A Secret Ingredient: A Flavorful Craft Beer! (NAPSA)—This summer, athome chefs are shifting their culinary focus from pricey gourmet to tried-and-true, all-American foods and are looking for creative ways to spice up backyard entertaining. Two pioneers of American craft brewing and food, Samuel Adams Founder and Brewer Jim Koch and Chef David Burke, are teaming up to offer their favorite beer pairing and grilling tips, so beer lovers can incorporate big, bold flavors into the classic grilled dishes they love. It Starts With A Great American Brew A classic, American craft beer like Samuel Adams Boston Lager is a staple at any summer cookout. Not only is it the ultimate patriotic brew, but it pairs perfectly with your favorite grilled meat and can easily enhance a trusted recipe with the layers of flavor it adds. Craft beer also offers great value. You can pick up a six-pack of one of the world’s great beers, like Samuel Adams Boston Lager, for about $8. For that same price, you’d get a relatively mediocre bottle of wine. “Full-flavored, high-quality beers like Samuel Adams Boston Lager are perfect to pair with the bold, hearty flavors of grilled foods. The up-front malt flavor matches the caramelized flavors of grilled meat, while the hop finish lifts away the heaviness from the palate,” said Koch. “Like many guys, I shy away from recipes that have a lot of steps. I’ve found that substituting beer for other ingredients can introduce you to a whole new world of flavors. The brewer has already created a nice ‘spice package’ for you that’s very adaptable as a grilling marinade or an ingredient.” Chef David Burke’s Summer Grilling Tips • Start with a clean and oiled grill. • Avoid too-hot grilling temperatures, which may burn the outside of the meat before cooking through. • Shake off excess oil-based marinades before the meat goes on the grill to avoid smoky flare-ups. Cut Costs, Not Corners For Back-To-School An all-American craft beer like Samuel Adams Boston Lager pairs perfectly with grilled foods like this juicy, crowd-pleasing steak. • Let cooked meat rest for 10 minutes before carving to let juices settle. • Serve your steak with a fullflavored craft beer like Samuel Adams Boston Lager. Samuel Adams “What’s Brewing at the BBQ” National Recipe Contest Calling all grillmasters! Samuel Adams wants your favorite simple, five-ingredient grilling recipe that incorporates Samuel Adams Boston Lager. The best recipe will win the ultimate backyard cookout this Labor Day. For more recipes, pairings and tips and to enter the recipe contest, visit www.samueladams.com and click through to the “Food & Beer” page. Chef David Burke’s Samuel Adams Boston Lager Marinated Sirloin 1 14-oz steak—trimmed Marinade: 1 cup Samuel Adams Boston Lager 2 cups canola oil 3 cloves roasted garlic 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard 1 Tbsp. Colman’s mustard 2 Tbsp. chili powder 1 Tbsp. cayenne 1 Tbsp. paprika 1 Tbsp. black pepper (NAPSA)—According to the National Retail Federation, parents of school-aged children estimated they spent nearly $600 on back-to-school purchases last year. How can you cut back this year without cutting corners? Consider these tips for making smart choices: Host A Swap Party Instead of organizing a yard sale for strangers, have friends over to trade gently used items you no longer want or use. Swap parties are an inexpensive, social and eco-friendly way to stock up on clothes, shoes, books, athletic equipment and anything else your kids might need in exchange for things they’ve already outgrown. Invite friends with similar schoolaged children and tastes, and ask them to bring items in good condition they’re willing to swap in exchange for something someone else brings. Let guests know in advance if there’s a particular theme, such as children’s clothing, or if anything goes. Do Your Homework On School Supplies Your child’s teacher will likely send him or her home with a laundry list of school supplies, but before you hit the stores, do a little homework and shop around to get the best value. For example, did you know print shops sometimes have large quantities of misprinted promotional pencils? They’ll often unload these for pennies and the erasers usually last longer than on bargain pencils. Consider online auction sites for Savvy parents have learned to save on supplies when sending their offspring off to school. higher-ticket items such as scientific calculators that high school students need. You might be surprised by how discounted these items are once the required semester of precalculus is over. If you have several children, keep a large plastic tub at home and stock up on supplies when you see sales at drugstores, closeout shops and thrift stores. After all, you’ll need pens, paper and folders again. Invest In Technology Think all “must-have” PCs and printers also come with a side of sticker shock? Think again. Some of this year ’s products are designed to work together seamlessly so compatibility isn’t an issue. For example, products from HP include the