we're back now with more of "today" on a tuesday morning. it's the 20th day of march, 2012. i mean, it doesn't get much prettier than that. look at the beautiful images coming out of our nation's capital, washington, d.c. as the 100th cherry blossom festival is under way. you want to just sit and take it in. warmer than normal temperatures really making things burst. by the way we've got a lot of things blooming up here in new york, as well. the daffodils are out. and it's a nice day on rockefeller plaza, as well. i'm matt lauer along with ann curry. mr. roker and savannah guthrie joining us, as well. >> that's right. coming up in this half hour we'll be talking about some very basic age-old questions.

why do onions make you cry, matt? >> i have no idea. >> right. so what causes that pins and needles feeling you get in your feet and your fingers? al? what are goose bumps? we're going to get down to that. >> savannah wants to know if you are going to deal with the asparagus thing? >> i think we'll draw the line right there. i think we should deal with this. because it causes a lot of people alarm. we're frying to give you the answers, maybe not all the answers you're curious about. that's coming up. >> and we're going to tackle your diet dilemmas. we have one right here. including the truth about the calories in your sushi. and is the white bread you find at a bakery better than the processed ones you buy at the store? >> and we're also going to have some makeup tips for women over 40. it only just takes a couple of tweaks to your routine to lighten and brighten your look. we'll talk to bobbi brown who will be here with that. >> natalie is standing by at the

news desk with a look at all the headlines. good morning again. >> good morning once again. good morning, everyone. the fbi and justice department are now getting involved looking into the deadly shooting of an unarmed teen in his gated community in florida. nbc's lilia luciano is in sanford, florida, with the latest. good morning. >> good morning to you, natalie. late last night the department of justice announced that their civil rights division and the fbi are opening a thorough and independent investigation into the death of trayvon martin that's sure to be welcome news to many in this community and across the nation. >> arrest zimmerman thank you. >> reporter: law students from across florida demanded justice outside the prosecutor's office. >> we want an arrest now. we won't wait. >> reporter: they want george zimmerman arrested for the deadly shooting of 17-year-old trayvon martin as the teen walked through this gated community near orlando three eks ago. zimmerman a neighborhood watch volunteer called 911, reporting

quote, a suspicious looking guy. >> this guy looks like he's up to no good or on drugs or something. he's got his hand in his waistband. and he's a black male. >> are you following him? >> yeah. >> okay, we don't need you to do that. >> reporter: the two soon got into an altercation. gunshots heard, and a neighbor called 911. >> do you think he's yelling help? >> yes. >> all right what is your -- number? >> there's gunshots. >> reporter: martin was unarmed but zimmerman told police he fired in self-defense. martin's father told msnbc's reverend al sharpton that his son was targeted for his race. >> the police department is trying to make george zimmerman out to be the victim and the victim is clear, trayvon martin, who is dead in the grave. >> reporter: zimmerman's friends and former watch volunteer frank coffee says martin may have been profiled but zimmerman is neither trigger happy nor a racist.

>> we've got eight burglaries in the majority of the cases, the perpetrators were young, black males. so based on that, there was a heightened sense of paranoia in our community. >> reporter: but chafee admits zimmerman may have gone too far. >> he did go above and beyond with the use of deadly force. i myself probably would just carry pepper spray or a taser. >> reporter: police have now released more calls from zimmerman revealing he had a history of reporting suspicious neighborhood activity. >> there was a break-in in my neighborhood recently. and two youths that match the description of the people, they're back in the neighborhood. >> are they white, black, or hispanic? >> two black males in their late teens. >> reporter: the department of justice says in addition to the civil rights investigation, they are sending their community relations service to sanford to try and relieve tensions among this community. george zimmerman did not respond to requests for comments from

nbc news. natalie? >> all right, lilia luciano in san ford, florida, thank you. voters in illinois head to the polls today, as mitt romney is looking to widen his lead over rick santorum in the republican presidential race. santorum has chosen to spend his day voting -- voting in gettysburg pennsylvania as he looks ahead to the primary there in the senate he represented as senator. army staff sergeant robert bales remembers very little about the night he's accused of killing 16 afghan civilians. this is according to his lawyer. bales is expected to be formally charged this week. meantime, there's a new revelation bales owes $1.5 million from a 2003 court ruling that found him guilty of securities fraud back when he was a trader before joining the service. we are learning more about the gunman who shot and killed three children and a rabbi monday at a jewish school in toulouse, france. france's interior minister says the suspect may have been wearing a video camera around his neck, possibly recording the shooting, and says investigators

