From slipcovers to painted floors and reclaimed wood, no clear style may define what some consider “country-inspired decor.” But infusing country elements with a modern edge is becoming more popular in the design world. The result is furniture that is often handcrafted by artisans as well as decorative elements that are often vintage or even salvaged.

With prices at the grocery store still high, many people are turning to a more sustainable source of food: gardens.

LOS ANGELES — Growing up in Saitama, Japan, Yoko Hasebe didn’t dream of sushi. From the age of 7, she studied ballet and later jazz dance at the Nihon University College of Art in Tokyo. Fate brought her to California and a series of jobs at Japanese restaurants, where she found her way into the kitchen, rolling maki alongside sushi chefs such as Kimiyasu Enya at Enya and Morihiro Onodera of Morihiro.

All you need for a hand roll party at home is a big bowl of sushi rice, a tall stack of nori (dried sheets of seaweed) and any fillings and condiments you want. Fresh, crunchy vegetables are excellent with sushi rice, and so is leftover carne asada or potato salad — with soy sauce or salsa macha, or sprinkled with nuts, or topped with fruit. Really. I’ve learned that I don’t have to be a traditionalist — or a perfectionist — when it comes to making hand rolls at home. Another plus: The only thing to cook is the rice.

Jacob Noble doesn’t have many friends who eat in Italian restaurants.

How did you eat pork chops growing up? If you’re of a certain age, I’ll bet it was with a side of applesauce or maybe homemade mashed potatoes.

Homes have a scent — only sometimes intentionally. Depending on the situation, they can attract or repel. Appealing to the senses, specifically a sense of smell, can be easily achieved, especially for those looking to do so naturally.

PITTSBURGH — Cookie tables have been customary at weddings, Christmas parties, bridal showers and so many other life events for years in Western Pennsylvania. So when Laura Magone started a Facebook page to celebrate and preserve the tradition in 2015, the filmmaker was pretty certain she’d draw at least a few members.

Often made with easy-to-find, everyday ingredients, noodle dishes are both wonderfully economical and oh-so versatile. Noodles also make for great stir-fry, as Milk Street’s terrific new cookbook, “Noodles,” makes clear. One recipe that immediately caught my eye was a stir-fry combining thinly sliced flank steak with broccolini and rice stick noodles in a soy-garlic sauce.

LAS VEGAS — It was madness, sweet madness, those mornings in May, a decade ago, on Spring Street in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan.