Cookout champs from Consumer Reports' gas grill tests

Even though Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson both signed the Declaration of Independence, the historical figure that more Americans would invite to their Fourth of July cookout is Abraham Lincoln. That's one of the results of the Sizzle Study recently conducted by grillmaker Char-Broil. And what would Abe be served? Humble hot dogs and hamburgers. Those you can cook on almost any reliable grill but if you prefer fancier fare for your favorite guests, check for gas grills that excelled in all three of Consumer Reports' cooking tasks.

When Consumer Reports tests gas grills it measures high-temperature evenness over the grill's surface and then we sear some steaks. We also test the unit's low temperature performance by both checking the temperature and cooking chicken and fish over a low flame. Finally, we check indirect cooking in which the food isn't placed directly over the flame. This is a useful feature if you like to slow cook roasts, ribs, or whole fish and poultry.

Of the medium-sized grills in our tests, the most popular size, the Char-Broil Gourmet TRU-Infrared 463250512 aced our trio of tests and costs hundreds less than other top-rated models. A CR Best Buy, it's sold at Home Depot and has an electronic igniter, side burner, infrared main burner, and coated cast-iron grates, which tend to be better for searing and maintaining even grilling temperatures. There's a lifetime warranty on the burners, the most frequently replaced grill part.

The American-made Huntington Patriot 658184 was the only large grill to earn a top score on all three cooking tasks. At $700 it's another CR Best Buy and is loaded with premium features. It produced nicely seared steaks, moist chicken and salmon and excelled at indirect cooking. The Huntington has an electronic igniter, side burner, and coated cast-iron grates. There's also an infrared rotisserie burner and a light in the cooking area. The pullout tray for the propane tank makes turning the tank on or off a snap and simplifies changing it.

None of the small and portable grills in our tests excelled in the cooking trifecta. The Napoleon Terrace SE325PK came closest with excellent scores on high and low heating and a very good score on indirect cooking. It has lots of stainless steel and shelf space, two main burners, coated cast-iron grates, and a long warranty on its burners. It sells for $600 but the propane tank is extra.

In its survey, Char-Broil also asked what person folks would like to engage in a grill-side chat. Mom and Dad won that one but three presidents also made the list: Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy. And so did grill master Bobby Flay.

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Thinning Apple and Asian Pear Trees

Apples before thinning

Apples after thinning

At this time of year you are likely experiencing June Drop. Dont worry! There is nothing wrong. The fruit trees are naturally losing any unpollinated fruit. We have to continue this action by thinning even more fruit from the tree and that is a job I really have a hard time doing. More is better, yes? No! I have learned this the hard way.

Why thin fruit from the trees?

• The more fruit on a spur, the smaller the fruits are at harvest.
• The closer together the fruit are, the less air circulation and the higher likelihood of disease and insect problems like codling moth.
• The heavier the total amount of fruit on a branch, the more likely the branch will become weighted down and break.
• Thinning the fruit encourages the tree to produce fruit every year.

The best method for a home gardener is to pick the fruit off the spur with a twisting snap motion. Pulling them off might break the full spur and you would lose that grouping of fruit. You could also choose to use small clippers.

Look at each cluster and remove all but the largest and healthiest apple. Then visualize the size your apple grows. Any other tiny fruits near it which would interfere with its growth should also be removed. Basically, leave one fruit every 4 6 inches.

Asian Pear before thinning

Asian Pear after thinning

With Asian pears, it is slightly different. It is preferable to keep the middle fruit on a spur. That means, if there are 5 fruits, remove the bottom two and the top two, leaving the middle one.

Now is a good time to do this while the fruits are tiny and the tree has already started the drop. It will have the rest of the season to put energy in to producing fruit of a good size and quality.

As an aside, dont thin your cherries. Enjoy every single last one of them!

Tags: edible gardening, fruit trees, What to do in the garden

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Grazing My Way Through The Lull

Cmon, lets go!

Though Ive been doing a vegetable garden for 20 years, I often rue my stupidity at this particular moment, when, if Im not vigilant, there is nothing in the garden to eat. This season, weve already had lots of nice spring meals of sugar snap peas and favas, garlic scapes, spinach, cilantro, and arugula.

But now the favas and sugar snaps are burning up in the heat, and the spinach and cilantro have gone to seed. Ditto the arugula, possibly the single most important vegetable to my health and happiness. And its gone so to seed, that there arent even any side leaves worth harvesting off the stems.

But the next wave of great meals hasnt yet started. No eggplants yet, no peppers, no tomatoes, no potatoes, no cucumbers, no summer squashes, no pole beans. Even the beets, a cool-weather crop, are not quite ready. The beet greens at least are nice, but I dont have an easy time of it when I try to feed my kids a load of oxalic acid at every single meal.I made my first pesto this week, but only by denuding the poor young little basil plants more than I really should have.

An intelligent gardener would have anticipated the mass going-to-seed that always accompanies the summer solstice and planted a second crop of arugula and cilantro, plus a bunch of other lettuces, in early June. The stupid gardener but intrepid cookmejust makes due with whats out there. Yesterday afternoon, there were exactly 5 okra pods waiting for me. Okay! I scissored off some of my cutting celery and bay leaves, yanked out a few young leeks and bought some Price Chopper peppers. Andouille sausage from the Putnam Market, one of my buddy Ricks chickens from the freezer, and there you gogumbo! It was delicious.

In two or three weeks, Ill have an insane bounty in my garden. Its frustrating that its so stingy now. But the upside is that I do all my best cooking in the lulls. The lack of any one thing in abundance inspires creativity and a light hand. Ive watched my sister-in-law Nawho is Thai and a professional cookmake a meal out of nothing from my garden in the lull, too. A couple of black garbanzo beans, a little chard, maybe some carrot tops. The result is a feast.

Making dousing a little of this and a little of thatI suspect its the method of all great home cooks from time immemorial.

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Top remodeling gripes from homeowners and contractors

The contractor-homeowner relationship isn't always easy. Even good pros can give clients headaches, and vice versa. So we asked homeowners and contractors to tell us their troubles—and got advice from the pros on how to avoid the problems.

Homeowners sound off
General contractors were significantly more aggravating than subcontractors such as plumbers, electricians, and painters, though not quite as annoying as the cable guy, according to a nationally representative survey of 913 homeowners conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. Failing to show up was the top complaint. Also annoying were not taking the time needed to do the job right, not listening to or understanding requests, and leaving a mess. Surprisingly, cost overruns were at the bottom of the list.

Contractors' pet peeves
"Kids and pets," said Michael Hydeck, president of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry. "People have to remember that a remodeling site is not a playground." Other complaints include clients calling at all hours of the night and not appreciating the minor imperfections that come with handcrafted work.

Keeping the peace
Miscommunication and mismatched expectations are the cause of most of those problems. So don't underestimate the importance of a good rapport. Establish guidelines for hours of work, cleanliness of the job site, and whom to contact when a quick answer is needed.

Once the work begins, keep in touch every day. E-mail maintains a paper trail and averts those after-hours calls. But don't take the entire relationship online. "There's still no substitute for live conversations," says Candi Hilton, a remodeler in Naples, Fla. And if there's a problem, speak up. The longer you wait, the more expensive it can be to fix.

Use our Ratings of appliances and home improvement products to find the top performers for your next project. Find more advice in Consumer Reports guides to updating your kitchen and remodeling your bathroom.

Adapted from Consumer Reports Kitchen Planning & Buying Guide, on newsstands now.

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This Weeks Quote

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- Xoxo Jessica

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