are looking for any such postings online. meantime, france has heightened its terror alert level, and security is being stepped up at synagogues and other sites across new york. secretary of state hillary clinton is reopening a 75-year-old mystery by helping launch a new search for missing american aviator amelia earhart. clinton meets today with historians and scientists who will resume the search for earhart's plane off a remote pacific island. the search is privately funded. earhart vanished with her navigator on july 2nd, 1937 over the south pacific. it is now six minutes past the hour. let's go up to al for a check of your weather. >> all right. thank you very much, natalie. and we've got some rough weather to talk about down to the south. we've got a very intense upper level low pressure system. a big upper level high. the jet stream way up to the north. that's allowing a lot of gulf moisture and a lot of warm our. the collision zone, with those two air masses meet, causing big problems. we have flood warnings, flash flood watches and flood watches from san antonio as far east as

new orleans, as far north as kansas city. look at the rain now starting to stream in. this is an extremely slow-moving system so it's going to dump tons and tons of moisture over this area. as you can see from houston to new orleans, up through into central arkansas, anywhere from 3 to 5 inches of rain. some areas may pick up up to 8 >> good morning.n the next 48 it will be a warm day today. some fog to start. maybe some hit and miss rain showers.

this morning on joy's diet s.o.s., here to discuss everything from the best vegetarian foods to the skinny on white bread, today's nutritionist joy bauer. >> hey, al. >> we're going to skype nancy in collegeville, pennsylvania, joining us. good morning, nancy. what's your question? >> good morning. i have a daughter with crohn's disease, and as a result of the inflammation she's prone to bowel obstructions. so she's limited on the foods she can digest such as fruit and vegetables. any idea how to incorporate these foods into her diet? >> so nancy, produce tends to be easier to digest when it's either cooked, pureed, juiced or peeled, if that's aplikal. so i suggest that you first start with small portions of the low fiber cooked vegetables, carrots, mushrooms, green beans, asparagus. even potatoes, mashed or baked, sweet or white potatoes. make sure you remove the fiber rich skin. you can also try canned peeled fruits, pears and peaches and also natural applesauce because they heat that during processing

so it's going to break down the fiber and make it gentler on her system. whip up a big batch of pureed soup, carrot ginger or butter nut squash and also invest in a juicer. because when you juice your produce you're going to remove a lot of that harsh fiber components, and you're going to maintain a lot of the beneficial nutrients. experiment around. and also overly ripe ban mas and avocados tend to be well tolerated during flare-ups. i hope she feels better. >> thank you. >> now doris in dallas, texas, she's joining us on the phone with her question. good morning, doris. >> hey joy. >> hey. >> for ians you've been telling us to say away from processed grains. but i was wondering if the artisan bakeries in my area and not the national chain bakeries in the big box bakers, but the real artisan ones, if those are a better alternative or we should stay away from those as well. >> oh, doris you're going to hate me the way -- you know what it is? all white bread whether it's the

smushy white sandwich bread in the grocery store or the crusty bread is made with refined white flour. the whole grain flour that's stripped of all the good stuff. ask your local bakery if they have any whole grain varieties. maybe request that they master a few loefshs. i'm betting that they'll probably do that and your neighbors will enjoy it, as well. sorry, doris. >> we've got to go to your e-mail. this one from washington, d.c. she writes not a vegetarian but i don't cook or eat meat at home to help me stay healthy. i've noticed a lot of quick, healthy options are loaded with sodium. are they truly healthy? >> she's exactly right. because a lot of these vegetarian options are loaded with sodium. so when it comes to vegetarian burgers, you want to look for brands that have less than 400 milligrams of sodium per burger and that incorporate whole soy versus soy protein? whole soy seems to be the healthier way to go. and check out

meatlessmonday.com. they've got fabulous vegetarian recipes and meal ideas and you can master the real vegetarian superstars, lentils, nuts, seeds, tofu, soy, and you don't have to rely on the frozen foods night after night. >> and cheaper probably. >> yes, absolutely. >> one more viewer e-mail from hackensack, new jersey. how many calories are there in a six-piece california roll? >> 210 calories in a california roll. that's rice, autograph caught dough, crab and cucumber. so it's fabulous. japanese feast for under 600 calories. one to two orders of california roll, some miso soup and edamame. >> and if you request brown rice? >> if you can get brown rice that is a huge bone oubs. >> joy bauer, good to see you. >> thanks, al. >> still ahead, why do you get goose bumps? sitting next to joy bauer. and why do our joints always crack. we've got the answers. plus makeup secrets for women over 40 to brighten your face and look years younger. ♪

