Latest news with #Barb
Chicago Tribune
3 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Chicago Tribune
From the Farm: Chef-turned-food columnist Barbara Rolek dead at age 75
In my 35 years (and plus) writing about recipes, I've shared the same newspaper page as a number of various food columnists, some of whom were desk neighbors beside me in the newsroom. Barbara Rolek, a trained and certified chef, worked as a columnist for The Post-Tribune and a three-year history timeline from 2004 to 2007 as the 'Restaurant Scene' columnist and food writer for The Times of Northwest Indiana. Barb, a longtime resident of Crown Point, died earlier this month on May 14 at age 75. She was born in Chicago and attended Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, and was a graduate of Chicago's Washburne Culinary Institute. She worked as an executive chef and pastry chef for more than 15 years at fine dining restaurants and even some time at the commissary of a grocery store chain where she developed a customized home meal replacement program. She won awards as a food writer for the Chicago Tribune Media Company and her tenure at The Times of Northwest Indiana, including a 2007 win from the Hoosier State Press Association Award for a story on the Ketogenic diet in the treatment of childhood epilepsy. In 2008, as newspapers began one of the lagging economy-inspired downsizing chapters, Barb shifted to writing as a guide for heading her own website covering Eastern European foods and showcasing recipes, photos and cultural information connected with highlighted countries. She pivoted and accepted a new adventure as the lead writer and head creative force with an upscale online company 'Ann's Fabulous Finds.' 'Beyond her ace writing skills, Barb was an exceptional colleague and friend. She was compassionate, kind and always ready to offer support,' said the company's owner Troy Babcock and echoed by co-owner Ann Wzacny. Barb co-authored 'Tell Me How Long You Want to Live and I'll Tell You What to Eat to Get There' with writer Dr. William D. Stimack (2002 Authorhouse $19.95). Like myself, Barb was one of the food personalities to host cooking classes, including her homemade pastas and 'how to build a gingerbread house' at La Cucina Cooking School in Highland owned by Susan Dedelow. Barb, like so many chefs, was a hard worker and kitchen competitive, the latter of which fired her spirit and a heart of gold always willing to help others. I first met Barb long before we shared a newspaper page and newsroom desk landscape. For two brief years in 1998 and 1999, when I began working for the features section of The Times of Northwest Indiana, I rented a newly built duplex home in Crown Point where Barb and her mother Mary happened to live on the other side of the shared wall in the adjoining unit. Barb would often bring elaborate recipe sampling spreads to the newsroom for all to enjoy. Her recipe for 'Beer and Cheese Potato Soup' was so scrumptious, I was able to persuade her to allow me to publish her recipe in my second cookbook 'More From the Farm' (2007 Pediment Press $29.95). While we were neighbors, Barb and her mom would often compliment or fuss over our family's pet purebred Maine Coon cat Tracker, especially if he was spotted on our paired patios in the back of the homes. One funny story that I never revealed to Barb (or her mom) has to do with the front yard of our adjoined homes. The landscaping included a rather wide stretch of green lawn which served as the divide of the driveways to our attached garages. We each mowed, watered and manicured our own half using an imaginary 'line border' to represent each renter's grassy half. In the summer of 1998, I was leaving my home to attend a picnic, and my menu carry-in contribution was a large bowl of vinegar-based three-bean salad, a recipe specialty of a previous food editor, Sharon Rocchio, and also published in my 2007 cookbook. The large round bowl slipped from my hands, the plastic wrap blew off, and the contents fell into the middle of this aforementioned grassy knoll strip, landing face down with the salad submerged into the grass. I scooped up the mess and hosed away the strong scent of vinegar. The next day, I discovered (as did Barb and her mom) a large yellow nearly perfect circle shape burned into the grass from the strength of the acidic vinegar. I felt silly about my clumsiness so when Barb suggested I must have spilled fertilizer to cause the marred lawn, I simply agreed, and she insisted I buy a square of sod grass to cut to size and patch the gaffe. Barb was preceded in death by both her parents Walter Rolek and Mary Durski Rolek; and brother Wally Rolek. She is survived by her sister Janet Rolek, sister-in-law Camille Podalski Rolek, and many cousins in the area. Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 12, 2025, at St Mary's Catholic Church, 321 E. Joliet St, Crown Point with Rev. Peter Muha officiating. Burial is private at Holy Cross Cemetery, Calumet City. Barb also adored her cats Stella, Ruby and Maggie, a trio she would refer to as 'her primary recipe tasters.' In lieu of flowers, Barb's wishes are for donations to be made to any favorite charity, with funeral arrangements being led by Burns Funeral Home. One of Barb's most recent planned projects was a German recipe cookbook, a project which never came to be as she explained in her social media post in September 2022. 'The publishing industry has really taken a hit over the past 10 years,' Barb wrote. 'As reading materials increasingly become digitized and more reliance is placed on trends, the printed word, i.e., books and newspapers, is feeling the death knell. And, in its infinite wisdom, my publisher has decided to put a hold on my German baking book because computer data show it's 'not the right time.' Fifty of my recipes will disappear into the ether (contractually, I can't publish on my own even though they are my intellectual property), but I would like to share my recipe for German Black Forest cake with you. By the way, I still get paid, so I know you will be delighted to hear I'm crying all the way to the bank. The real pity of it is the phenomenal tasting experiences and touchstones to their omas (grandmas) so many people could have had. I can't let that happen.' One of Barb's prized Polish recipes is her kolaczki. 'There is some debate as to who invented kolaczki (plural for kolaczek),' Barb wrote in 2008. 'Poles claim it and call it 'kolachy,' but the Croatians claim it too, as do Czechs and others. Kolaczki can be round, square or diamond shaped, and the dough can be flaky or yeast-risen, and the spelling varies widely. My family always preferred the flaky kind made with a cream cheese dough, and apricot, raspberry, prune and sweet cheese were our fillings of choice. Nowadays, anything goes — almond, poppyseed, strawberry, blueberry, even pineapple. This is a great kids project.' 1 (8-ounce) cream cheese, softened 2 ounces (3 sticks) butter, softened 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 (14-ounce) cans fillings of choice (apricot, prune, raspberry, etc.) Confectioners' sugar Directions: Mix cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add flour 1 cup at a time and mix well. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough 1/4-inch on a surface that has been dusted with equal parts confectioners' and granulated sugars (not flour). Cut into 2-inch squares. Place 1/2 to 1 teaspoon filling on center of each square. Overlap opposite corners of dough to the center over filling. Bake for 15 minutes or when corners start to brown. Cool and dust with confectioners' sugar. These tend to become soggy if held for several days, so store them tightly covered (or freeze) without the confectioners' sugar. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Guide #192: How reality TV and streaming has shaped 21st-century TV
To try to get our heads round the fact that we're somehow a quarter of the way into the 21st century, the Guide is running a miniseries of newsletters looking at how pop culture has changed over the past 25 years. We tackled music last month and we'll be looking at the state of film next month, before sharing our favourite culture of the century so far, and asking for yours too, in July. Today, we're taking the temperature of TV. Like the music industry, television has seen its entire business model upended by the streaming revolution this century. That has meant what was once a universal activity – an entire nation sat around the glow of the old cathode ray tube – has been replaced by people watching a galaxy of different shows, or watching the same show but at completely different times. Still, the monoculture isn't entirely dead. A look at the list of each year's most-watched broadcasts in the UK from TV ratings agency Barb shows that, for all the changes that have come with streaming, tens of millions of us still have an appetite for mass entertainment. That list, based on consolidated ratings (ie viewed within seven days of a show's broadcast) isn't a perfect encapsulation of the state of telly: its focus is British, not global; TV's golden age doesn't get a look in (shows like The Wire were hardly ratings hits, and for many, were discovered long after they were broadcast); and perhaps most significantly, streaming isn't fully