We’ve all been there: after buying a quart of buttermilk for the half-cup our recipe called for, we’re left staring blindly into the fridge, wondering what to do with the remaining three-and-three-quarters cups.

But don’t dump the rest of the tart and tangy liquid down the drain: buttermilk goes way beyond baking. It’s naturally low-fat but big on flavor, making it an ideal addition to sauces and dishes that need a little extra oomph. Who knows, after trying one of these buttermilk beauties, you might end up buying a second quart next time around.

Cornbread
The distinct tang of buttermilk makes for a light and fluffy pan of cornbread that’s sweet with a hint of savoriness. It’s the way your grandma would have done it.

Mashed Potatoes
Cream and butter aren’t the only way to bring rich, luxurious flavor to a bowl of mashers. Try a healthy glug of buttermilk; odds are no one will know the difference and you can eat twice as much. Right?

Marinade
To keep chicken and pork tender instead of tough, buttermilk’s the best. Its high calcium content and mild acids react with your preferred protein to break down the muscle fiber and infuse the meat with flavor.

Salad Dressing
Rather than settling for squeeze-bottle salad toppings laden with preservatives and less-than-fresh flavors, use buttermilk as a base for a creamy homemade dressing and dip that runs rings around store-bought ranch.

Muffins
Buttermilk and blueberries are a match made in breakfast heaven. But who says you have to stop there? Choose your favorite in-season fruit, like peaches, strawberries, or cherries and go wild.

Cheese
Here’s a fun science experiment for the kids: buttermilk becomes a soft, spreadable cheese when heated gently and strained. Season it to your liking and use as you would fresh ricotta.

Soup
Creamy bisques and ultra-rich vegetable potages are a slurp away when blended with buttermilk. Even cold summer soups like those with cucumber and herbs get a pick-me-up.

Biscuits
Eggs and bacon are forever thankful for a flaky buttermilk biscuit to hold them together, but who says you can’t peel apart those warm layers and slather them with fresh, salted butter?

Red Velvet Cake
Another spectacular Southern invention, it’s once again those awesome acids that help the fireworks happen in this cake, blending with vinegar, baking soda, and cocoa powder to create the a naturally reddish hue.

Bread
A quick rise and and no-knead dough make this buttermilk bread recipe one of the easiest loaves you’ll bake.

Does pomegranate juice have the power to stave off prostate cancer, heart disease and erectile disfunction? According to one federal judge, the answer is no. No one is arguing about the healthfulness of the antioxidant-rich juice, but Pom Wonderful, the most common brand of pomegranate juice, has been called out for making deceptive claims about the benefits of its product.  

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against Pom claiming that the company did not have evidence to back up the health benefits it was advertising. While the judge didn't find all of Pom's ad campaigns to be deceptive, he found the ones claiming to ward off serious diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's Disease to be misleading.  

In reaction to the ruling, Pom issued a press release stating that the ruling allows the company to "share the scientific evidence that highlights the value and power inherent in pomegranates and pomegranate juice with impunity."

Long story short, pomegranate juice is tasty, but it's not the magical elixir the folks at Pom have been promising.

Summer picnics are about enjoying family and friends and the great outdoors -- not fussy food that requires lots of time and energy. Load up your picnic basket with some of these easy, travel-friendly dishes and round out your menu with store-bought crackers, cheeses, meats and other delicious nibbles. Summer entertaining at its easiest!

Main Dishes:
Mediterranean Tuna Salad Wrap
Shrimp Rolls
Open-Faced Roast Beef and Pesto Sandwich

Salads & Side Dishes:
Tuscan Bread Salad (pictured)
Tropical Fruit Salad
Chopped Vegetable Salad with Creamy Oregano Dressing
Greek Tomato and Feta Salad
Watermelon, Mint and Basil Salad

Dips and Spreads:
Sundried Tomato and Bean Dip
Haas Avocado and Mango Salsa
Edamame Hummus
Herbed Goat Cheese Spread
Avocado Corn Salsa
Mediterranean Feta Dip

Desserts:
Fruit Fondue
No-Bake Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Cookies
Summer Pudding

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start to summer — and there’s no better way kick off the season than with a picnic in the park. After years of dining al fresco in New York City’s many parks, I think I have mastered the art of picnicking.