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today's daily dose is brought to you by money nut cheerios. be happy, be healthy. this morning on "today's daily dose" your body quirks explained. ever wonder what causes that annoying eyelid twitch or why you get goose bumps? here with the answers is a preventive health physician and contributing editor at prevention magazine. dr. battia, good morning. >> good morning. >> things that make you go hmm. i think something everyone experiences at some point or other is when you have that annoying eye twitching. like that weird thing that your eyes do. >> exactly. so at prevention we get asked about these odd body symptoms all the time. eyelid twitching is a bit of a puzzle. here's what we know. it's called myochemia. it usually takes place in the lower third of the eyelid rather than the upper and it's usually caused by fatigue, stress, too

much alcohol, too much caffeine, eye strain, bad nutrition. >> uh-huh. >> the good news is that it does go away, skip the alcohol, cut down on the caffeine, get some extra rest and your eyelid twitches should go away. but if they're lasting for more than a week then you do need to call your doctor. >> okay. good to know. next thing, and this is one i always wonder about is for those of us who hate to chop onions because we end up tearing and tearing. what is the connection? >> so i've heard every old wive's tale about cutting onions, hold your breath, don't look at the onion. when you cut an onion, there's certain enzymes that are released. they produce a goes call sulfuric acid up to the eyes and it causes tears. if we stick it in the freezer, five to ten minutes before cutting it, presto no tears. another tear stopper is to cut the bottom part of the onion last because apparently most of those endeems are concentrated in the bottom half of the onion.

>> who knew. wow, brilliant to know. okay next for those of us who like to crack our knuckles every now and again, i think they make that popping noise, does it really offer any relief? i mean you've heard with your back, your neck joints. >> cracking your joints always bought you bragging rights at school. there is a reason that joints crack. usually any time you have a joint with two bones like knuckles or shoulders you've got a fluid sitting between those joints called synovial fluid. when you stretch that joint you release nitrogen the joint pops, that's the pop or the crack you're hearing. so there is temporary relief. but did you know you can't pop a joint more than every 15 minutes because it takes -- there's a limit for that nitrogen to be reabsorbed. so there is that little trick there, as well. your joint crackers won't get arthritis like maybe your mom or your teacher might have told you. but they do get decreased grip strength. it's usually a better idea to focus on your breath or breathwork rather than cracking your joints. >> okay, good to know i will

skip the nuclearing cracking. i think a lot of people husbands and wives battle it out when it comes to thermostat control. in my household i'm always cold. what's going on with your bodies? >> we have this battle all the time, there are a couple of main reasons to be cold. anemia is a big one. especially iron deficiency anemia is the most common. poor circulation is another common reason to be cold. and thyroid imbalance, usually hypothyroid is a reason to be cold. quick trick to maybe solve that and cut down on the fights and arguments. first up your iron-rich foods like red meats and green leafy vegetables. broccoli, kale, cauliflower and also beef because that will up your iron content. stay away from nicotine because it will affect your circulation. and make sure you get your thyroid checked. >> and finally goose bumps. when get them when we're cold, during emotional situations or even when we're scared. why is it that this reaction comes with all of these different things that we're feeling? >> so goose pumps happen, and by the way i had them before i came

on here, goose bumps happen -- >> it's cold up here. >> there's actually a reason. goose pumps are a hand me down from evolution. we're sort of hard wired to have a fight or flight response. so when we feel threatened or are in a new situation of any kind we will have goose bumps, which is constriction of the hair follicle. sometimes it's not only goose bumps but you'll have sweaty palms, racing heart, butterflies in your tummy or you may be trembley. >> dr. battia, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> and still ahead in "today's kitchen" a light and tasty dish in honor of the first day of spring. i remember the day my doctor told me i have an irregular heartbeat, and that it put me at 5-times greater risk of a stroke. i was worried. i worried about my wife, and my family. bill has the most common type of atrial fibrillation, or afib. it's not caused by a heart valve problem. he was taking warfarin, but i've put him on pradaxa instead. in a clinical trial, pradaxa 150 mgs reduced stroke risk 35%

