Eating

A huge, beautiful braided loaf of bread that's light but rich. Moist and slightly chewy. Golden and glossy. At least 30 big, thick slices. For $2.50.

In Spain, it goes on vegetables, meat, chicken and fish. It's a full-bandwidth sauce. A huge range of flavors spreading across your tongue. Deep flavors that make you pay attention and eat Slower. Mild or spicy. Your choice.

The world's best rice. With very fresh red and yellow late Summer sweet peppers. Stuffing for an orange pepper. You can make a great risotto in 30 minutes. Required kitchen skill: stirring. And not that much.

This caramelized eggplant & soffrito pizza is a perfect example of Better being Cheaper. Not just a great $2 pizza. A great pizza, period. Seasonal vegetables, 34 cents worth of pizza crust and a beautiful, colorful finish.

A luscious, transporting dessert for about $1 per serving. Rich flavor. Light texture. Like injecting fudge sauce with air bubbles. And cream. Unusually low calorie count.

Make a bowl of your own crisp, light, healthy ones for 20 cents. Or buy a bag of the commercial chips more responsible for long-term weight gain than any other food. Weight gain that leads to diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

Hard to say if it's better for breakfast or dessert. Depends if you want ice cream with it. Very intense lemon flavor makes it vibrant. Seasonal fresh pears give it a mellow sweetness. Olive oil keeps it moist, light and healthy. Ten minutes to prepare.

So satisfying and so easy. And cheap. The weather's cooling down and farmers everywhere are pulling their onions. Should be your first soup of the season. Luscious, deep and sweet onion flavor. NOT a calorie bomb.

Pickled Cucumber & Yogurt Soup. A very aromatic, very summery, very light but yogurt-rich soup. Five minutes of preparation. A great Way to use the late summer cucumbers. Like the two-pounder I just grew.

Dessert for a lazy, late summer cookout. A no-labor day dessert. As satisfying as a pie right out of the oven. Without making a pie. Hot. Sweet. Just slightly smoky. A little crumbly. Like a great pie once it's in your mouth. Where it counts.