represented – Netflix, for example, only signed up to Barb in 2022 (though maybe that doesn't matter: surprisingly, Netflix shows rarely crack Barb's weekly top 20). But it is the best measure available for getting a sense of what people have watched over the past two and a half decades. To make sense of it, I spoke to TV journalist Phil Harrison. He's the author of The Age of Static: How TV Explains Modern Britain, which covers British television from 2000 onwards, so if anyone can explain how TV has changed in that time, it's him. Here's the list and what we can learn from it … The full list 2000 | Coronation Street2001 | Only Fools and Horses2002 | Only Fools and Horses2003 | Coronation Street2004 | Euro 2004: England v Portugal2005 | Coronation Street2006 | World Cup: England v Sweden2007 | EastEnders2008 | Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death2009 | Britain's Got Talent final2010 | The X Factor final2011 | The Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton2012 | Olympics Closing Ceremony2013 | New Year's Eve Fireworks2014 | World Cup Final: Germany v Argentina2015 | The Great British Bake Off final2016 | The Great British Bake Off2017 | Blue Planet 22018 | World Cup: Croatia v England2019 | Gavin & Stacey, Christmas special2020 | Prime Ministerial Statement on Covid-19 2021 | Euro 2020: England v Denmark2022 | The Funeral Service of Queen Elizabeth II2023 | The Coronation of King Charles III2024 | Gavin & Stacey: The Finale Events, dear boy! Events! Our list shows that the biggest TV ratings this century have been for major cultural or news events. This might sound completely unsurprising – but it wasn't always the case. 'In previous decades, you see TV premieres of films and more scripted drama and comedy at the top of these lists, but viewers have become more atomised and niche-occupying,' says Phil. 'Various quite popular things have stopped being national events as the amount of choice, channels and platforms has expanded. Apart from a few outliers, communal national TV watching is now basically about live events with assumed national importance.' This means Covid briefings or royal funerals – or, more cheerily, sporting events or the New Year's Eve fireworks. 'Though why so many people watched that live in 2013, I have no idea,' Phil rightly wonders. Big Brother's influence looms large The emergence of reality TV is another theme on the list, with singing contests and then Bake Off taking the top slots. But the show that perhaps defined the reality boom – Big Brother – is surprisingly absent. Still, says Phil, its fingerprints are all over this list. 'The innovations it spawned have driven TV discourse,' he says. 'I think a few shows on here – the eliminative format, 'ordinary people' as the stars – can be at least tangentially linked to it. You could tie X Factor to it, Bake Off too. It opened up a space and introduced a broad, adaptable idea that literally dozens of shows have since occupied.' A case in point: the most watched show of 2025 so far is The Traitors – 'another show with plenty of Big Brother's DNA', says Phil. The fat lady is singing for soap operas As the appetite for reality TV has grown across the 21st century, the popularity of soaps has plummeted. Once dominant in these end-of-year lists, EastEnders and Coronation Street now consider it a strong night if they crack the 5m mark – as EastEnders just about managed for its much-trailed 40th anniversary live episode. Sign up to The Guide Get our weekly pop culture email, free in your inbox every Friday after newsletter promotion With their endless ongoing storylines soaps are particularly ill-suited to the age of the binge, says Phil: 'It's quite a job keeping on top of them, what with all the other options. And streaming shows have, to an extent, taken their place: so open-ended in narrative terms, so expansive in terms of run time and so impossible to kill – Stranger Things has been running for a decade. They've essentially become high-production value soaps.' But it's not just the delivery method, says Phil – but the actual drama itself: 'I just don't know if they reflect people's lives any more. You can't really see 2025 London in EastEnders. You can't see 2025 Manchester in Corrie. They're like living period pieces and for that reason, I just can't imagine they gain many new, young fans.' That's borne out by starkly declining numbers for EastEnders and Coronation Street among 16- to 34-year-olds – though Hollyoaks has bucked the trend with that age group, according to Channel 4, by releasing fewer episodes a week and shaving its runtime down to an attention-span-friendly 20 minutes. Gavin & Stacey aims for the middle Of course it's not just soaps: scripted TV is largely absent from our list from the 2010s onwards. There's one major exception: Gavin & Stacey, which appears twice on this list, with last December's finale attracting 19.1 million viewers. How has a cheerful, low-stakes romantic comedy set in south Wales proved so ratings-conqueringly successful? By aiming squarely for the middle, says Phil. 