Ways

Nothing better than a handful of fresh strawberries, with the possible exception of Strawberry Shortcake. You can make the shortcake biscuit dough in five minutes flat. Seven to ten minutes in a 450-degree oven and you've got a killer dessert for $1.

Nope, not a cooking technique or a recipe. The wolf is the wolf at the door. M.F.K. Fisher wrote How To Cook A Wolf at the tail end of the last Depression. The wolf was hunger. Or, more generally, scarcity. Or just anxiety about scarcity. Something that's very right now for a lot of people, don't you think?

I love wild salmon. I really love it grilled. But there was always this problem: when you flip a filet over on the side without skin, a lot of the salmon sticks to the grill. Wastes salmon. Looks ugly. Here's the solution.

With basil dressing. Wow, this was delicious. Luxurious in your mouth. When your fork hits the egg, the yolk runs into the basil and magically makes a rich but light and bright sauce for the asparagus. Ten minutes to prepare. $2.50 per serving.

Started life as a hamburger bun. Found its true calling in a pan. This light, bright zero-sugar-but-nice-and-sweet fruit glaze and puree is fantastic with the luxurious souffle-like toast. Less than a buck for a great little breakfast.

Get a really ripe banana. Ripe strawberries. So sweet you won't even think about adding sugar. A deeply sweet and wonderfully refreshing Way to end a meal on a hot day.