Roman

Roman mustard Total time: 15 minutes, plus 1½ to 2 days soaking time for the mustard seeds Servings: Makes about 2½ cups mustard Note: Adapted from "The Mustard Book" by Rosamond Man and Robin Weir. About ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon (5 ounces) brown mustard seed 1/2 cup red wine vinegar 3/4 cup unsweetened red grape juice 1 1/2 teaspoons very coarse salt, such as Maldon 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, finely ground 1/4 cup (1 ounce)

Responding to letters to the editor on the dust-up between the Vatican and a group of American nuns, reader Joseph S. David of Brea wrote: "Is it liberal bias that The Times had one columnist and four letter writers castigate the Vatican for its recent call to liberal American nuns to reform, but no one to defend it? "In truth, defense is unnecessary for the offense that is the liberal nuns: flaunting of Roman Catholic doctrines, unfaithfulness to religious vows and a misinterpretation of Vatican II. They forget that when the church's Magisterium (its teaching office)

It'd be hard to find an isolation as splendid as this one. The mountains are swathed in snow, the trees are flecked with white and the ski lodges are getting ready for high season. Film director Roman Polanski traded prison for a veritable winter wonderland Friday as he began an indefinite period of house arrest up in the Swiss Alps. Instead of a jail cell, Polanski now has free run of his three-story villa here in Gstaad. Instead of fellow inmates, the people around him include his wife and their two children.

Taking sides Re "Vatican says nuns' group must reform," April 20 Thousands of women who have given up marriage and money to work tirelessly to help the poor, the sick and the needy - just as Jesus asked them to - are being blasted for doing so. Just because they show Scriptural leadership and love rather than meekly pushing someone else's political agenda, they are being vilified by male Roman Catholic Church leaders. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, we see remarkable, devout female leaders - Deborah, Miriam, Esther, Mary, Martha, Lydia and many more come to mind.

A Los Angeles prosecutor urged a judge on Friday to deny Roman Polanski's request to be sentenced in a three-decade-old child-sex case without surrendering to U.S. authorities. In papers filed in Superior Court, Deputy Dist. Atty. David Walgren wrote that sentencing in absentia was "absolutely inappropriate" given Polanski's continued refusal to return to the United States. Polanski, "as a fugitive and convicted child rapist, must not be permitted to instruct this court how to proceed."

For a man who didn't set foot out of his house Friday, Roman Polanski had an eventful day. His new film, "The Ghost Writer," a political thriller with a glamorous Hollywood cast, debuted at the Berlin Film Festival. And his legal battle to avoid returning to the U.S. got a boost when a Swiss official said extradition proceedings stemming from his three-decade-old child sex case were on indefinite hold. Polanski, 76, remained under house arrest, his round-the-clock presence in his Gstaad ski chalet secured by an ankle bracelet and $4.5-million bond.

The Museum of London displayed for the first time evidence of what archeologists excavating a London burial site believe may be the remains of a female Roman-era gladiator. While it has long been known that Roman women fought in the arena, this would be the first concrete example, they say. All that is left of the warrior, believed to have been in her mid-20s, is her pelvic bone.

Many children in the Pico-Union district have never been on a train or felt snow, but a dozen of them will be aboard Amtrak's Desert Wind through the Rocky Mountains when the local Teen Post sponsors a train trek to Denver in three weeks. "I've never been to Denver and I've never heard of Denver, but I really, really want to go to Denver," said a 7-year-old girl named Heidi as she took a break from her math studies at the Teen Post on Venice Boulevard. "I want to go there and play."

An attorney for Roman Polanski urged a California appeals court panel Thursday to throw out the filmmaker's 1977 child sex case, citing what he called an "astonishing record of misconduct" by the district attorney's office and the judge who originally handled the case. Chad S. Hummel argued that Judge Laurence J. Rittenband improperly discussed with a prosecutor how to punish Polanski and threatened to lock up the director for a longer period if his attorney challenged the judge's decision to return Polanski to prison.

In the 33 years since she accused Roman Polanski of rape, Samantha Geimer has publicly forgiven the acclaimed director, accused the U.S. justice system of mistreating him and urged a dismissal of his still pending criminal case. Today, Geimer is expected to act again on Polanski's behalf and ask that a Los Angeles County judge halt efforts to extradite the filmmaker from Switzerland. In papers filed in Superior Court on Thursday, Geimer's lawyer accused the Los Angeles County district attorney's office of violating state victims' rights statutes by not consulting Geimer before seeking extradition.

