Eating

$1 for your half of this crisp-edged, soft-centered sweet corn polenta crust with bright, sharp-sweet spring leeks, briny olives and rich, gooey fresh mozzarella.

Strengthen your abdominals and all your core muscles. And your back and shoulders. Legs, too. All in a minute or two a day.

Two turnovers from two leftovers. Hot, flaky, luscious apple turnovers. From a little leftover pie crust dough and a few tablespoons of leftover apple-cinnamon puree. And less than five minutes of your time.

This year I'm celebrating with a Pepper Polenta Pizza. Sweet corn. Sweet and hot peppers. The indigenous ingredients of the Americas. 150 years after the first May 5 celebration, it's still just two dollars for a great meal.

Two all-day hike's worth of fruit leather for two serious hikers who care about what they eat on the trail. 12 cents per serving. A half-apple and its Vitamin C per serving. A snack that tastes exactly like the fruit, but more intense.

A perfect example of Better being Cheaper. A great pizza for less than $2.50! For the whole pizza. Not just a great $2 pizza. A great pizza, period. Soft, gooey, crisp, chewy. If you're not already making your own pizza, this should be the one that launches you into pizza space.

Mushroom-Olive-Shallot Pate. Deeply aromatic, intensely flavorful. Scramble it with eggs. Spread it on toast. Sauce your pasta with it. Top your pizza with it. Dip vegetables in it. Dress sandwiches with it. 12 cents for a tablespoon that goes a long Way.

The light and lemony dressing is great with the nutty and kinda rich, high-protein whole grain. And that's all terrific with the tart Spring rhubarb and sweet red grapes. The whole's made even Better by the slightly sharp Spring leeks.

Less than 50 cents per slice. For a light, intensely flavorful but not too sweet dessert. Pretty terrific for breakfast, too. Amazing how easily you can make this Better and Cheaper than you can buy it.