Honey

In an age of long commutes, late sports practices, endless workdays and 24/7 television programming, the image of Mom hanging up her dish towel at 7 p.m. and declaring "the kitchen is closed" seems a quaint relic of an earlier era. It also harks back to a thinner America. And that may be no coincidence. A new study, conducted on mice, hints at an unexpected contributor to the nation's epidemic of obesity - and, if later human studies bear it out, a possible way to have our cake and eat it too, with less risk of weight gain and the diseases that come with it. Just eat your cake - or better yet, an apple - earlier.

Dear SOS: My husband and I recently spent a weekend in San Francisco and had a superb dinner at Perbacco. Everything was wonderful, but our dessert was one of the most delicious I've ever tasted. If you could get the recipe for its pine nut and honey tart, I could begin to cure my craving. Deborah Pollack Ventura Dear Deborah: I love everything about this tart. Not too sweet and with just the right touch of saltiness, this rustic dessert takes on light floral notes from the addition of Tasmanian honey, balancing the richness of the buttery pine nuts.

Total time: 25 minutes, plus overnight soaking time for the mustard Servings: This makes about 1¾ cups mustard. 2 tablespoons (¾ ounce) brown mustard seeds About ¾ cup (2½ ounces) mustard powder 1 cups verjus or Champagne vinegar 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/3 cup honey 2 eggs 2 egg yolks 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh fines herbs (a mixture of parsley, chives, tarragon and chervil) 1. Soak the mustard seeds: Place the mustard seeds and powder in a medium glass or ceramic bowl along with the verjuice.

Sephardi syrup Total time: 10 minutes plus chilling time Servings: 8 2 cups water 1/4 cup honey 6 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger 4 pinches of ground cloves 2 tablespoons orange juice 2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest 1. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, honey, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Cook over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar and to blend in the honey and spices.

'In the Land of Blood and Honey' MPAA rating: R for war violence and atrocities including rape, sexuality, nudity and language Running time: 2 hours, 7 minutes Playing: At ArcLight Cinemas, Hollywood

  Total time: 50 minutes, plus 2 hours steeping, plus 2 to 3 hours chilling Servings: 6 1/2 cup almonds, unblanched 2 cups cream 1 cup milk 1/2 cup honey 4 egg yolks 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and toast the almonds on a cookie sheet until dark brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Chop the almonds until medium coarse and set aside. 2. Bring the cream, milk and honey to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring constantly.

Total time: 2 hours, 20 minutes Servings: 10 Note: From "The Sweet Life: Desserts From Chanterelle" by Kate Zuckerman. This pear dish requires the use of a hot oven for about 2 hours; you can roast these pears while you plan to be in the kitchen working on another dish. You will need a 12-by-8-inch metal roasting pan. The pears are just as beautiful if you do not core them after roasting.

Smoked fish salad with honey and dill Total time: 40 minutes Servings: 8 Note: A tasty and far easier alternative to gefilte fish. May be made up to 24 hours in advance. Smoked trout can be substituted for the mackerel. 1 3/4 pounds smoked mackerel 1/2 cup finely diced sweet onion 1/2 cup finely diced peeled and seeded cucumber 16 walnut halves, chopped 1/2 cup chopped green onion, white and green parts 1/4 cup sliced fresh basil, cut into thin strips 1/2 cup white wine vinegar 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1/4 cup honey 1/3 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh dill Salt 2-3 small red apples, quartered and thinly sliced Chives 24 walnut halves, optional, for garnish 1. Combine the salad: In a large bowl, coarsely shred the fish using your fingers, making sure to remove any pin bones.

  Ricotta-honey gelato with orange Total time: 20 minutes, plus freezing time Servings: 8 (Makes 1 quart gelato) Note: This is terrific served with lightly sweetened fresh berries or other fruit. 2 cups homemade ricotta 1 cup whipping cream 1 cup whole milk 1/3 cup sugar 1 tablespoon orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier 2/3 cup honey 1. Purée the ricotta, whipping cream, milk, sugar, liqueur and honey in a food processor until quite smooth.

  Carrots with honey, lemon zest and thyme Total time: 35 minutes Servings: 4 Note: Adapted from "A Year in My Kitchen" by Skye Gyngell Our recipes, your kitchen: If you try this or any other recipe from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen, we would like to know about it so we can showcase it on our food blog and occasionally in print. Upload pictures of the finished dish here. 8 carrots 1 1/2 tablespoons honey 1/4 cup butter 6 thyme sprigs Salt and freshly ground black pepper Grated zest and juice of ½ lemon 1. Peel the carrots and cut them into chunky slices on the diagonal.