'It's intelligently written without being hard to swallow. It's knowing and self-conscious but also has incredibly universal themes: romance, the minor irritations and routines of family life, getting older etc. And it's really fond and respectful of its own characters – there's no real snark in it, or victims, or perpetual butts of the joke: it started in the late 00s at the time of loads of cringe comedy, stuff that occasionally veered towards cruelty and there's absolutely none of that. 'Also,' Phil adds, 'it's got a really good cast. Rob Brydon, Alison Steadman and Ruth Jones are all great at what they do – and even James Corden hits his beats among certain people!' What sums up 21st-century TV? Which show on the list best explains UK TV in the last 25 years? With Big Brother ineligible, Phil opts for The Great British Bake Off, a show seemingly in sync with the nation's psyche, from its name onwards: 'That title prefix The Great British … is emblematic of the desperate search for a workable national identity that we've been embarking on throughout the 21st century.' It's also, says Phil, the show that best demonstrates how reality TV – the dominant genre of 2000-2025 – has evolved: 'It feels like we tried slightly cruel variations on reality TV early on in the century and then decided we preferred nice, twee ones instead. With bunting.' If you want to read the complete version of this newsletter please subscribe to receive The Guide in your inbox every Friday
Hamilton Spectator
18-05-2025
- Automotive
- Hamilton Spectator
Why choosing wheels and tire sizes can make a big difference to you
There are few easier ways to change the look of your car or truck than putting on a different set of wheels. There are a surprising number of factors that need to be considered, even at the simplest level of 'will they bolt on?' The changes can change how your vehicle steers, rides, or handles, appreciably — for better or for worse. This is the case if you deviate from what the manufacturer equipped your model with. Generally, the larger the wheel, the shorter the sidewall, the firmer the ride. Some vehicle models — this applies to pickup trucks, in particular — are available with a wide variety of wheel and tire sizes, and typically, any of the larger sizes will bolt directly onto and have sufficient clearances on models not originally equipped with them. Take, for example, Ford's F-150: base models come with 17-inch wheels and tires. Some models are available with 18-inch wheels, many come with 20-inch wheels, and the top trims offer 22-inch wheels. The wheels themselves would interchange, although there are minor differences in the outside diameter of the original tire sizes used. Not everyone wants to use a factory wheel for their upgrade. If an appreciable number of examples of that model already wear them, what's the point? What to do? The aftermarket provides a greater selection of options, but this search requires diligence. Most aftermarket wheels are designed to fit many vehicles and often come in a range of widths and offsets — the offset is how far in or out the wheel/tire sits relative to the body and suspension — to suit buyers' preferences — which don't always line up with factory choices. Beyond offsets, the width of the tires and wheels has an important role to play. Shopping for a 15-inch wheel for the recently acquired 1991 Mazda Miata of my wife, Barb, revealed factory-original and aftermarket choices. Some early MX-5/Miatas did come with 15-inch wheels that would directly fit. None offered the look Barb desired, and a clean used set were comparable in price to some new aftermarket sets, so aftermarket won. Often, when moving up a wheel diameter — known as 'plus-one' sizing — you'd increase the tread width of the tire, and in the Miata's original sizes, this is the case: from a 185 (14-inch) to a 195 (15-inch) section width. (This is not exactly tread width, but it is the industry's chosen measurement standard.) In the Miata's optional 195/50R15 size, tire choices seemed to be either race compound tires with a fruit-fly lifespan and aquaphobia, or tires best suited for an aging minivan — just what we'd wanted to avoid. Moving to a 205/50R15 resulted in a livable 1.8-per-cent increase in overall