Lifestyle
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This simple polenta and mushroom dish will elevate your holiday table
Dec 09, 2025 5:29 am - This simple recipe is a marriage of two even simpler foods that add up to one flavorful appetizer, main dish or side. It’s a great addition to a holiday table, a cheery little side dish, or a center-of-the-plate offering for the vegetarians in the house.
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These stuffed shells make a festive crowd-pleaser that’s low on effort
Dec 09, 2025 5:25 am - These pasta shells stuffed with spinach and cheese offer familiar saucy, comfort-food appeal in a healthier way. The ricotta filling packs double the usual amount of spinach, and there’s just enough cheese to make the shells creamy and rich while keeping them light and fresh.
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How to talk about wine like a normal person
Dec 09, 2025 5:22 am - It’s entirely possible to talk about wine in straightforward, everyday language that’s easy to follow. In other words, technical fluency isn’t a prerequisite for appreciating what’s in your glass. By focusing on concepts such as weight, budget, broad flavor categories and even vibe, everyone can find wines they’ll love.
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German bakers bring Christmas specialty to life with rich tradition (no margarine allowed)
Dec 09, 2025 5:10 am - Bakers in the eastern German city of Dresden have been making stollen for Christmas for hundreds of years. The traditional pastry, made only for the Advent season, combines buttery yeast dough with golden raisins, candied lemon and orange peel and almonds. Strict rules govern its production, including a ban on margarine and artificial additives.
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‘Longest Night’ service on new date, Dec. 22, at Gary UMC in WheatonDec 09, 2025 12:28 am - Gary United Methodist Church in Wheaton is offering a Longest Night service on Dec. 22 to provide a time to remember loved ones, share hurting places with God, or step aside from the stresses of the season.
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‘A real balm’: Catholics headed to Des Plaines this week in annual pilgrimageDec 08, 2025 1:42 pm - Catholic pilgrims will pray for peace and more during a two-day gathering at a Des Plaines shrine this week.
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Oakwood Hills girl, 10, reaches national level in taekwondo
Dec 07, 2025 10:10 pm - Before she was 4 years old, Oakwood Hills resident Delilah Stamp was crawling around mats of martial arts schools. Now 10, she’s already a black belt in taekwondo and decorated with dozens of medals.
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McHenry’s snowy owl gets a musical coda: Where you can hear a song inspired by the bird
Dec 07, 2025 9:57 pm - The snowy owl seen in McHenry County last year prompted singer-songwriter and Crystal Lake native Cass Cwik to write a song in its honor.
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‘They always provide’: JOURNEYS offers a lifeline and a path out of homelessnessDec 07, 2025 8:45 pm - Palatine-based JOURNEYS The Road Home provides shelter and other assistance to hundreds of suburban residents facing homelessness. It’s one of five charitable organizations set to receive grants from the Daily Herald/Robert R. McCormick Foundation's Neighbors in Need fundraising campaign.
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Dementia patients may find peace, connection in musicDec 07, 2025 9:31 am - A 2018 study found that music activates parts of the brain that are more resistant to diseases like Alzheimer’s, including the prefrontal cortex. Other research has consistently found that memories of music, along with the ability to play music, are often preserved longer than language and other memory skills.