latest software so your kids can stay ahead of the curve and are backed by industryleading service and support. The latest lineup features a shiny, piano-black finish that makes them a stylish fit for any home or dorm room—with PC/printer pairings available at about half the price of some notebooks. The 16inch HP Pavilion dv6 (starts at $649) and the wireless HP Photosmart C4780 All-in-One ($129) offer style, performance and value to meet the entire family’s computing and printing needs. Carpool To And From School Though carpooling is not a new concept, it’s one of the easiest ways to save money, fossil fuels and time. Instead of lining up behind your neighbor in the school drop-off zone or alongside all the other parents after soccer practice, organize a friendly car pool and take turns transporting the kids. Organizations such as Divide the Ride (www.divide theride.com) can help you coordinate car pools with others you know and trust. That way, the kids get where they need to go, helping you “go green” and save some green along the way. Plan Ahead When Packing Lunches To help keep lunchtime budgets and unhealthy habits at a minimum, buy commonly eaten and long-lasting items such as apples, carrots, pretzels and juice boxes at club stores to keep costs low. Use coupons and stock up on family favorites such as chicken when it’s on sale, freezing some if necessary. Tonight’s baked chicken could be chicken wraps tomorrow. Throw in a piece of fruit, a granola bar and a thermos of milk and you can keep your kids healthy and your budget in check. Method: Marinate 4 hrs. Grill over medium heat ap prox. 5 min. on each side until medium rare. Slice steak crosswise against the grain. Chinese Drywall Can Threaten Health And Property *** Everybody should have his personal sounds to listen for—sounds that will make him exhilarated and alive or quiet and calm. One of the greatest sounds of them all—and to me it is a sound—is utter, complete silence. —Andre Kostelanetz *** The fennec is a nocturnal African fox noted for its exceptionally large ears. *** We need people in our lives with whom we can be as open as possible. To have real conversations with people may seem like such a simple, obvious suggestion, but it involves courage and risk. —Thomas Moore *** The first newspaper advertisement appeared in a French newspaper on October 14, 1612. There are 40 spaces on the perimeter of the Monopoly board—22 of them are properties. Aborigines are thought to have been able to cross the Torres Strait from New Guinea to Australia, then at least 43 miles across, as early as 55,000 B.C. *** The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again, since it is life. —William Faulkner *** 6 (NAPSA)—A particular kind of building material may pose a threat to the health of homeowners and to property values. Those threats have led some homeowners to seek legal recourse. Between 2004 and 2007, a housing boom in certain ares of t h e c o u n t r y, c o u pled with a shortage of Americanmade drywall due to high demand, led to the importation of Chinese drywall. Some estimates say as many Russell as 100,000 American homes contain Budd foreign drywall. Experts say Chinese drywall can cause damage to homes and other property by emitting fumes that can corrode electronic components. Health officials are most concerned about the negative effects Chinese drywall can have on sensitive p o p ulatio ns including pregnant women, infants and young children, the elderly, people with asthma or other illnesses as well as individuals with chemical sensitivities. Irritant-type symptoms, such as trouble breathing and nosebleeds, have been reported. Some homeowners have reported that their pets have become seriously ill or died after the Chinese drywall was installed. The following are some of the warning signs that your home or property may be affected by Chinese drywall: • Drywall is stamped with the words Made in China, Knauf or other possible brands on the back; • The smell of sulfur or rotten eggs; • Electrical problems or copper wiring that has corroded or turned black; • Copper plumbing that has corroded and turned black. If you believe there is Chinese drywall in your home, a good first step is to call an environmental testing agency to legally verify that you have Chinese drywall. The problems with Chinese drywall have also triggered many individual and class-action lawsuits. Some builders have also sued Chinese drywall manufacturers for failing to control the quality of their product and failing to notify customers it was defective. In response to the hazards with Chinese drywall, the law firm of Baron & Budd has assembled a Chinese drywall litigation team to help affected homeowners. Said Russell Budd, senior partner with the firm, “We’re looking forward to helping people seek legal remedies for issues created by the drywall.” Founded in 1977, the firm is nationally recognized for handling tough cases where individuals have been harmed by corporate wrongdoing. To learn more, visit the Web site at Baronandbudd.com.