In the Land of Blood and Honey Sony Blu-ray, $40.99 Writer-director-producer Angelina Jolie's earnest Bosnian war film received more attention than it otherwise might've because of the presence of her name above its title, but it was subject to undue skepticism as well. This is a well-crafted drama, following the tricky relationship between a Serbian soldier played by Goran Kostic and a Muslim prisoner of war played by Zana Marjanovic. Given the grimness of the subject matter, Jolie drains the film of nearly all lightness and thrills, but as with a lot of actors turned directors, she helps her cast find the emotional truth in every scene and builds a compelling story.

In honor of this year's "eat healthier" resolution, my teenage son and I drove over to a local bakery in the first week of January. On the shop's window, someone had painted the words "Whole-grain bread. " So far, so good. The next line read "No preservatives. " And the third — I did a double take — "Chemical-free. " My son, slouching next to me, heard me inhale and hastily looked for the cause. "Mom," he said urgently. "Mom! Let's just leave quietly. " Of course, he was remembering — and who could really forget?

Reporting from New Orleans -- Louisiana State cornerback Tyrann Mathieu didn't initially care for his nickname, "Honey Badger. " What part? "The honey part," Mathieu said Thursday at a news conference in advance of Monday night's Bowl Championship Series title game against Alabama. Not much about his life had been sweet. In fact, a bitter residue lingered through a tough upbringing that took place not far from where LSU will try to win its third BCS crown since 2003. Mathieu was cast off by his mother and raised by his grandfather before he died when Tyrann was 5. Tyrann's father is serving a life sentence for murder at Louisiana State Penitentiary.

For Ermin Bravo, it was the peanut butter that triggered the flashbacks. Years after the war in Bosnia ended, Bravo, a film and theater actor, still couldn't touch the condiment, fearful of what it would evoke. "It was the only thing sweet from those [aid] packages we got, and we ate so much of it during the war," Bravo, now 32, recalled. "Until this shoot [reacquainted me with it], I couldn't eat it. It brought back too many memories. " "This shoot" was the filming of "In the Land of Blood and Honey," a drama about some of the darkest events of the modern era, directed by one of its shiniest celebrities, Angelina Jolie.

'In the Land of Blood and Honey' MPAA rating: R for war violence and atrocities including rape, sexuality, nudity and language Running time: 2 hours, 7 minutes Playing: At ArcLight Cinemas, Hollywood

Total time: 25 minutes, plus overnight soaking time for the mustard Servings: This makes about 1¾ cups mustard. 2 tablespoons (¾ ounce) brown mustard seeds About ¾ cup (2½ ounces) mustard powder 1 cups verjus or Champagne vinegar 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/3 cup honey 2 eggs 2 egg yolks 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh fines herbs (a mixture of parsley, chives, tarragon and chervil) 1. Soak the mustard seeds: Place the mustard seeds and powder in a medium glass or ceramic bowl along with the verjuice.

You may already know Alana Semuels from her holiday advice column on The Times' website. With Valentine's Day coming up, she debuts in print as etiquette maven Ask Alana, answering questions about romance and finance. Relationships are hard enough without the economy being in the crapper. Now that money is tight, annoying financial issues in your relationship or dating life have the potential to become huge craters that could run you off-road.

  Chicken thighs with honey, olives and oregano Total time: About 2 hours, plus marinating time Servings: 6 Note: Adapted from "The Essential Book of Jewish Festival Cooking" by Phyllis Glazer and Miriyam Glazer. Even though some sources say that the honey of the Bible was made of dates, grapes, figs or carobs, dishes sweetened by honey are a frequent feature of Rosh Hashana fare. This dish may be prepared several hours in advance and reheated in the oven.

Shelagh Delaney Playwright wrote 'A Taste of Honey' Playwright Shelagh Delaney, 71, best known for her 1958 play "A Taste of Honey," died of cancer Sunday at her daughter's home in England, said her agent, Jane Villiers. Born Nov. 25, 1939, in England, Delaney was the daughter of a bus inspector, and her early work was rooted in her hometown of Salford, an industrial suburb of Manchester. Delaney later said she wrote "A Taste of Honey" in response to her dissatisfaction with contemporary theater and the unrealistic dialogue she heard there.