Let’s Talk Food: Tex-Mex chimichangas
There are many states who claim to have the best Tex-Mex food but Tex-Mex cuisine started in Texas when Texas was part of New Spain and later became Mexico. The regional people, called Tejanos, spread their cuisine from the border states to the rest of the country and made Tex-Mex a popular cuisine of a lot of Southwestern areas.
Now in College, Luddite Teens Still Don’t Want Your Likes
Biruk Watling, a college sophomore wearing a baggy coat and purple fingerless gloves, walked the chilly campus of Temple University in Philadelphia on a recent afternoon to recruit new members to her club.
Volcano Watch: Announcing 2025 Volcano Awareness Month art and poetry contest winners
The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory spearheads Volcano Awareness Month each January on the Island of Hawaii. This year, in addition to in-person talks and walks around the island, we hosted an art and poetry contest, and we are pleased to announce the winners in today’s Volcano Watch article!
Steves: First trip to Europe? Here’s what to expect
If you’re planning your first trip to Europe, congratulations! Learning about the world through travel is the best thing that ever happened to me.
Tropical Gardening: Coffee flowering now means abundant harvests coming this fall
The dry weather from Thanksgiving to January created conditions for heavy flowering when a rainy spell in mid January stimulated a big flush of flowering shortly thereafter. When Kona has a wet winter and flowering is intermitant, it results in a longer harvest season. This year harvest shoud be concentrated thus making the harvest short and heavy if all else goes well.
A fish farm offered 40,000 pounds of salmon for free. There was a catch.
The offer was too good for the Food Bank of Central New York to pass up. A local fish farm was going out of business, and it wanted to donate more than 40,000 pounds of sushi-grade salmon.
Comatose and washed up, 1,000 endangered sea turtles are rescued in Florida
Their flippers were paralyzed, they couldn’t come up for air, and their heartbeats were barely perceptible. But most of these 1,200 sea turtles were lucky. The wind and currents had carried their motionless bodies ashore, where, at least, they could be found.
Let’s Talk Food: Soups and stews
As the temperatures drop to the 60’s and we start bringing out our jackets and sweatshirts (while the rest of the folks on the mainland are laughing at us), it is a good time to think about making a pot of soup or stew.
Shanghai celebrates Lunar New Year with a dogs’ dinner
SHANGHAI (Reuters) — Yakult enthusiastically took a bite of the plated, shredded chicken and lettuce in front of him before licking his lips.
Steves: Visiting Europe’s 20th century fascist sites
The fascist movements of 20th-century Europe had a sweeping impact around the world, in ways that still reverberate today. And travelers have an advantage when it comes to learning from this history: When we see its legacy in person, we better understand its lessons. Europe is dotted with fascinating monuments and powerful memorials that’ve been thoughtfully designed to bring those sobering lessons home. When we track the struggles of democracy on both sides of the Atlantic today, we can see that those intent on derailing democracy read from the same playbook.
Volcano Watch: Recent lava fountains highlight Pele’s Hair hazards
Residents and visitors alike have been watching episodic lava fountains in Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kilauea since late December 2024. While beautiful and safe to view, this activity has left residents of communities nearby wondering about the dusting of glittery threads on their property.
Tropical Gardening: Go native in your garden
It is fun to go native, but you don’t need to strip down when it comes to incorporating native plants into your Hawaiian garden! Next weekend, Feb. 1 will be a great opportunity to get expert advice from nursery folks hailing from around the island according to Jennifer Snyder of Orchid People.
This rare plant smells horrible, but people can’t wait to get a whiff
NEW YORK — There is no shortage of unpleasant odors in New York City: overflowing garbage on the sidewalk, unmentionable substances in the subway, traffic fumes and more. This week, yet another foul scent has entered the smellscape, but in this case, New Yorkers are flocking to experience it: the blooming of an Amorphophallus gigas, aka a corpse flower, at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
Let’s Talk Food: Chinese New Year is next Wednesday
Chinese New Year, the year of the snake, begins on Jan. 29 and ends on Feb. 16. The reason it lasts for 15 to 16 days is because it begins when there is a new moon and ends following a full moon.
Steves: Sicilian surprises in Palermo
One thing I enjoy about returning to a destination is the chance to update the outdated impressions I’ve held in my mind from previous visits. Europe is always changing — and on my last visit to Sicily’s capital of Palermo I discovered that it’s become a whole new city in recent years. It’s cleaner, safer, and more efficient than it was in years past. But it still retains its colorful edge — and that’s why I love it.
Volcano Watch: What tiny crystals can tell us about their trip through the magma chamber
Like fortune tellers who peer into a crystal ball for insight, volcanologists at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory peer into the tiny crystals contained in lava flows to learn about the magma’s journey before it was erupted onto the surface.
Early amaryllis blossoms remind us of spring around the corner
Folks living on the mainland are experiencing the chill of winter but Hawaii’s spring begins as the days get longer. Spring officially occurs when the sun reaches the Equator as it appears to move northward. Of course what is actually happening is that the earth is tilting toward the South Pole and will continue to do so until June 21. Since we are roughly at latitude 19 degrees north, the sun will appear to move northward. Many plants respond to longer day length including plants that form bulbs.
Halloween decorations in January? She’ll go to court for them.
Even before Alexis Luttrell adorned her Memphis, Tennessee-area front yard with a pair of skeletons for Halloween, she had decided that she would keep them up for a while. They would just need some seasonal wardrobe changes.
Quick Fix: Easy Honey, Mustard, Soy Chicken and Garlic Parsley Penne
This dish brings together tender chicken in a rich, tangy, and slightly sweet glaze of honey, mustard, and soy sauce. I paired it with penne pasta infused with garlic and fresh parsley. It’s a perfect dinner for a busy weeknight.
Let’s Talk Food: Air fryer cooking
As we make our New Year’s resolutions, one of them may be to eat healthier or lose some weight.