European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 7, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                By Pierre Franey new York times Resh mussels abound in seafood shops and can be used for All sorts of tasty and inexpensive meals. The simplest Way to prepare mussels is to steam then quickly in some White wine and shallots. Bui you could just As easily use Ginger and fresh coriander or another combination of Harbs and sprees. The variations ate endless and include All manner of Mussel and pasta combinations Here is a Quick dish i can be served Cool or it room temperature that combines mussels Zucchini and tomatoes with a piquant Mustard based sauce and pasta. Notice that i save tha steaming juices irom the mussels and add them to the pasta s cooking water of sex Ira flavor. This recipe Calls for Farfalla the Bow tie shaped pasta although any pasta would work. However you prepare Mussia it is important to remove All the barnacles seaweed Type material and Sand irom the shells. First scrape the barnacles and beards off with a Clam knife or any Blunt edged knife. Then place the mussels in a bucket and cover them with Cool water. Agitate the mussels with your hand in a washing machine motion for about 30 seconds. Drain Well and discard tha water. Also Ofscar a any Mussel that opens before it is cooked. Repeal this several times unlit the water is Clear. As a Side dish there is a sated of fresh spinach and hard cooked eggs. Mussel and pasta salad 3 pounds muss Ala Well scrubbed and with beards and barnacles removed i cup dry while wine 4 cups water 2 Zucchini about i Pound Cut into i itch chunk i Pound imported f Art All pasta Bow ties 1 egg to Lac 1 Tablespoon Dijon style Mustard 2 Tablespoons Rod or White win Van tar Salt and freshly ground it ppm to taste 1 cup Olive or com olt Pinch of Cayenne Pepper 4 Tablespoon finely chopped shallots or a Llsms 1 Tablespoon finely chopped garlic 2 Ripe tomatoes about Pound pm Tad end Cut into a Neh cubes to cup coarsely chopped fresh Basil leaves or italian Parsley. Place the mussels in a Saucepan and add the wine. Covar and Cook Ever High heat shaking the pan occasionally to redistribute tha mussels about 4 minutes or until All the mussels arc opened remove the mussels with a slotted spoon and set them aside to Cool. Strain the Broth. There should be about 2vi cupa. Reserve the Broth. When the mussels Are Cool enough to handle remove the meat and discard the shells. Add the reserved Broth and the water to a Large Saucepan or Kettle. Bring to a boil and add the Zucchini. Cook 3 minutes and remove the Zucchini with a slotted spoon. Let Cool. Add the pasta to the Saucepan stir and bring to a boil. Cook 15 la 20 minutes or according to package instructions. It should be a Dente. Drain Well and let Cool. Meanwhile put the egg Yolk Mustard vinegar Salt and Pepper in a mixing bowl. Beat tha mixture with a wire whisk White slowly adding the Oil a few drops at a time at first then in a Stow drizzle. When All the Oil is incorporated add the Cayenne Pepper shallots and garlic and blend Well. Place the Zucchini tomatoes pasta and mussels in a Large bowl. Add the sauce and the Basil. Toss Wall. Check the seasoning and serve. Yield 4 Servings. Spinach and ego salad 1 Pound fresh spinach 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar 1 Tablespoon Dijon Stylo Mustard Salt and freshly ground Pepper to taste 4 Tablespoon Olive o t 2 hard cooked eggs boiled Tor 10 minutes 4 Tablespoons finely chopped italian Parsley. Trim Oil and discard any Tough Sterna or bruised spinach leaves. Wash thoroughly in several changes of cold water. Drain end shake Oil excess water. Combine the vinegar Mustard Salt Pepper and Oil in a Small Bow end blend Well with a wire whisk. Peel the eggs and chop them coarsely. Place the spinach in a salad bowl and add the eggs Parsley and the dressing. Toss Well and serve immediately. Yield 4 Servings. / bought some Green Granny Smith apples. I wanted to use them cat up with the Peel for e particular fruit salad where the Green color of the Peel would be important. Since the apples Wen unusually shiny i realized they were coated with something and proceeded to Wash them to get the substance Oil. I tried three times finally scrubbing with e Brush and detergent when dry a while substance possibly Wax was still on the apples and ii could Only be removed by digging and scratching at it with my fingernails i finally gave up and threw them a Way. Why la this substance on tha apples mrs. R. Murphy Santa Rosa Calif. The plastic apples which one can buy in gift shops often look More real than most of the apples displayed in supermarkets. They re so colourful so unblemished and so shiny that they look unnatural hence unappetizing. They re All coated with Wax which As you be experienced is almost impossible to remove according to an article by Deborah Franklin in the Magazine Hippocrates the waxes Are unusually mixtures of shellac paraffin Palm Oil coatings or synthetic resins the