Invite Your Friends to Help
Whenever I host a picnic, I make it a potluck. However, I’ve learned the hard way that guests need specific assignments or else you end up with three watermelons, 10 bags of chips and nothing substantial to eat. I like to send invites via Paperless Post, an online invitation service that charges a small fee for elegant virtual stationary. Make a list of specific things for friends to bring and ask each guest to claim an item. This way everyone will know who’s bringing what.

A Forkless Affair
Speaking of the menu, others may wholeheartedly disagree, but I think there’s no place for a fork at a picnic. It’s hard enough to eat sitting on the ground, let alone balance a paper plate to spear a piece of potato salad with a fork. Instead, opt for a finger-food menu. As host, you can bring sandwiches and wraps, like Focaccia Sandwich with Tomatoes and Peppers, rosemary chicken salad sandwiches and veggie wraps. Guests can tackle items like store-bought fried chicken, fruits, chips, pickles, precut crudites, cheese and cured sausages, all of which make for excellent picnic fare. Chocolate chip cookies are the perfect end to the meal.

Location, Location, Location
Scout your picnic location in advance of the event and be very specific in your directions to guests (“near the bottom of Sheep’s Meadow” may not be enough of a description for your friends to find you). Look for ground that is level, dry and partially covered by shade. For a festive touch that doubles as an easily spied marker, I like to buy a huge bunch of balloons tied to a weight to mark the spot on the day of the event.

Pack Like a Pro
The real secret to a great picnic is to pack anything (and everything) you might need. First, you’ll need a good blanket; I prefer a two-sided blanket with a soft side for sitting and a waterproof side to keep away dampness, like ABO’s Ground Hog Rug. I also bring extra blankets for friends who come without one. Next, a real picnic basket is a must; a hardtop model like mine (above) acts as a makeshift table during the picnic. Instead of paper napkins, I bring along a huge stash of dishtowels for guests to use as napkins.

Other items in my picnic kit include: a small cutting board, a few paring knives (I love Kuhn Rikon's Paring Knife Set for its bright colors and plastic safety sheaves), premoistened wet naps, a designated trash bag, a roll of paper towels, gallon-size Ziploc bags for leftovers and a flashlight (even if you don’t plan to stay until dark, you might). Last but not least: Bug spray is a must for every picnic — mosquitoes love outdoor diners.

Laura Fenton is a Brooklyn-based writer whose work has appeared in many publications, including Country Living, Family Circle and Good Housekeeping. She is also a regular contributor to ShelterPop and the author of The Little House In The City.

Dining on a budget isn't generally an issue for Mario Batali, but this week the celebrity chef is making every last cent count, adhering to a $31 dollar per week diet. Along with his family, Batali is living off the equivalent of a food stamp budget, an austere $1.48 per meal.  

Batali has undertaken this challenge with the Food Bank for New York City (Batali is on the board there) to bring attention to potential cuts to the food stamp program that Congress is considering. As he told Fox News, the reality of shopping and cooking on such a tight budget has hit home. Prosciutto and pecorino are swapped out for more budget friendly legumes and rice.  Meat choices are limited and organic is a no-go.

"Rice and beans is in my lunch every day. We got a bag of mini gala apples for $3. We bought a pork shoulder roast for $8 and got two and a half meals out of it," he said. "I got a whole chicken for $5, but it was spoiled so I had to return it and got a $7 chicken instead. They were out of $5 chickens."

He told Fox News, "I'm (expletive deleted) starving."

Living off of a tight grocery budget made it clear to Batali that while subsisting on food stamps is possible, it's certainly not easy. And the budget cuts that Congress is considering are certainly not going to make it any easier for the 46 million Americans who use food stamps.

Summer picnic season has arrived! Pack a basket filled with your favorite goodies and head to the beach, the park or a mountaintop. What you want to leave behind are food-borne bacteria that multiply and grow best in warm temperatures, leaving you a nasty case of the "summer bug" (symptoms include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea). Keep food-borne pests from interfering with your summer plans by following some of these summer-specific food safety tips.

1. Start Clean and Stay Clean

• Clean preparation is essential. Wash hands and work areas; be sure all utensils are clean before preparing food.
• Make sure to wash hands before eating. Bring along disposable moist towelettes or wash cloths in resealable bags if there is no running water available at your destination.