Underneath the stage before February's Super Bowl halftime show, Nicki Minaj felt an emotion she hadn't experienced in quite some time. She was really, really nervous. Over the last three years, the young rapper had become one of the most charismatic and commercially successful stars in pop music, with a gum-snapping flow and acerbic guest rhymes that stole the show from vets such as Mariah Carey, Kanye West and Rihanna. Her pop-inclined solo debut, "Pink Friday," hit No. 1 and launched bestselling singles like the elastic "Super Bass.

The Roman Catholic Church in Mexico this year took the unusual step of issuing guidelines on how Mexicans should vote in the upcoming presidential election: Candidates should value marriage as a bond between a man and a woman and should place prime importance on "the right to life, starting at conception. " Both ideas were clearly aimed at leftist parties and others who have backed same-sex marriage and abortion, legalized in recent years in Mexico City. Pope Benedict XVI arrives Friday to a Mexico that, officially, is a strictly secular nation.

Did the devil make her do it, or was it her publicist? Normally, it's a compliment to say that a female singer performed like a woman possessed. But that may not be the case for singer Nicki Minaj's Linda Blair-like turn — minus the head-twisting and projectile vomiting — at the Grammy Awards, particularly among Roman Catholic viewers. In an over-the-top unveiling of her latest single, "Roman Holiday," toward the end of Sunday's telecast, Minaj acted out a prime-time exorcism on herself (or perhaps her alter ego, Roman Zolanski)

Power vs. the desert Re "The power compromise," Feb. 5 If people want renewable energy, they should understand it must come from somewhere. In this case, the desert ecosystem is the somewhere. Although the Ivanpah Valley solar site and similar projects represent a devastating loss to this environment, if we continue to depend on fossil fuels, there will be devastation just as bad elsewhere in the world. It seems that we Southern Californians are unable to deal with the devastation being so close to home.

Love is always lovelier some place other than home. Well, at least in the celluloid universe. Traveling by boat, train or even bus can lead to romantic entanglements in the movies, as does visiting über-romantic locales such as Rome, Paris and Venice. Of course, these romances may not last, or they may even end tragically - just think of poor Jack and Rose in "Titanic" - but it doesn't matter. Movie audiences crave these idealistic, sexy trysts. Here's a look at some of the best films in the romantic travel genre: All aboard!

Chase Blackburn can work through all sorts of mathematical equations, but his own NFL career dilemma just didn't add up. Although he was the leading tackler on special teams in his first six seasons with the Giants and a team captain last season, his phone never rang when the lockout ended in the summer. The reserve linebacker had figured that if the Giants didn't re-sign him, another team would. So he waited. And waited. Days turned to weeks, weeks became months, and eventually reality sank in. Blackburn, a married father of two young boys, had to get on with his life.

As Roman Polanski enters his second week under house arrest at his Swiss chalet today, his American legal team is scheduled to face off with the prosecutors seeking his extradition in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom. The issue before a state appellate court predates Polanski's September arrest in Zurich and concerns the nuances of a 19th-century legal doctrine. But if the three-judge panel sides with Polanski, the ruling could set the stage for the possible dismissal of the director's 1977 case and his release from detention.

Continuing his move up the class ladder, Chicky Do Run Run will try for his third consecutive win in tonight's seventh, a $12,550 allowance at 350 yards. Owned by Bob Grimes and trained by Paul Jones, the 4-year-old gray gelding beat $16,000 claimers by a length on Dec. 22, then moved up to the $50,000 level and won again on Jan. 23. A winner of five of 16 lifetime, the California-bred will again be ridden by Ramon Sanchez and he has only four opponents in this race.

The sale of the bankrupt Crystal Cathedral to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange has been delayed, in part because of a purported 99-year lease brought to the court's attention days before the sale was to be finalized. On Jan. 25, lawyers in the case received a letter detailing an agreement that entitles the Crystal Cathedral congregation to the long-term lease for $1 per year. The diocese, which said it "has serious doubts regarding the alleged lease's existence," demanded signed copies of the lease by Jan. 27. The Crystal Cathedral was unable to produce any documentation.

Sunday was supposed to be the day the sports potatoes got off their couches. This is the NFL's contribution to society. No games — and no, the Pro Bowl is not a game. It is an exhibition. The kids down the block playing flag football hit harder. It is a day to be devoid of five guys, sitting at a table in a TV studio, making six-figure salaries to state the obvious for an audience that will nod in deep appreciation at being told that the Patriots need to establish their running game.