A Low Budget Barbecue

 It's grilling season and that means barbecue and outdoors parties. There is a problemwith them. The rising cost of food. Can you have a decent and satisfying time outdoors.? With the right budgeting , yes.

Befire any barbecue you have to ask are there items that you can do without? Steak is one of them, with it coming in at $16  cut. Buy four of these and that's eighty dollars gone.even that money saver Costco, is selling a pack ofr four for a whopping $55, It's ridiculous.  Forget Wal-mart . Their ribeyes comes in at $23. Your only bet is sticking with hamburgers Acme is selling a pound of ground beef for $14.97  while wal-mart s brands are a few dollars cheaper. You can jazz up ground beef too  by adding butter or ground onions for a more flavorful bite. Are the already made burgers worth buying? Yes, if you don't have the time to make your. The best proice are the inhouse brands. Look to Acme's Signature which also has tasty turkey burgers and Stop and Shop's organic Nature's Promise one. Another idea is to go plant based. These are relatively cheaper than the real thing and they do taste like beef. Think about getting Beyond Meat's package of patties.

Keep in mind that turkey is also the way to go too.It's usually half the price of  red meat and is better for you healthwise. You could even served it on an opened faced bun with jarred gravy if you want to make them special.Is chicken a good buy for your barbecue?Most of the time chicken wings are the same price as red meat. Target does have the occassional sale with a pack of their Good & Gather wings selling for only $3.99. They're perfect if you are having a lot of people over or just love wings. What about chicken breasts? They're just as expensive as red meat.Acme is selling a pack for $17.45 for a three pound pack. Reserve these for a special occasion. If you really want togo cheap, then think of veggies. You can do a lot more with them than meat. Another plus about using veggies? Taking them from your garden for a fresh off the vine taste.Also leftover grilled ones can be put into salads the next day.You could even make them into a roasted version of ratatouille too.

You can have a bountiful barbecue without spending too much. Shop wisely. You'll wind up with an ourdoor meal that's both filling and tasty.

Ovenless Cooking

 warm weather means a warm house. Factor a hot stove into that and you have an unbearably hot and uncomofrtable kitchen. Yet thereare ways to still have a hot fresh meal, Use your air fryer, Insta-Pot or crockpot for cooked or baked meals and treats.

One of the best inventions ever for the kitchen is the air fryer. This is great during those hot steamy days. You don;'t have to light the grill or turn on the stove. Hamburgers and hot dogs can easily be cooked and crisped in this.They're still juicy but with an extra crunchiness that just makes them sing. Use your air fryer for seafood too. You can easily make fried shrimp or even lobster tails in it. This is perfect if you're dying for a summery treat. The air fryer is good for snacks like onion rings and French fries to go with those burgers and dogs. Some also have the room to bake. You can bake anything and everything from pancakes to brownies. You just need parchment papper cut to fit the size of the basket. Another plu is that the  air fryer is an easy clean up, I'ts just the basket that needs to be washed and dried. That's it. No pots or pans. No messy stove top or oven interior to wipe and clean.

Insta-Pots and crock pots are your friends during steamy days too. Everything is basically a "dump and go" , perfect for when you're too hot and tired to cook an elaborate meal. Family can enjoy a tasty baked mac without having to turn on the oven.It's also great for baking lasagna. This winter classic can easily be created during a heat wave.Both Insta-Pots and crockpots are good for simmering scatch soups too. If you're craving a homemade celery or spinach one make it in either ones of these. Freeze the leftovers if you want a quick hot lunch or light supper. Chili is another perfect dish for these cookers and you can use ingredients form your garden like tomatoes , peppers and onions as the summer harvest season progresses.Not surprisingly your Insta-Pot is a bonus for creating desserts too. A  chocolate lava cake is an easy bake in one. Even cheesecake, usually reserved for Christmas or New Year's can be a summery dessert thanks to a bake in one. Add some fresh picked blueberries or strawberries on top. Again  like with the air fryer, these are easy to clean. No hassle. No mess. No worries.

Let your oven rest during this warm days. Use your airfryer, Insta-Pot or crockpot to cook and bake. It' makes for an easier time and a cooler kitchen.

Mom's Breakfast Choices

 Tomorrow is Mother's Day and that means one thing - what's for breakfast? Will it be savory or sweet?A combo of both?Traditional or something new? It doesn't really matter as long as it's delicious.

