Pasta carbonara — richly cheesy, creamy and studded with crisped pancetta — is easily one of the most comforting of pasta dishes. The only trouble is, with the onset of warmer weather we tend to crave salads more than steaming bowls of pasta. So for this recipe, we decided to have it both ways.

When one Chandler teenager imagined her Sweet 16 birthday, she imagined spending it the same way she has spent many Sundays in the past seven years — with the homeless friends she served in the parking lot in downtown Phoenix.

You wouldn’t know it from all the parking lots and shopping centers in our immediate vicinity, but out on the fringe of suburbia, acres of peaches are growing fat and juicy in the warm spring sunshine.

Life is peachy-keen at Schnepf Farms where this annual festival fills the orchards with smiling children and families in search of $2 a pound fresh, ripe peaches, family friendly entertainment and hot-off-the-griddle peach pancakes, served from 7:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily. The festival begins May 18 and runs through Memorial Day and includes hay rides, peach pit spitting contests, live music May 18 and 19, roller coaster and other fair-type rides, as well as a “Peachy Sampling Tent,” where you can purchase a panorama of peach-related products. Other food options, including burgers and hot dogs, grilled chicken sandwhices, salads and kettle corn are also available.

Travelers accustomed to chain eateries like Chili’s and Paradise Bakery now have a chance to experience local offerings such as Cowboy Ciao, La Grande Orange and Barrio Cafe at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

The Bistro at Kokopelli Winery will close on May 26, with plans to re-open in September as Crust.

My friend Bob would shudder if he knew that I planted plantain today.

Not so long ago, there was a certain image associated with being vegetarian. It usually involved Birkenstocks, lentil loaf and an agenda.

Wednesday, May 1 is Customer Appreciation Day at Joe’s Real BBQ in Gilbert. Anyone who shows up between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and then from 4 p.m. through the rest of the evening — until they run out of food — will get a free BBQ sandwich made from pecan-smoked meats like chicken breast, pulled pork and beef brisket and pit ham; a free side, like sweet cut corn, potato salad, mac and cheese or BBQ pit beans; and a free drink.

No matter how unimpeachable whole-wheat pasta is in terms of nutritional cred, I've always found it off-putting.

Arizona shoppers are getting a bit of a financial reprieve as prices for meat took an unexpected -- and potentially unexplained -- drop during the first quarter of the year.

Most people know what it’s like to pull up a chair at a family reunion or holiday meal, but not many have tucked their toes under the table at a community harvest feast. Several local art and community organizations are hoping to change that with Saturday’s “Feast on the Street” in downtown Phoenix.

An evening of snazzy clothes, cocktails, art, music and fine dining could be fun for you — but crucial for some of Arizona’s struggling men, women and children.

The first time I ate raw asparagus was during the '80s at an Italian restaurant in New York. Someone else must have pushed me to order it because until then the only asparagus I'd ever encountered was steamed and buttered, and I really liked it just that way. Raw asparagus? Must be bland and boring.

Tater Tot was one of the skinniest dogs R.E.S.C.U.E has ever taken in. He couldn’t hold his head up, was limp, and seemed unable to see. After being rushed to the emergency veterinarian, the vet stabilized him and said Tater had been born with a liver shunt, meaning that his liver was not removing toxins from his body.