more than warfarin without the need for regular blood tests. i sure was glad to hear that. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding, and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition like stomach ulcers, or take aspirin, nsaids, or bloodthinners, or if you have kidney problems, especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all medicines you take, any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctor's approval, as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. pradaxa is progress. if you have afib not caused by a heart valve problem, ask your doctor if you can reduce your risk of stroke with pradaxa. and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. [ woman ] lower cholesterol. [ man 2 ] yummy.

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to emily joyce who is the latest contestant to have the scales tip against her on "the biggest loser." good morning, you look fabulous. >> thank you. >> you started at the ranch at 294 -- >> 264. >> okay, good. and then you really dropped. tell us what you lost on the ranch and what you've lost since. >> when i went home i lost about, i think i was at 70 pounds, 74 pounds and now i've lost 90. >> that's terrific. >> going strong. >> good for you. >> you said on the ranch it really helped you get your life back. how so? >> for sure. i mean, i was kind of a little bit negative before i went to the ranch, and got -- i was hard on myself. but now, you know, i cut myself slack and i'm more kind to myself. i just take care of my body. >> you're working out something like six hours a day, right? >> yeah. >> you're really going for that at-home prize. >> i sure am. that's what you've got to do. >> what's your favorite way to work out? >> i love to box. that's one of my new things. of course weightlifting is my most favorite thing. but right now i'm boxing and running and swimming. >> and did i hear right you put

on your facebook page a picture of the dress you want to wear if you win the at-home prize? >> oh, yeah, yeah, there's a really pretty dress i want to wear. >> is there a goal weight you're shooting for? >> i do have a goal weight but i'm leaving that for a little surprise for the finale. >> do you think your chances of the at-home prize are pretty good? >> yeah, i think they're really good. i'm working really hard. it's all about that positive outlook. >> you talked a lot about how you've increased in confidence. has it changed the way you relate to others and your friends and family, as well? >> yeah, yeah the more positive i am it makes everybody else more comfortable with me. i'm a jokester. that's what bob and i talked a lot about on the ranch. i just need to be more positive. it makes everybody happier. >> well good luck with the at-home prize. we'll be rooting for you all. >> emily, thank you so much. i wish to remind everybody they can catch "the biggest loser" tonight at 8:00, 7:00 central right here on nbc. just ahead how you can look younger just by changing up your makeup routine. bobbi brown is here with some tricks of the trade.

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>> live, local, latebreaking. this is a wbal-tv 11 news update. >> we have east winds setting up here, and that means the clouds will stick around for awhile. we will keep a 30% chance for a rain shower in the forecast. high temperatures between 70 and 75. same story tomorrow.

what are we going to do? >> down. down. >> tell him again. >> down. >> good boy. >> good boy. >> let daddy get your cord undone. >> that is 3-year-old alita and her furry friend mr. gibbs who is giving alita the chance to do all the things that little girls her age like to do. that's because mr. gibbs carries alita's life-saving oxygen tank. we're going to meet both of them tomorrow on "today." a very special, special story. that is really sweet. just ahead this morning we've got tips for women who want to look younger. >> that's right. you know you don't have to have that costly cosmetic surgery. all you need is some good cosmetics. bobbi brown is here with quick tips to give you an instant

face-lift. who needs botox when you've got bobbi? >> plus it's officially spring and coming up we're going to learn some recipes that pair the season's best vegetables with seafood staples. yummy. >> and we have -- and in fact, speaking of one of my favorites, harlem koben, one of the greatest mystery writers alive today who is in our studio. >> thanks, al. >> where's the new -- >> where are the ads? >> all right. we're going to chat about his new thriller about a suburban mom haunted by her past life as an exotic dancer and a murder. ooh. or is it. >> but first, off to our last -- >> very good. i'm having my neck done by bobbi brown. for the segment. thanks, bobbi, great. >> you are a star of the new --

