EAST LANSING -- Authorities say lettuce suspected in recent E. coli sickness cases in Michigan came from California.

Some of the 36 sickness cases now reported were at Michigan State University and the Lenawee County Jail.

Q: I have a question about fat-free cheese slices versus 2 percent cheese slices. Is the difference in fat worth the chemicals I've heard are present in the fat-free slices? In other words, which would be the healthiest for a person?

Also, what do you think about veggie cheese slices?

-- JIS, Springport

By Marge Biancke
News Special Writer

Q. Could you get the recipe for Soft/Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from Great Harvest Bread Company? We love their cookies. Thank you so much.
- Eileen Hymans

Press Photo/Paul L. Newby IIThis granola with dried cherries and chocolate makes a great gift.

No matter how short the stay, I bring along a batch of homemade granola. I know edible gifts warm the hearts and tummies of host families. And this is possibly the best granola in the whole wide world -- it's golden, crunchy, exquisitely honeyed and studded with dried fruits and/or chocolate chips.

FOUND

Cherry-delicious barbecue sauce

Roy Cerecke, of Kentwood, was looking for a recipe for barbecue sauce made with cherry pie filling. Beverly Stedman, of Howard City, sent in this recipe.

Press Photo/Paul L. Newby IIRich and flavorful: Onions-and-cream mixture adds moisture to Ann Kassouni's smothered pheasant.

Smothered with onions and cream, this pheasant dish is from Ann Kassouni, of Cascade Township.

"We love dishes with game, and since my husband, Haig, is an avid hunter, we make them often," Ann said.

Press Photo/Hollyn JohnsonTuna tower: Canned tuna is considered a staple in many food pantries throughout West Michigan.

It's just tuna, canned tuna. But it is the backbone of food pantries, along with peanut butter, both excellent sources of protein, iron and fat.

"Tuna is an excellent low-cost protein that is easy to handle, store and prepare," said Marsha DeHollander, program director at All County Churches Emergency Support System (ACCESS), a network of 100 Kent County food pantries. "Open the can and it's ready, but if you want to prepare it, there are many versatile recipes out there."

Tuna comes in a variety of packaging: canned, pouches, single-serving bowls and "Lunchable," which includes mayonnaise, relish and crackers.

The textures vary from premium albacore tuna, which is filleted and processed by hand; solid pack, which is a single piece of fish; chunk, which is large pieces of fish; and flake, which is small pieces of fish. The tuna can be packed in olive oil, vegetable, oil, brine or water.

Jill McLane Baker | Kalamazoo Gazette

Brook Lodge Executive Chef John Merucci holds the chicken and shrimp paella that he created with chef Jose Luis Sanchez Munoz in preparation for the Spanish-themed "A Taste of Valencia, Spain" meal, the first event in a "Sunday Supper" series to be held from 1 to 4 p.m. next Sunday at Brook Lodge, 6535 N. 42nd St. in Augusta.

Continue reading to see a recipe for paella you can make at home.

Linda S. Mah | Kalamazoo GazetteThis pasta with roasted summer vegetables is mixed with pesto, a flavorful blend of basil, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic and Parmesan cheese.

This is part of an occasional series that Linda S. Mah and William R. Wood are writing on their use of farm-share produce from Blue Dog Greens, in Bangor. The series is intended to give readers ideas about how to use fresh foods in home cooking.

Time to go green in the kitchen. Our share from Blue Dog Greens has included several healthy helpings of basil over the past few weeks. Bill took the most recent batch and whipped up some pesto, which has been casting its green hue over many a dinner coming out of our kitchen.

Pesto is that magical Italian concoction of basil, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic and Parmesan cheese. And maybe a squirt of lemon.

Hair salon staff and customers cook up a plan to benefit the United Way.

Jeff Schrier | The Saginaw NewsCheryl M. Hadsall, owner of The Willows Hair Salon and Day Spa, 5820 Gratiot in Saginaw Towsnhip holds a copy of "A Cut Above the Rest," a cookbook she and her staff published to raise money for the United Way.

Those were exactly the kind of recipes Cheryl Hadsall wanted when she and her staff started gathering recipes for "A Cut Above the Rest," a collection of recipes from friends and patrons of Hadsall's business -- Willows Salon & Day Spa, 5820 Gratiot in Saginaw Township.

The cookbooks cost $20 and will benefit the 2008 United Way of Saginaw County campaign. The charity is in the midst of raising $2.6 million through the end of the year.

"We wanted to get more active in the community," explained Hadsall, a Saginaw County commissioner who serves on the United Way's board of directors. "We decided to give the proceeds to the United Way so a variety of agencies would benefit."