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Aug 30

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Keep on grillin’

I grew up in a seaside resort where grilling was a part of the summer lifestyle long before it became a national or gourmet passion. There were homes built with masonry barbecues in the backyard dating to the 1920s. Summer is the backbone of the town’s economy and a major portion of the year is spent planning for it. The anticipation builds from Easter to the official start, Memorial Day. By comparison, labor Day, no matter how often you’ve lived through it, is always a shock, The day after is surreal. Gone are the visitors, the guards from the beach and the boats from the bay, but more importantly gone is the atmosphere of the season. Everything seems quieter, and if you close your eyes, even the air smells different. The tang of suntan lotion is missing, but so is the aroma of charcoal. The grills are covered for the winter, because the days are shorter, school has started, scheduling has become important and there isn’t time to fire up the coals and wait for dinner to cook. The introduction of gas grills didn’t change attitudes much either and not just in resort towns.. They heated faster but were more difficult to clean and still uncomfortable to use in cold weather. Grilling remained a warm weather, outdoor thing. Read more

Aug 23

Bargain or Discount Markets

After my discussions, over the past weeks, of different shopping venues, I have been asked, personally and by email, about “Discount” or” Value” markets and with good reason. At least two chains of these markets are raising their image, through flyers, which arrive with those of regular supermarkets in the weekly mailings and/or through T.V. ads.  I confess I had very little general knowledge about this type of store, so I turned for information, where else, but to the internet.  The first thing I learned is that though there may be many local independent  markets, the listed regional, national and international chains are limited in number, and seem to have originated or to concentrate operations in the U.S. on the East Coast. Read more

Aug 16

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Salad Days

No matter where you live, or what produce is available in your markets year round, nothing tastes so good as local fresh fruits and vegetables, and the best time to enjoy this bounty is the middle of summer, the height of the growing season. Everything seems to ripen at once, and the perfect way to enjoy it all is to make salads combining several ingredients.  These cold salads are the ideal solutions to dinner planning on hot summer days. The neatest thing about salads is that they’re so open to adaptation, innovation and interpretation. Nearly any salad can be modified to accommodate the ingredients on hand, most allergies and individual taste. They can also be altered to fit most budgets. In fact, often one salad recipe can range from expensive to economical just by changing price categories of the ingredients. Read more

Aug 9

Empty (or sparcely populated) nests

Much has, and still is being written about the Empty Nest Syndrome, and rightly so. The downscaling of a household is a major lifestyle transformation, and requires time to adjust. One thing these people might be surprised to learn is that, as consumers, they are now part of a large demographic that encompasses all ages: young couples, single parents, childless couples, roommates, retirees and those with only one child as well—any household with three or fewer members can be included.   Read more

Aug 2

The Box and The Buck – Part 2: The Buck

Turning to Dollar Stores, I wrote in The Plan:

“Finally, there are the Dollar Stores. Don’t laugh! Some serious studies have explored them lately, and they do a steady business. Like supermarkets, they are usually chains, and also like supermarkets, the type and quality of the majority of the merchandize remains consistent within the chain, but the stores are franchises and often vary due to management. Read more