>> jeffrey tambor, as you all know one of the stars of the new nbc show "bent." >> that's right on channel 4. my mother always used to say -- i said mom i got a pilot. she said what channel. i said 4. she goes, good, because we don't get 2 very well here. >> tell us about your part in this. >> it's a great amanda peet and david walton and i play david walton's dad who is an out-of-work actor. and also he plays piano at macy's by day. >> it's kind of a lady's man, right? >> yes, in the script it said, there's this wonderful script by the genius tad quill, he said, walt enters movie star handsome 50s. >> it was written for you. >> absolutely. >> movie star handsome. >> go ahead. >> i was going to say. you've done so many great shows. the larry sanders show. arrested development. got a lot of people talking

about arrested development. the movie, is that going to happen? >> apparently we're going to do 9 to 10 on netflix then as a prequel to the movie. >> right. >> why is that funny? that's nothing fn funny about what i just said. >> the way you say it. >> oh. >> and i need to work because i have five kids. >> including 2-year-old twins. >> yes. we have one more kid we're going to officially go on tour with the sound of music. >> well you're well on your way. >> and what else? >> i think that's it. >> we're out of time? >> oh, really? >> you could stick around. >> bobbi, i'll be right there. just put it in some alcohol. >> jeffrey tambor. >> thursday. >> channel 4. >> don't forget. >> that's a different channel. >> check out the premiere of "bent" on channel 4, nbc, starting at 9:00, 8:00 central time. >> i'm really good in it. >> all right.

how about a check of the weather? >> that's what's going on. >> good morning. a mixture of sun and clouds. about a 30% chance for a shower or thundershower. >> and that's your latest weather. >> all right. thank you, al. coming up next, looking younger without cosmetic surgery. bobbi brown shares her makeup secrets right after this. i'm here with carol, flo, and karen for a girls night out talking about activia. i tried it and my body felt so right, for a change. and then there's you... why should i try it?

my system gets out of sorts but that comes with age, right? wouldn't you like to feel great? just because we're in that over 50... what does that mean? are we done? activia helps regulate your digestive system when eaten daily. these could be our best years yet. activia battle speech right? may i? capital one is issuing a venture double miles challenge. show us how much you spent last year and we'll give you 2 miles for every dollar spent on your travel reward card. up to 100,000 miles! hawaii, here we come. claim your miles at capitalone.com today! what's in your wallet? can you play games on that?

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brighten your look is makeup maven bobbi brown. good morning. >> good morning. >> so a lot of folks think once you get older you have to wear more makeup to look younger. what are common mistakes folks make? >> first of all it's not about looking younger it's about looking better. >> i like that. >> don't forget how you eat and take care of yourself is so much as important as the concealer. but it is really important. >> what do you think is the first area that kind of starts to go as we age? >> well, i think that skin, it's about evening out your skin tone and also about concealer corrector. i always say that. >> we have our model suzannah. she's already got the basic makeup on. >> to the we realize we're 100. i'm not telling you who is who. >> you don't look a day over 40. >> let's talk about the first thing >> which is plump. i do that with a really rich moisturizer. women forget that you get dry and you need a nice plumbing moisturizer. that's first. second, correct and conceal. which we did already. because we only have four minutes. >> yes. >> and then next, you want to

pop. >> wait, before weish- >> we lose color in our faces. >> but tell us about concealer before we get to show them the pop because i think a lot of us don't know how to use it. >> you need a concealer that's one shade lighter than your complexion. we've already applied it on susannah so when we show the before and after you'll see it. but it's got to be one that's not white. it's got to be yellow in tone. and sot blends into your skin tone. >> you use a mix like this? >> i do. i do. we could do two hours on this. but first it's like a pinky one that is a corrector and then a concealer is a little bit of yellow and that gets layered and it's huge, huge difference. >> okay. now to pop. >> to pop, now cream blush is a perfect thing as we get older. and i like to use color, because what happens is you get a little bit washed out. >> yeah. >> and you don't need a lot. and it goes on the apple of the cheek. you could use a powder blush, also. but there's something nice as we get older about having a little bit of glow. >> and is it the cream blush that gives more of that glow as opposed to the matte look? >> definitely.