Many kids (and husvands) go for the traditional route of waffles and pancakes.. new York Times regular contributor Yewande Komolafe gives us three from wednesday's food section. You could make mom Ms. Komolafe's decadent chocolate waffles served with a side of strawberries and whip cream or maybe her savory one filled with toasted seasame and scallions. This may be good topped with an egg sunnyside up and a side of Canadian bacon. Another route is trying her blueberry buckwheat ones . Then there 's those stacks of pancakes.You can easily fo for the easy Bisquick ones and add what you want. Ambitious little cooks and their dads may want to try making scratch ones.  These have baking powder and baking soda to make light ,airy ones, perfect with a large pat of butter and syrup. If you're into something fancier, think French toast. Make an extra rich by using brioche bread intead of the regular white or whole wheat. An easier breakfast is  croissants from your local bakery , with a small sampling of jams.

A savory breakfast route is just as doable. Omelets are easy and can be made to suit mom's tastes. Try a yummy spinach and mushroom loaded one or that classic Denver style omlet. This is one made with ham peppers and cheddar cheese. Scoop it up with buttered toast. Mom may like  something simple like a scrambled eggs or a sunnyside up one. These are perfect with just a side of crispy bacon. What you can do with that is borrow a page from another New York TImes Food section contributor,Melissa Clark. Dip the bacon strips in maple syrup and give them a light dusting of chili powder. It's a fun way to jazz up any egg dish. Another idea is creating a strata which satisfies the whole family. This is a casserole which sort of ressembles a giany savory bread pudding It's layers of sliced bread , followed by either sausage patties or ham. Any kind of cheese is added, form sharp, tangy cheddar to a smoky Gruyere.An egg  - milk or cream mix is poured over it and then its baked for half an hour. It's a great way for the family to sit down and enjoy a meal together before any Sunday activity.

Any kind of breakfast is the perfect one for mom. Go sweet or try savory. As long as it's made with love and care it's a gift mom will enjoy.

Hot Day Cool Cooking

 Right now it's in the mid eighties here in the New York City area. It's tough to cook , epsecially in a hot kitchen. what to do ? Combine leftovers with alreafy made ingredients for a tasty and simple meal.

This was my mantra today as I suffered through a steamy day. It was easy enough.I had leftover rice cooked in vegetable broth, along with a fajita mix of chopped onions and green, red, and yellow peppers. Stewed tomatoes and tomato sauce were added for more color and to give the mix a smooth texture.

 The veggies and sauce were cooked in a blend of Melt butter and olive oil saute,.I added a good amount of oregano and garlic powder for flavor along with salt and a hearty dose of black pepper for some heat

it was an easy cook. I added the rice after ten minutes of simmering . The mix only took

fifteen minutes at most to fully cook up. You should stir the rice so it fully absorbs the liquid.

I loved this! It was so flavorful and reminded me of the Cajun rice my Mom used to make from scratch. You can add chciekn, shrimp (which would have been great here) or cut up steak. Even though it was hot outside, and the kitchen itself was sweaty , this hot meal was perfect. I loved the melding of the flavors and how the rice soaked up that tasty sauce.

If it's hot then think a simple meal using leftovers and precut veggies. The end result is delicious. It's worth turning on the stove on a steamy day.

Are You Looking For A Pizza Pop Up

 It was going to happen eventually  - the pop up pizzeria. The planet's trendiest food center New York City is where it's happening .What's best about them is that these pizzas are variations on the traditional pies. They're innovative as they are tasty.

Long time restaurant critic Pete Wells wrote about them in yesterday's New YorkTimes Food section.Pop ups across Manhattan and its' boroughs are not that unusual. There are tacorias and ice cream parlors along with pop up bakeries and coffee shops. Pizzerias are not that common though, especially ones that have unusual and new toppings. How is this phenomenon happening? It's due to the ovens .There is the electric Breville Pizzailo, a  small, portable brick oven and several models by Ooni. The last can be powered by wood pellets, carcoal and gas and cost between and  $299 and $1,000 These were made for home use but are quickly becoming popular with chefs who have to be on a budget.Most commerical deck ovens cost many times as much). These devices have allowed a batch of self taught makers to storm a traditional , family owned business, The most traditional ones are owned by men. Now thanks to the new pop up trade , two of the most avidly followed are run by women.

