Ways

It was 95 F. Felt like 105 with the humidity. It's cool not to cook. It's cool to take a chilled bowl of refreshing, slightly spicy soup out of the fridge. A 15-minute job, start to finish. No sweat. Just seasonally ripe, cheap vegetables in your blender.

Super creamy. Brilliant green. Lots of spinach. Zero cream. But all that fresh, raw, chopped spinach is slicked with a Bechamel sauce that's creamier than cream. All together, the most luxurious Way to eat your spinach.

If you don't know Paella, it's the great traditional rice dish of Spain. If you don't know the Three Sisters, well, let me tell you a short story. It's beautiful, aromatic, luscious, and deeply flavorful. And I'm pretty sure you'll like the photos.

Sure, it’s all relative. You put yourself in places that are mindblowingly huge and you’re bound to feel kinda small. Small in size. Small in time. I’ve been walking through some of the biggest examples of big. The oldest examples of old. Go take a walk someplace big this summer. For a refreshing perspective.

The exception that proves the rule. Free, fresh asparagus soup for lunch. Great hot. Even Better chilled. Better than Cheap: free. Here's how and why.