isn't she beautiful? you can always use a product like this on the lip. and i'm not using beige. like a lot of women as they get older might put a beige lipstick on and wonder why they look washed out. color. >> next is to define our look we use eye liner. >> definitely we use eye liner on susannah and a little bit of shading on the lid is important, especially those of us that have a little more deep-set eyes. so susannah doesn't need it as much. so i also wanted to show you we did one eyebrow. this is defined. so doing your brows is huge. and what i'm using is a slanted hard brush and a powder and it gets applied at the inside of the eyebrow. and many of us lose definition in the eyebrows. and you just want to give a nice little arch. by giving yourself the arch you're also opening up your eyes. >> are you trying to match your hair color? >> you are absolutely trying to match your hair color. because a lot of women will do

one that's too dark and they'll also do one that is too red. and i'll just show you the big difference. tah-dah. looks beautiful. look at how pretty she looks. >> i know but she started pretty. okay our final finishing touch is a pop of gloss? >> a pop of gloss. gloss is great because it just kind of gives you a really nice -- a nice lift and a nice shine, and it makes your lips fuller. and many of us as we get older, your lips are not as full as they were. so a nice little bit of shine. >> the dewey look. we have a before picture of you susannah. let's show it again. she started out gorgeous. >> she starts out pretty but, you know. >> now let's see our after, final. >> tah-dah! >> it's about natural. >> every woman wants to look natural and you want to look like your best self. and you both do, actually. >> oh, thank you. >> bobbi brown, thank you susannah for being our model. up next, best-selling author

harlan coben fills us in on his latest thriller. who's the man? i'm the man! [ molly ] wash your paws, mr. man! [ female announcer ] think your kids are getting a dependable clean -in the bathroom? -[ gasps ] [ female announcer ] think again. try charmin ultra strong. for a clean that passes inspection with fewer pieces left behind. its diamondweave texture is soft and more durable versus the ultra rippled brand so it holds up better for a more dependable clean. fewer pieces left behind. now who's the man? you both are. [ female announcer ] we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin ultra strong?

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for improved texture and elasticity in 2 weeks. reveal healthy, supple skin. aveeno skin strengthening. it appears to be the perfect life. a suburban soccer mom living the american dream. but instead she's living a perfect lie with a secret past she can't escape. that's the premise of "stay close" the latest thriller from best-selling author harlan coben. good to see you. >> always great to see you. >> so in reading this book it's kind of almost like the opening line for a joke, a cop, an

ex-exotic dancer and a photographer walk into a bar. >> yeah. >> this thing is fascinating in that it's -- it's about the lives we -- we try to lead. >> right. >> and -- and maybe tried to paper over but something always comes out. >> it's a little darker. 17 years ago, three lives that are completely altered. and attempt at redemption. also our lives so many of those moments when if we had gone this way instead of that everything in our life would be changed. what if we could go back for awhile. >> you live in the suburbs. and a lot of yours in stris are set there. >> yes. >> what is it about the suburbs that you like as a setting for your mysteries? >> i think the battle ground of the american dream. the place we all go and we want to do right, get married, have two kids, have a car and the picket fences. but when these dreams come true sometimes they also can wither and die. >> in fact your heroine -- >> megan. >> she's got a couple of names.

>> that's right. i'm glad you read the books, by the way. >> it's a terrific book. not a lot of hard work. the fact is she -- she ventures back to atlantic city. >> yeah. >> and her past. and in reading this there's also a decent amount of history. >> yeah. >> you imparted there. >> first of all it was fun to explore atlantic city. that's kind of what i wanted to do. here's a person who achieved the american dream but she's still feeling a little restless. a little distracted and misses that old life that was supposedly so horrible. that kind of excitement. but all these people coming back to this horrible incident that happened 17 years ago and finally getting the answers. >> and yet there's some dark humor in there. you've got a pair of hired killers. >> yeah. >> called ken and barbie. >> kind of like if you can imagine up with people halftime shows we used to watch. imagine those two kind of psycho killers and kind of just thrown in to have a little fun and also -- because that's more fun to scare you with that than some guy with a star and a big knife. she scares you by just talking