 How are the pizzas? They range from the unuusal to the traditional. Natalie De Sabato is leading this craze with her company Traze, She sells grandma (ones with thick crusts) to bars, breweries and other spots throughout the city.Her best known pie has crumbled fava bean squirted with halal-cart white sauce.I'ts put into into a counter top electric oven that's smaller than a microwave and baked.Mr. Wells declared it the best pizza he's ever had.Augie Russo of Tiny Pizza Kitchen creates a variety of traditional and different. He is known for his Margherita pizza with his black bubbles, airy interior and crusty rim. Then there's his Betty White which changes topping with the season.One night it had gooseberries, pomegranate seeds ,spiced butternut squash and sauteed leeks.It's decorated with edible flowers and herbs.His Farewell To Figs is redolent with the fruit.His pizza is tiopped with fresh  ones along with a spicy fig jam from a small batch reserve in California.salame ribbons, salted raw onions, charred cherry tomaotes and fice kinds of cheese top it.

Pop pizzareias are becoming more and more popular. They're a great outlet for creative chefs looking to break free from the traditional mold. They'll be around for a while.

There's Bounty In Drought

 Can a lack of rain produce jush plants and a bounty of veggies. Surprisingly yes.With the right management an overly dry environment can mean abundance.

Regular contributor Brett Anderson wrote about this in today's New York Times Food section. Arizona is one such state. It has little water resources yet draws in thousands of new residents per year.The sta te is experiencing serious water problems. The Colorado River, Arizoba's main source of water is dangerously low. This does not bode well for the state's farms and home gardens. Climate change is already parching soil and depleting aquifers, bodies of permeable rocks that can contain or  transmit water. This is bad fo the states' farm that provide lettuce and even hay , the last being sold to Saudi Arabia.Luckily there are solutions to combat this. Everyone from home gardeners to the larger farms are embracing old techniques and recycling in order to stay alive. There is even a gardening movement in PHoenix that is keeping city backyards verdant. Thanks to a company called Urban Far, Phoenix homeowners can learn to carefully  lay out their greenery , Vines cools off fruit and veggies, drip tapes als work as irrigators.

It's not just homeowners that are benefitting, Farms are too,. A primary goal of them is to restore land that has been damaged by synthetic fertilizers and neglect.There is a lot of composting which keeps food waste from rotting in land fills. NIna Sajover, a Slovenian immigrant atarted the Ajo Center in Sustainabie Agriculture on the Ajo reservation.She looks to the indigenous people of the area who have been growing crops in bad conditions for centuriesThey use dry farming techniques which relies on residual water to irrigate the crops instad of artificial means.It has proven successful with a variety of fruits adapting.Even cacti is growing well and is also being used in recipes. This will probably be the default way of farming for not only Arizona but parts of California, Texas <Nevada and Nw Mexico. Doing such means bossting up those states' economies.

Will this type of farming help in the future? It should. This is what Arizona's agri economy  will look like as climate change becomes more dire.

Eating For Summer

 Now that it's May it's time to start thinking of summer and bathing suits. It's also the time to start eating right to fit into last year's shorts and bathing suits.A few dietary changes can be a big help.

What to eat for a healthier diet? Protein and greens. fire up the grill for some grilled chicken and turkey breast. These are perfect for a simple dinner complete with any kind of veggie and maybe a scoop of herbed rice.Salmon is another great protein that can make up a light supper or even lunch. Grill with a sprinkle of lemon along with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. You could add soy if you want or Italian seasoning for something different.mA Sunday dinner or grilled veggies is a nice change up from the usual roast and gravy. what's good about the leftover meats and veggies is that they can easily be added to mixed greens the next day for a filling lunch or even for a second dinner.If you're tired of all those barbecue then think chili. This classic can actually help in losing weight.The ingredients can help to reduce sugar and fat cravings!!It's also filled with fiber and protein which keeps you satiated and not in need of snacks or a heavy desssert afterwards.

What about those snacks and drinks? Everyone spent the winter gobbling all sorts of goodies and drink lush cappuccinos and lattes.it's time to snack light. A good change over is popcorn.it's not only low calorie but rich in much needed fiber. YOur best bet is getting a micorwave corn popper like Colonel Popper and buying the kernals. This gives you a an eight calorie bowl of snacking. Pop ir in olive oil for a better flavor and to add more nutrients. If you want it flavored then sprinkle on Kernel Seasons' flavorings. They have every flavor from kettle corn to butter and nacho cheese. Pretzels are another low calorie snack that are filling and can be taken everywhere. A bag of them in your office desk is a greatway to combat those afternoon munchies. Fruit is another good sanck. It provides the sweetness of a cookie or cupcake without all those sugar and fat. If you want something a bit more special then add a drizzle of chocolate syrup on top.

It's time to eat light. Switch over to low calorie ingredients and snacks. You'll feel better by eating lighter and less.