same ingredients used to polish floors and cars. After Harvest they re often sprayed on apples avocados Bell peppers cantaloupes cucumbers eggplants grapefruits Lamons. Limos. Melons oranges. Parsnips passion fruits peaches pineapples. Erma Bombeck the curious chopper Bysong Henzo rutabagas squashes tomatoes and turnips a Pound of coating covers about 160,000 pieces of produce adding a Sheen and reducing1 the food s moisture loss by 30 to 40  although the waxes Don t cause a health problem they Seal in fungicides which Are regularly applied to fruits and vegetables to Ward Oft disease before Harvest and to prevent rot during shipping and storage. One carefully washes fruits end vegetables but what Good does it do when it s covered with Wax at a Gateway supermarket i visited the following sign was pasted Over the cucumbers the Wax we use comes from Southern automatic inc. In Florida. It is approved by the Fra. Ii is made from Mineral Oil and petrolatum. We Are reducing the amount we use but As you know cakes and All tomatoes Are unloaded into tubs of water so you need the Wax to remove the water stains and preserve he fruit. Also it helps in packing As fruit slips into place with ease and less  like the search for the holy grail i have been seeking tha magic formula for the famous House of representatives bean soup. Tyls delicious twits tented at the cafeteria and seems to be a closely guarded secret can you help Kan Hanen Pine Knoll show . Phyllis Belz an assistant to rep. Douglas Bosco d Calif. Recently resumed from Atrip to Washington . And brought Back the recipe a Titch she says is printed figh on the cafeteria menu along with the following Story bean soup has been a featured item on the menu of the House of representatives restaurant since Long before that Day in 1904 when the then speaker o the House Joseph a Cannon of Illinois came into the House restaurant and ordered bean soup then As now bean soup was a Hearty Zesty and tilling dish but it was typical a hot and humid in Washington that Day and therefore bean soup had been omitted from the menu Thunder lion roared speaker Cannon i had my Mouth set for bean soup. From now on to of cold rain Snow or Shine i want it on the menu every Day and so it has been bean soup on the menu every single Day  adapted to family size Quantity Here is the recipe cover two pounds of no. 1 while Michigan Beans with cold water and soak overnight Drain and recover with water. Add a smoked Ham Hock and simmer slowly for about four hours until Beans Are cooked Lender. Then add Salt and Pepper to Lesle. Just before serving Bruise Beans with Large spoon or ladle. Serves about six persons. Before you get All choked up about electing a president who will have a Strong foreign policy implement new Domestic programs arid run a stable Economy listen to this. I read tha other Day that Washington retailers tend to favor a Dukakis administration because they fear Barbara Bush s style would take Washington Back to the Carter  i be heard of coalition and special interest groups dictating leadership but this is ridiculous. I expect a statement any Day now irom the Queen size pantyhose Alliance and the elastic Waistband lobbyists. I suppose it s Only a matter of weeks before Ted Koppel devotes an hour to the Dolman sleeve and its effect on Trade unions. Since when does what a first lady wears carry that much clout did Pat Nixon s respectable Republican cloth Coal really catch on did we Reserve judgment on be 16 the stars and stripes Eleanor Roosevelt until to had walked in her orthopaedic shoes seven years ago did american Wom Orr run right out and finance an Adolfo suit people have the strangest ideas about the Power of the people who live at t60q Pennsylvania ave. During president Reagan s first inauguration i was in Washington doing some stories for television. On tha Way to my hotel the Driver beamed and said thank god or the  Are you a Republican i asked. Nah but i m a Limo Driver and limousines Are Back Back where i asked. On the american scene. You re Gonna Start seeing everyone in  he d be shocked to know that Middle America has to either die or go to the prom to ride in a Limo. History is More egalitarian when it comes to first wednesday september 7,1988 ladies than the fashion Industry and retailers in this country. Take a walk sometime through the smithsonian s display in Washington of first ladies in their inaugural gowns. Notice anything Thara in t one forgotten woman " among them. They re Alt size 8 3, every single one of them. From Petite Louise Adams i be stuffed bigger turkeys at thanksgiving to Dolly Madison who is a Challenge to Satin. What can i Tell you the woman invented ice Cream it s a Rule at the smithsonian that every first lady is equal in the eyes of tourists. The museum not Only alters cellulite it alters history. So i say Vole your conscience in november. And Don t worry about whether or not a Jimiy likes coat dresses or Barbara adores pleated Skirls. We be get a country to run. La ism Emma Bombeck