normally. that's kind of fun thing to accomplish. >> you know, you said it's a little darker. the stories are a little darker than some of your past books. but not -- is it hard -- or walking that line because i read some mysteries and they just scare the bejesus out of you. >> i don't really like that. >> they're so gruesome. >> i never have really on-screen violence or on-screen sex or that sort of thing. >> you mean your characters. >> yeah. well -- both. but i'm always trying to find new ways to grip you. my job is to have you start, stay close, tonight at 10:00, and then figure i'll read a half hour and it's 4:00 in the morning, you're bleary eyed and you couldn't put it down. i wanted this one to move you a little bit. >> and a lot of times, we've always been asking you about the movies, about the books being made into movies. you've got some news about that. >> ben affleck is signed on to direct a remake of -- >> which has great critical acclaim. >> a wonderful film. and lawrence kasdan the great

screen writer and director of empire strikes back, indiana jones and are working on stay close right now. >> i see a weatherman cameo. >> yeah, no. i was thinking, maybe the soccer mom with a wig. i don't know. >> there you go. >> there you go. >> either way. either way. one is a little more disturbing than the other. harlan coben, terrific, terrific book. one of your best so far. >> oh, thank you. appreciate it. >> you can read an excerpt of "stay close" on our website, today.com. up next how to add a taste of spring in your kitchen on this first day of spring.

this morning on "today's kitchen," what's on the menu? we're celebrating spring with seasonal veggies and a seafood favorite. adam is the chef and owner of

cafe adam in great barrington, massachusetts or in other words al's favorite hangout. good to have you here. >> thank you. >> al loves your place, talks about it all the same. >> yeah, we're seeing more and more of him. >> and spring is on the menu right now. >> it is. first day of spring. we're starting with these great scallops. these are dry packed scallops, new bedford, massachusetts, and what dry pack means is that there's no preservatives in them. they're all natural. >> mm-hmm. right. >> so you want to really look for that when you're buying scallops. >> so you season them up a little bit? >> put a little white pepper on these. >> okay. >> and a little bit of salt. and we have a nice, hot, cast-iron pan here. >> right. >> you're going to sear them. >> right. and we can put them. >> scallops cook very quickly, right? >> they do. especially this size. the smaller they are the faster they're going to cook. just want to make sure you get them in the pan here and you your oil is hot enough, sew the smoke coming up.

>> right. you get that nice, crispy golden bottom. >> you want to leave them be. don't fiddle around with them. they're going to naturally caramelize, a lot of natural sugar in those scallops. >> how long does it take before they really cook through? >> you know, cook through you're talking, this size scallop, four to five minutes. a lot of people like them -- >> i prefer them medium. you want a little in the middle but some people do prefer them cooked all the way. >> okay. >> what we have here is, i'm going to deglaze this pan with some butter. >> turn this back on. >> crank that back up and we're going to make our sauce here. this takes a little bit of butter and wine. >> is that regular white wine? >> this is a sauvignon blanc. you can use any kind of white wine, chardonnay, rise link. >> perfect. >> and just kind of move this around a little bit. >> let that reduce a little. >> you see it's starting to change lore. you get a nice golden -- >> that smell is amazing. >> picking up the bits of

sediment off the pan. you don't waste anything when you deglaze like this. >> can i flip these here? >> those are perfect. nice golden brown you want on those. >> okay. >> ooh getting splashed. meanwhile you've got some veggies of the season, as well, right? >> yep. this is the spring part of this dish. here we have some baby spinach. some peas. depending on where you are in the country you're going to see some things coming out earlier. up in the northeast here, you know, this stuff is not quite out yet. even though the weather is beautiful. >> could you use frozen? >> yeah, i mean you could substitute some frozen. you're always going to find baby spinach. peas, we use a lot of local ingredients at the restaurant. and some of these things are availab available grown in greenhouses which is nice. then we're going to finish this off with pea tendrils. these are a specialty ingredient. this is the most tender part of the pea vine if you will. >> you get all of your stuff locally from the berkshires,

right? >> yes, we're blessed to have many farmers there who are active. >> we've got some guests behind us. you may know that man there, right? we've got parsnip puree. >> and this is parsnip puree. which is cream, garlic, parsnips, cooked down, a little bit of water. vegetarian. no chicken stock in there. >> shall we show how it's served up back here? because we also have a great salad. >> you've got a nice salad. >> going to go through -- >> okay. >> we've got it on our website. we've got a great salad recipe at today.com. thank you so much. >> kirk cameron stops by after your local news and weather.

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