Eating

You can grow tomatoes, peppers, cilantro and parsley in a single pot. Sure, it's a little crowded - but the stuff actually grows well with six hours a day of summer sun. When summer's gone, time to harvest and roast.

The summer garden's disappearing fast, so it's time for the next-best thing. Fresh frozen pesto. Brightens up the winter. Let's you re-live the summer, a meal at a time. Great return on investment: grow it for five months, eat it for twelve. For $5. Freeze now, smile later.

Big flavor bang for the buck. Twice the steak and half the price of a Taco Bell. Perfect example of Better is Cheaper. Deeply flavorful steak. Rich but light sauce. Light, bright lime-sauteed onions. For one dollar.

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.