2.2 billion this year on Halloween candy. If we didn't know better, we'd wonder whether Halloween was a plot by the American Dental Assn. "Halloween is the largest candy-selling holiday of the year," Susan Smith, a senior vice president with the National Confectioners Assn., told The Times. The association estimates that candy sales this Halloween will hit $2.273 billion -- a record. Unfortunately, you can't mention "Halloween candy" without acknowledging the fears that some people have about Halloween sadism -- the possibility that razor blades might be hiding in apples or that candy might be poisoned.

Concerning the girl in Covina who was dismissed from the band: I think the real problem is in allowing schools to ask youngsters to sell candy in the first place. We should have a state law making it illegal to ask students to sell candy or cookies for a public school. I often see kids selling candy at market entrances. Sometimes I purchase, sometimes I don't. But, until now, I didn't realize that if I didn't purchase any candy, I might be causing a child to be banned from extracurricular activities.

Acting on a tip, authorities seized several pounds of homemade candy containing marijuana in a raid on an Altadena home. Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies also arrested two people at the home in the 500 block of Figueroa Street on Friday. Their names have not been released. Among the items taken by deputies were buckets of suckers, chocolate bars and equipment used to make them, along with bags of marijuana. “When it came in the smell was real big in the station for a time,” said sheriff's Sgt. Booker T. Hollis.

Actor Rob Lowe is the face of InsideHook L.A., a free, curated email newsletter announcing special experiences to men too busy to find those experiences themselves. The newsletter, which launched in Los Angeles last week, is the latest effort from capital investment firm Pilot Group, whose founders Bob Pittman and Andy Russell have also had a hand in shaping the successful email newsletters DailyCandy, Thrillist and Tasting Table. Lowe spent a recent afternoon indulging in InsideHook-delivered experiences - hovering high above the ocean off Newport Beach using a water-propelled jet pack, guzzling organic juice from his favorite Santa Monica food truck and dining at Santa Monica's new members-only club 41 Ocean.

In 92 years, See's Candies has never shied away from being old-fashioned. At the factory on La Cienega Boulevard, some octogenarian workers measure their decades of employment in hip replacements. Quaint floral details are still hand-piped onto chocolate eggs. An inexorable march of candies heads through tubes the length of a football field, where they're drenched in layers of chocolate - a traditional practice known as enrobing. Like cars merging out of highway toll lanes, they appear from cooling tunnels into employees' waiting hands.

  Total time: 1 hour, plus setting time Servings: About 3 dozen candies, depending on size Note: This recipe requires the use of a candy or digital thermometer. 2 packages gelatin 3/4 cup water, divided Butter for greasing a baking sheet, if cutting out shapes 2 cups sugar 2 tablespoons light corn syrup 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups colored sugar 1/2 cup chocolate chips 1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, sprinkle the gelatin over one-fourth cup of water and let stand until the gelatin is softened.

I'm in my traditional Cupidian buying frenzy leading up to Valentine's Day, my major organs bursting with good intentions, not knowing quite where to turn, getting a little angry about it actually -- the frustrations of unbridled romance, bordering on malice, verging on angina. Is this what they call lovesick? Or is it that wad-nut of food still stuck in my gullet from the Super Bowl party? During the power outage, I washed down the perfect barbecue sandwich with a double dose of chili, chased by teriyaki meatballs and fistfuls of Lebanese chicken, topped by about 50 oatmeal cookies.

Candied citrus peel, glacé cranberries and spirit-soaked fruits are easy to make and are thoughtful gifts for the home baker. They require some planning as well as, for the peel, overnight drying time. For mixed peels, select two or more varieties of the wonderful citrus in the farmers markets this season: California navel oranges, Meyer lemons, pink grapefruits and pomelos. Look for the most vibrant colors. RECIPES: 25 homemade holiday gift ideas! Candied peels and fruit are just a couple of ways to get crafty this holiday season with homemade gifts from the kitchen.

The radiology department at La Palma Intercommunity Hospital, 7901 Walker St., La Palma, will screen candy and other Halloween treats on Saturday from 7 to 9 p.m. and on Sunday from noon to 2 p.m. as a service to the community. Children must be accompanied by an adult. According to Spencer Thompson, the hospital's chief radiology technologist, the procedure is safe and effective in detecting metal components in candy and other treats.

Shamelessness in the Legislature is seldom so evident as in the Senate's recent joking and sampling of whiskey-soaked cake, liquor-filled truffles, and liquor-loaded chocolate bottles in miniature as it voted 21-17 to legally hike permissible alcohol in candy, cake and chewing gum 0.5% to 5%. Your article (Sept. 5), "Liquor-Laced Candy Measure Sent to Governor," cogently reviewed the blatant economic interests of out-of-state pushers who want California to join the four other states permitting 5% ethyl alcohol in specified confections, Nevada being the nearest.

Kristen Johnson of Santa Monica was one of the 10 winners of last year's Los Angeles Times Holiday Cookie Bake-Off with almond candy cane cookies: "My mother, Wendy Johnson , had me brainwashed as a child. Chocolate cake with almond frosting for my birthday? Yes! Sugar cookies with almond flavoring? Delicious. It wasn't until I was in college and I made my roommate the homemade chocolate cake with almond frosting that I quickly learned my mom totally messed me up. Apparently using almond in lieu of vanilla flavoring in everything is not normal.

It's that time of year when ardent bakers have their stand mixers perpetually at the ready. Cookies, cakes, pies? No problem. But candy? The sight of a candy thermometer can make even the most experienced among us hesitate, if not run screaming.  Enter " The Liddabit Sweets Candy Cookbook ," written by the founders of the eponymous Brooklyn candy shop known for its fat, handmade candy bars, caramels in flavors such as fig-ricotta, and...