It's 3 p.m., and according to Ivan Gherardini, Americans everywhere should be gabbing over gelato. Perhaps a nice vanilla or hazelnut with a demitasse of espresso poured right on top would be good. Or maybe pair a scoop of dark chocolate fudge with a hot cup of coffee. Relax. Savor the gelato. Visit with friends, and then go about the rest of the day.

Produce Looks like we can continue to feast on summer's bounty through Labor Day weekend. In years past, many summer vegetables had petered out by Labor Day, but not this year, said Mike Cullipher of Cullipher Farm Market on Princess Anne Road in Virginia Beach.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is urging Virginians to eat local for a day during Virginia Farmers Market Week, which starts Sunday. Pick any day next week and eat only Virginia-grown products for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

By Jo-Ann Clegg

Special to The Virginian-Pilot

Question: How do you feed a vacationing family of a dozen or so crammed into a beach cottage for two weeks?

Answer: The same way our family has done everything else in the 21 summers we have gathered on the Outer Banks.

Haphazardly.

EVER SINCE my driveway has been lined with blueberry bushes, blueberries have been one of the lures I count on to make sure my grandchildren love their grandma.
If I ask them what they want for breakfast, the answer is always blueberry muffins, streaked with blueberry juice that bubbled out of the top and sprinkled with extra sugar.

Jimmy Rellos' body has transformed itself into an efficient shape for one thing: making hot dogs.
He's 89 years old, and for nearly 60 of those years his job has been grilling hot dogs.
His shoulders have a permanent forward curve, from bending over the grill and from spooning condiments onto the dogs.

By Jim Romanoff
The Associated Press
Inviting friends over for a picnic is one of the joys of summer, but it can get pricey.
The secret to backyard entertaining without breaking the bank is to build the meal around foods that are good values or sale items. Pantry items and ingredients that add multiple flavors with one stroke complete the package.

"You can carry that metaphor a little too far because it's not as important as religion, but there are these sects and cults," says John Shelton Reed, co-author of "Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue" with his wife, Dale. The core of the barbecue sauce debate is simple: vinegar-based vs. tomato-based.