diameter, for a speedometer error of just 2 km/h at 100 km/h, and opened up far more options. Based on positive reviews, we settled on the still very performance-skewed Falken Azenis RT615K+. Falken's specs showed an approved rim width range of 5.5-7.5 inches. ('Rim' is the part of the wheel where the tire mounts.) Research, coupled with our desire to stay close to stock in order to avoid clearance issues in the Miata's apparently cosy wheel wells, prescribed a maximum seven-inch width. Fortunately, some 15x7-inch wheels with the correct bolt pattern, in a close-to-original offset, were available; Konig's lightweight 'Heliogram' wheels got the nod. So what would happen if we'd found a 5.5-inch or 7.5-inch wide wheel? Clearance aside, would it make a difference? Yes. The Azenis's 'measured rim width' is 6.5 inches. That's the ideal rim width, the one where the tire's section width matches its specs. Per an industry rule-of-thumb, each half-inch in rim width changes the section width by two 10ths of an inch — approximately five mm. With our 205 example, on a 5.5-inch wheel, it'd decrease to 190 mm; on a 7.5-inch wheel, increase to 215 mm, with corresponding changes to actual tread width at the pavement. So what? Well, not only does this difference change the size and shape of the contact patch, the hand-sized area where your tire actually touches the road surface, and where all traction occurs, it also changes the relationship between the tire sidewalls and wheels. While on your average pickup or crossover these differences would have a lesser impact, a 2022 test by tire retailer Tire Rack of nine wheel/tire width combinations on identical Subaru BRZs showed that choosing the proper wheel width can be the difference between clumsy handling and slow-reacting steering, and crisp, precise responses plus higher limits. It can also influence the quality of the ride, as tires that are stretched to fit a wider wheel may have less sidewall compliance to absorb minor bumps. Substantial changes in tire diameter — that is those that fall outside of the auto-industry's accepted recommendation of a limit of three per cent, can create issues with gearing, and be detrimental to performance, driveability, mileage, even braking. Those wishing to 'go big or go home' need to understand that other mechanical changes, may be required — from updating engine management software to replacing differential gear sets and suspension components. In changing tires and wheels, it may be wise to seek the advice of a professional, so you can enjoy the final result. Ask a Mechanic is written by Brian Early, a Red Seal-certified Automotive Service Technician. You can send your questions to wheels@ . These answers are for informational purposes only. Please consult a certified mechanic before having any work done to your vehicle.
Toronto Star
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- Toronto Star
Why choosing wheels and tire sizes can make a big difference to you
There are few easier ways to change the look of your car or truck than putting on a different set of wheels. There are a surprising number of factors that need to be considered, even at the simplest level of 'will they bolt on?' The changes can change how your vehicle steers, rides, or handles, appreciably — for better or for worse. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW This is the case if you deviate from what the manufacturer equipped your model with. Generally, the larger the wheel, the shorter the sidewall, the firmer the ride. Some vehicle models — this applies to pickup trucks, in particular — are available with a wide variety of wheel and tire sizes, and typically, any of the larger sizes will bolt directly onto and have sufficient clearances on models not originally equipped with them. Take, for example, Ford's F-150: base models come with 17-inch wheels and tires. Some models are available with 18-inch wheels, many come with 20-inch wheels, and the top trims offer 22-inch wheels. The wheels themselves would interchange, although there are minor differences in the outside diameter of the original tire sizes used. Not everyone wants to use a factory wheel for their upgrade. If an appreciable number of examples of that model already wear them, what's the point? What to do? The aftermarket provides a greater selection of options, but this search requires diligence. Most aftermarket wheels are designed to fit many vehicles and often come in a range of widths and offsets — the offset is how far in or out the wheel/tire sits relative to the body and suspension — to suit buyers' preferences — which don't always line up with factory choices. Beyond offsets, the