Even though we all agree that local Gulf seafood is the best, it’s true that, as the saying goes, there are plenty of other fish in the sea. Although scallops don’t come from nearby waters, their mildly sweet taste and firm texture can lead even the most committed locavore to make an exception.

New Year’s Day menus seem to be devoted either to traditional foods like black-eyed peas and cabbage, or to indoor-tailgating menus of chips, dips and pizza, but what are we going to eat the other 365 (yes, it’s a leap year) days of 2020?

When the new adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic “Little Women” opens in movie theaters today, audiences will find that food plays a supporting role that’s just as vivid, and even more palatable, than Meryl Streep’s.

It’s a common dilemma this time of year: indulge in some traditional holiday treats, or make a beeline for the cookie platters?

One of the almost-universal traits among cooks is their generosity. They love to feed people and to share their techniques and hard-learned experiences.

Galveston’s East End should be in the running for a “most hospitable neighborhood” designation.

Just in case the newspaper’s ads haven’t driven home the point, here’s another reminder: The annual run-up to gift-giving season officially gets underway this weekend.

Like turkey, the berries are native to North America and were one of the foods that Native Americans introduced to early settlers to the continent. Dutch settlers thought the long, drooping blooms on the bushes looked like the beaks of cranes, and the name craneberry endured in slightly shorter form.

With Thanksgiving rapidly approaching, and a month of more holidays coming along behind it, many cooks are getting ready to balance all the special holiday preparations with the continuing need to get an everyday dinner on the table each night.

Is it even possible to have too much chili? Most Texans don’t think so, and the Rotary Club of Galveston is also firmly in the more-is-better camp.

Not everyone puts away the skeletons and sweets on the day after Halloween. For many people in Texas and Mexico, Nov. 1 and 2 are the time to remember friends and family with a Dia de los Muertos (literally “Day of the Dead”) observance.

While the Island Oktoberfest hosted by First Evangelical Lutheran Church attracts fans of sausage, beer, polka and all items German, one of the most highly anticipated components is the traditional strudel served up by Cindy Cornelison.

Next time you eat a pecan, or an apple, or drink a glass of orange juice, remember that someone planted the tree that produced it. On Nov. 17, the Galveston Island Tree Conservancy celebrates Arbor Day and some of the area’s most dedicated tree planters at a luncheon at the Bryan Museum.

Not many foods have achieved what tacos have: Multiple fast-food franchises, their own style of trucks and even their own day of the week.

Notes in the margins, newspaper clippings used as book marks and dog-eared corners can tell an intriguing story about the book’s readers.

Some of my busiest friends were enjoying a rare bit of downtime and swapping tips on how they get dinner on the table night after night.

Chocolate chip cookies are beloved by kids, adults, bakers, non-bakers (eating the raw dough is apparently irresistible enough that Pillsbury prints a stern warning against it on their slice-and-bake cookies) and virtually anyone who has ever tried one.

The PAWS Gala benefiting the Galveston Island Humane Society is no bare-bones affair.