Eating

There's a meatless Friday tradition in France, in Provence: aioli monstre. The Grand Aioli. A monster feast of vegetables accompanied by huge bowls of aioli. Love the name. Love the idea. And now I love the meal.

Diet as in healthy diet, not calorie-deprivation. Ranks very high on my Pleasure-Per-Calorie chart. Delicious, even luscious. Not super-low calorie, but Way lower than a muffin at Starbucks or a donut at Dunkin'. It's lemon-olive oil cake topped with fresh fruit.

And a great reminder of the Top 2 Reasons you should always have fresh pizza dough in the fridge. Reason # 2: A great pizza crust is the perfect platform for thousands of delicious, healthy toppings. Reason # 1: You love pizza. And so does everybody you know and feed.

Light, airy brioche bread soaks up so much milk, egg and cheese that this French toast looks, feels and tastes like a cheese soufflé. Covered by sautéed shiitake mushrooms. Takes 20 minutes to make and it's foolproof.

A trip to the Farmers Market tells you it's still summer. Baskets full of great late summer greens for another week or two. Evening weather cool enough to crank up the stove to stir-fry them. 15 minutes start-to-finish. Nothing but slicing and stirring. You can and should.

To set aside a few fresh ears to dry. For that day a few months from now. It's cold. Or rainy. Or both. Time for a movie and a bowl of superior popcorn. Great flavor. Low calorie. Whole grain. Gluten-free. And free! From that ear you wisely set aside to dry.

The Better Cheaper Slower party of the summer. Why didn't I think of this before? Friendly helping hands to turn a half-bushel of low, low price Farmers Market basil into a winter's worth of pesto sauce for all. Your very own harvest festival.

A two-ingredient, ten-minute vegetable preparation that's mysteriously great. In a blind-tasting you probably wouldn't guess what it is. It's such a perfect flavor combination you'd think it was just one thing.

When there's not enough solar power to ripen late summer tomatoes, turn on the oven. A little extra heat to bring out the sweet. Make as much as you can refrigerate and freeze. To get you through a tomato-less fall and winter.

A Cheddar-Stuffed Baked Apple. Deep, satisfying sweetness from the apple. Earthy, slightly salty richness from the cheese. An amazingly healthy, total-satisfaction, zero-deprivation breakfast. Two minutes to prepare for baking. Fifteen minutes to jog it off.