width of the tires and wheels has an important role to play. Shopping for a 15-inch wheel for the recently acquired 1991 Mazda Miata of my wife, Barb, revealed factory-original and aftermarket choices. Some early MX-5/Miatas did come with 15-inch wheels that would directly fit. None offered the look Barb desired, and a clean used set were comparable in price to some new aftermarket sets, so aftermarket won. Often, when moving up a wheel diameter — known as 'plus-one' sizing — you'd increase the tread width of the tire, and in the Miata's original sizes, this is the case: from a 185 (14-inch) to a 195 (15-inch) section width. (This is not exactly tread width, but it is the industry's chosen measurement standard.) ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW In the Miata's optional 195/50R15 size, tire choices seemed to be either race compound tires with a fruit-fly lifespan and aquaphobia, or tires best suited for an aging minivan — just what we'd wanted to avoid. Moving to a 205/50R15 resulted in a livable 1.8-per-cent increase in overall diameter, for a speedometer error of just 2 km/h at 100 km/h, and opened up far more options. Based on positive reviews, we settled on the still very performance-skewed Falken Azenis RT615K+. Falken's specs showed an approved rim width range of 5.5-7.5 inches. ('Rim' is the part of the wheel where the tire mounts.) Research, coupled with our desire to stay close to stock in order to avoid clearance issues in the Miata's apparently cosy wheel wells, prescribed a maximum seven-inch width. Fortunately, some 15x7-inch wheels with the correct bolt pattern, in a close-to-original offset, were available; Konig's lightweight 'Heliogram' wheels got the nod. So what would happen if we'd found a 5.5-inch or 7.5-inch wide wheel? Clearance aside, would it make a difference? Yes. The Azenis's 'measured rim width' is 6.5 inches. That's the ideal rim width, the one where the tire's section width matches its specs. Per an industry rule-of-thumb, each half-inch in rim width changes the section width by two 10ths of an inch — approximately five mm. With our 205 example, on a 5.5-inch wheel, it'd decrease to 190 mm; on a 7.5-inch wheel, increase to 215 mm, with corresponding changes to actual tread width at the pavement. So what? Well, not only does this difference change the size and shape of the contact patch, the hand-sized area where your tire actually touches the road surface, and where all traction occurs, it also changes the relationship between the tire sidewalls and wheels. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW While on your average pickup or crossover these differences would have a lesser impact, a 2022 test by tire retailer Tire Rack of nine wheel/tire width combinations on identical Subaru BRZs showed that choosing the proper wheel width can be the difference between clumsy handling and slow-reacting steering, and crisp, precise responses plus higher limits. It can also influence the quality of the ride, as tires that are stretched to fit a wider wheel may have less sidewall compliance to absorb minor bumps. Substantial changes in tire diameter — that is those that fall outside of the auto-industry's accepted recommendation of a limit of three per cent, can create issues with gearing, and be detrimental to performance, driveability, mileage, even braking. Those wishing to 'go big or go home' need to understand that other mechanical changes, may be required — from updating engine management software to replacing differential gear sets and suspension components. In changing tires and wheels, it may be wise to seek the advice of a professional, so you can enjoy the final result. Ask a Mechanic is written by Brian Early, a Red Seal-certified Automotive Service Technician. You can send your questions to wheels@ These answers are for informational purposes only. Please consult a certified mechanic before having any work done to your vehicle.
Toronto Star
11-05-2025
- Automotive
- Toronto Star
Choosing wheels and tire sizes for your car: What do you need to know? And why?
My wife, Barb, has just become the owner of a lovely British Racing Green 1991 Mazda (MX-5) Miata. The Japanese automaker's tiny droptop roadster has long been a favourite of ours, a fondness created by the test vehicles back I drove back when I did car reviews for the Star. Our enthusiasm for the Miata was confirmed by renting a current model through Turo during a Hawaiian vacation a few years ago. Apart from tackling some maintenance items and having the age-worn seat covers and fabric roof replaced, there was one specific change Barb asked me to make to her new-to-her car: wheels and tires.
