Peas

Boys Markets--the 54-store Los Angeles supermarket chain built on catering to Southern California's burgeoning minority communities--said Tuesday that it has received a $130.7-million takeover offer, reportedly from a wealthy Mexican family. The announcement comes as the Los Angeles supermarket industry is being shaken by a round of takeovers and mergers.

It's lunchtime aboard the nuclear attack submarine Jefferson City and the tired crew -- some bearing fresh grease stains on their work overalls -- fills the tiny dining room, clearly ready to chow down. On cue, mess specialist Richard Youhan begins slicing a 25-pound prime rib roast into half-inch-thick pieces, before gingerly transferring the second entree, baked lobster tails with spicy Old Bay Seasoning, onto a serving tray.

Question: An Italian cooking expert I'm not, so when it comes time to top the various pasta dishes I make I'm at a loss. Could you please explain the differences between the sauces used in Italian cooking? For instance, what exactly are the differences between marinara, pesto and regular tomato sauce? Answer: The following is a partial list of pasta sauces excerpted and adapted from "A Pocket Guide to Italian Food and Wine" (A Fireside Book--Simon & Schuster: 1986, $5.

If you believe what you read in the cereal aisle, the right breakfast choice can lower your cholesterol — and cut your risk of heart disease. For the last few years, Cheerios boxes and ads have promoted the cereal's ability to help lower cholesterol; last year, for a time, ads promised the cereal could lower cholesterol by a very specific 4% in six weeks. (Cereal maker General Mills removed that particular claim from boxes after receiving a warning letter from the Food and Drug Administration in May stating that the claim had not been approved by the agency.

Members of the Black Eyed Peas have filed a federal lawsuit against their former business manager, accusing him of "fraud and deceit" that cost them more than $3.2 million. The heart of the suit against Sherman Oaks financial advisor Sean M. Larkin, whose relationship with the Peas dates back to their early days as a Los Angeles club act, concerns his acknowledged failure to file state and federal income tax returns on behalf of group members and their companies between 2002 and 2009.

Dear SOS: I recently ate at Harris Ranch Restaurant (located off Interstate 5 at the Coalinga exit) and was very impressed with their biscuits, as they reminded me of happy memories of my childhood. I wanted to buy some to take to my sisters, but the restaurant/bakery does not sell biscuits to the public. I would appreciate it if you can obtain the recipe for me. Thank you.

Summer may mean beach and sun to some. But to me it's always meant fresh sweet peas, the kind that come right out of the garden in beautiful, crisp pods. Angelenos enjoyed the same summer pleasure 100 years ago too. In the July 31, 1898, issue of the Los Angeles Sunday Times Illustrated Magazine Section, one "Mid-Summer Cooking" recipe in the women's pages was for puree of green peas.