Eating Together

Experts say that taking time to share a home-cooked meal helps frazzled families re-connect. But as overscheduled moms, dads and kids can attest, that's easier said than done. To the rescue comes The Working Parents Cookbook, a lifestyle and culinary manual by Jeff Morgan, a Napa Valley vintner and journalist, and his social-worker wife Jodie, who are raising teenage daughters. Most of their 200 recipes take less than 30 minutes to prepare and feature straightforward directions. The dishes are wholesome but far from humdrum: salads range from Caesar to nicoise; entrees include tuna steaks and lamb chops. Says Jeff: "We're trying to help Americans rediscover that fast food can be good food and that the family dynamic will be enhanced by a healthy mealtime experience." --By Sonja Steptoe