The sun is out, the sky is clear, and things are starting to feel normal again! After the crazy and isolating year we just endured, it is wonderful that we are able to start gathering together again in time for the summer.

The National Garden Bureau has designated 2021 as The Year of the Sunflower. If you choose to participate, I have the plant for you: Suncredible Yellow, a new everblooming bush variety.

When COVID put an abrupt halt to social gatherings, many homes were reconfigured to encompass school study areas and home offices. Now that pandemic restrictions are easing, there is a gentle art to opening your home again to guests who (like hosts) are out of practice and grappling with a somewhat changed social terrain.

KARES fetches grant to help senior dogs

Everything you need to know for a successful pescatarian cookout:

Hamburgers and chicken are popular choices when it comes to cooking on the grill. Both are relatively inexpensive, can be dressed up or dressed down with various toppings and sauces and don’t take a whole lot of culinary prowess to get a great summer meal on the table.

The Greek island of Ikaria is renowned for its flavorful honey, enriched by bees that traverse rocky hills covered in wild herbs. The honey’s complexity is one reason local cooks lean on this ingredient for both sweet and savory dishes, such as a skillet-cooked pork made for us by Popi Karnavas, chef and owner of Popi’s restaurant.

The elaborate pilafs, roasts and other celebratory dishes of the Middle East often take time that home cooks don’t have. But they still can provide ample fodder for inspiration.

Keauhou Shopping Center hosting school supply drive, other events

A Moorish idol swims through a lava tube in South Kona. (Barry Fackler/Community Contributor)