Fittest Loser Week 1 healthy recipe: Tempeh Curry with Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans. Tempeh absorbs the rich spices and coconut milk in this simple curry recipe.

With upscale artisanal coffee brewers dotting city streets across the country, America might fancy itself a nation of high-end coffee drinkers. But just the opposite is true: People in this country, on the whole, are actually drinking worse coffee today than they have in the past. And the reason appears to be that they value cheapness over quality — and convenience over everything.

Lone Fir is a popular layover for hikers on their way to climb Mount St. Helens, in Skamania County, Washington, and, not being much of a planner — and having no desire to sleep in my car — I ponied up for the last room at the chipper little lodge. At Lone Fir, climbers can pick up their permits and log into the climbing book prior to their ascents. Permits are required year-round,...

Parents of a child with special needs can be their child’s best advocates. But the journey to becoming informed can be like heading through a tunnel without a light. There is a tremendous learning curve from the first diagnosis. Thankfully there are beacons of light along the way.

As President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you're a thousand miles from the cornfield.” His gibe was aimed at Washington policymakers, but I'd say the same thing about planning my modest summer garden, which is still months away. I've come to realize over the years, my garden's chief enemy is neither bug nor blight, but my own bottomless enthusiasm.