This Sunday, The News-Gazette will run an article I've written about a Champaign teenager named Asilah Patterson.

When winter first started thawing to spring, I felt a pit of dread in my stomach.

I couldn't stomach the thought of drinking coffee this morning, so I whipped up a smoothie instead.

I used six ice cubes, strawberries from my mom's garden, fresh pineapple (I stuck both in the freezer last night to add extra iciness) and a dollop of non-fat plain yogurt. Pretty simple, and deliciously refreshing this morning.

Sunday will be my three-year anniversary of working at The News-Gazette. I've written before about how instrumental late Features Editor Rebecca Mabry was to my hire and career as a journalist.

I tried a new slow cooker recipe yesterday - a shredded pork BBQ to be served on the butter rolls I made the other night.

Last night, I tried my bread machine's dough recipe for baking butter rolls. They're for company this evening, so I needed to finish them last night.

The result? Gorgeous rolls that are light and delicious, a lingering home-baked bread smell in my kitchen and the satisfaction of making something from scratch, with ingredients I can pronounce.

My new stove has an oval-shaped fifth burner in the middle and came with a griddle pan.

Local blogger Kristin Tennant yesterday wrote about a trip to see her family's barn.

Rob and I picked up my new range and red refrigerator this weekend.

I'd been feeling a little nervous about the fridge - what if it was too red?

Yeah, there's no such thing. It's red - really red - and I love it.

I'm not a vegetarian by any stretch, but I have an aversion to touching raw meat that limits my consumption. (In other words, I'm happy to eat burgers someone else prepares!)

So when I discovered this recipe for black bean burgers in my "All New Good Housekeeping Cook Book," they quickly became a go-to dish, especially because they're sort of summery.