2. Keep Perishable Food Cold

• Perishable foods, like meat, poultry, eggs and fish need to be kept below 40 degrees, so plan to keep them on enough ice in your insulated cooler to keep that temperature for the duration of your trip. (A block of ice keeps longer than ice cubes.)
• Foods to be cooked ahead should be prepared in plenty of time to cool thoroughly in the refrigerator, before they are packed in the cooler.
• Start with cold or frozen food -- pack directly from the refrigerator to the cooler.
• Pack foods in reverse order of how you'll eat them.
• A full cooler stays cold longer than one that is only partially filled. Fill remaining space with more ice or with fruit and nonperishable foods.
• Don't put the cooler in the trunk; carry it inside the air-conditioned car.

3. Follow The Two-Hour Rule

• Perishable food should not be out for more than two hours, and no more than one hour if the temperature is above 90 degrees. Food left out beyond that time isn't safe and should be discarded.
• Place leftover grilled foods in the cooler right after grilling or serving. Any left outside for more than an hour should be discarded.
• If you have leftovers, put perishable foods back in the cooler right after eating, don't leave them out, even under the shade.
• If there is still ice in the cooler when you get home, and the food did not sit out for over one hour, the food is okay to save.

4. At the Beach

• Plan some take-along foods that don't require refrigeration, like peanut butter, fruits, nuts and crackers.
• Keep your perishables in a separate cooler from the drinks, since the drinks cooler is opened more often.
• Keep the cooler out of the sun. Put it under your beach umbrella, partially bury it in the sand, or cover it with a blanket for further insulation.
• Spray insect repellents away from the food.

5. On the Trail

• For weekend trips, choose foods that don't require refrigeration. Pasta, instant rice, peanut butter and jelly, nuts, dried fruit, dried meat, fresh fruits and vegetables, dried soups, breads and crackers, powdered milk and fruit drinks, dehydrated foods, etc.
• Always assume that lake, pond, stream and river waters are not safe to drink. Buy purification tablets or filtering equipment from camping supply stores and learn how to use them effectively. Bring along some bottled water.
• Cleanliness is paramount. Bring soap for hand washing and dishwashing, or use disposable wipes to clean your hands. Wash dishes immediately, before bacteria has a chance to grow on your plates and utensils.
• Pack carefully to use fresh foods for meals the first day. Cold or frozen, prepared foods can be packed with a cold source. Freeze water in a plastic jug and wrap it with the foods in a plastic bag, then stuff the bag inside a sleeping bag or jacket inside your backpack. This will keep the food cold while you hike.

Want to serve yummy snacks at your next get together, but hate how everyone gathers in the kitchen or around the food table? Try these grab and go munchies that will make sure your guests are mingling. Get more tips and tricks at iVillage.com/MyBestIdea

I enjoy this salad on the warm side of room temperature -- shortly after the lentils are cooked. It’s especially good with rustic garlic croutons (see p. 191) scattered around the plate. You can use any type of precooked sausage. I’m a big fan of bockwurst, but a spicy kielbasa is delicious, too.

I grew up eating fresh corn from the field behind our house. My dad, a dairyman, grew corn for the cows and a small amount of what we called “people corn.” Fresh corn, cooked just after it’s picked, is truly delicious. Short of a field nearby, look for plump, green ears of corn that has been recently cut—the stems should look almost dewy and the silk should be silky and slightly sticky. Peel back the husk and inspect the kernels—they should be shiny and taut. Overlook the occasional worm, especially if the corn is fresh and sweet. I call to cook the corn just briefly in unsalted boiling water (salt toughens the kernels), but it’s often unnecessary to cook perfectly fresh corn. Taste it and see what you think.

Piment d’Espelette is a dried red chile from the village of Espelette in Spain’s Basque region. Its flavor is more fruity and less hot than cayenne. You can use Aleppo pepper in place of the piment d’Espelette -- it looks beautiful sprinkled over the finished salad as well. Keep in mind that Aleppo pepper is mild, so if you want a little heat, add a pinch of cayenne to the vinaigrette and sautéed shrimp.

His recipe is inspired by a salad that I enjoy at Tacubaya, a Mexican restaurant in Berkeley. It’s just a simple garden lettuce salad with avocado, but the toasted pumpkin seeds make it especially good. To add protein, I order the salad with beef, which makes it much more satisfying.

When I make this at home, I add carrot, radish, and Aleppo pepper. You can also add sliced cucumber. I like it with skirt steak, but you can serve it with sliced grilled or sautéed chicken breast as well. To grill the skirt steak, see the sidebar at left. A mandoline works especially well to quickly, easily, and evenly slice the carrots and radishes.