Ny Cooking Schools

Ever since a trip to Vietnam two years ago, during which I toured the exotic food markets of Nha Trang with the hotel chef at the Ana Mandara resort and learned how to make my own rice paper for spring rolls at cooking schools in Hoi An, I have been convinced that there is no better way to get to the heart of any city than through its cuisine.

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Love for the lunchbox

If you don't know what to put in your child's lunch box, look to the wide variety of lunch boxes out there for inspiration.

Insulated bags and boxes often come with separate compartments to keep food at different temperatures, and everything in its place. And there's plenty of room for individual tiny containers, so kids can have fun "making" their own food.

"I've had four kids, and if the lunches are fun, parents aren't going to get resistance," says Kit Bennett, founder of the family advice site AmazingMoms.com. "It's worth a little bit of extra effort the night before if you know you are providing healthy food."

For example, in an insulated, multi-compartment lunch box, pack a "make your own taco" kit, complete with lettuce, shredded cheese, meat and salsa your child can use to assemble a have-it-your-way healthy Mexican meal.

Robert Irving III: Gaining Momentum

Robert Irving III is a keyboard player known in different quarters for different things. He played electric, of course, as a young man in the band Miles Davis unveiled when he decided to return to performing in 1980 after his infamous five-year hiatus. He produced albums with Miles, but also Sting, Carlos Santana, Dianne Reeves, Branford Marsalis, Wayne Shorter, Gerald Albright, Grover Washington, John Scofield, David Murray and others. He was musical director for Sister Sledge and has performed with the likes of Oscar Brown Jr., Michael Brecker, Marcus Miller, Wallace Roney, Buster Williams and more.

But Irving (who's known to friends as Baabe, which is pronounced like Bobby) is also an acoustic pianist who loves the sound of the instrument and has been busy for years providing that sound in a variety of settings.

CALENDAR

Used-book sale � Friends of the Tulare City Library is having a used-book sale 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Tulare Public Library, 113 North F St. Features fiction, sports, cooking, crafts and hobbies, non-fiction, vintage, text and computer books. Cost: $3 per bag. To make a book donation and information: 685-2341.

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T-Coast Students Head Back To School

Kids on the Treaure Coast returned to school Monday to begin the 2007-2008 school year.