By Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

As we inch into a new school year, and look forward to fall colors and football, it’s not a bad idea to squeeze in a few last meals cooked on the grill and served al fresco.

The nights are finally cooling, if only slightly, and in my backyard at least, fireflies are still calling out to each other at twilight with their fleeting, magical flashes of neon yellow.

The four deer that sleep behind my rhododendron bushes each night may have eaten every last thing I planted this summer, but life is still good when it comes to planning a tasty dinner.

As always in August, my favorite farmers markets and farm stands have come to the rescue with all sorts of colorful, fresh and locally grown produce. That makes it easy to fill up on things that don’t just taste great at mealtime, but also are actually good for this aging body.

Cooking and eating outdoors always puts people in a better mood. That’s especially true when the menu — like my beloved lightning bugs — is hyper-seasonal. There’s something so special about enjoying foods that are only available for a few months or weeks each year — not just because they’re flavorful, but also because they support local farmers. Often, they’re also more affordable.

With that in mind, I decided to take advantage of both the good weather and all the produce being harvested at its peak ripeness for my latest installment in the PG’s ongoing budget dinners series.

The main attraction on this week’s menu: a grilled chicken and vegetable entree that’s so simple to prepare that you’ll have time to make a homemade dessert. Start to finish, the dish takes only about 25 minutes once the grill is ready, and because all the ingredients are conveniently cooked together in tidy foil packets, there’s very little cleanup.

Chicken cooked over charcoal often is slathered in barbecue sauce before serving. In this recipe, the boneless breasts are nestled in an aluminum foil “boat” filled with sliced summer squash and cherry tomatoes, then topped with a tangy mustard sauce. The veggies steam as the chicken cooks, and everything comes out moist and tender.

“Hobo meals,” as these foil packets are sometimes called by campers, are great because they’re as versatile as they are easy. If you don’t like zucchini, substitute peppers, onions, carrots or whatever you like. For faster cooking, you also can cube the chicken into bite-sized pieces.

This three-course meal for four also includes my Americanized version of one of Italy’s most famous appetizers — a savory bruschetta — that shines a well-deserved light on the exceptional flavor of heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil.

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Finally, there’s the peach dessert that you can pop in the oven while the chicken sizzles on the grill. After all, who doesn’t love finishing a meal with something sweet and crunchy?

Crisps — a dish of baked, jammy fruit topped with a crumbly mixture of oatmeal, sugar and butter — never fail to hit the spot, especially when they’re topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. They’re also relatively simple to prepare, which is a beautiful thing for those who don’t bake on a regular basis.

Total cost of this late-summer, nutritious meal for a family of four: $25.23, or just $6.30 per person. I overspent my budget of $25 by a quarter, but hey, just try getting an entire dinner at a fast-food joint for the same price that’s not loaded with unhealthy fats, sodium and calories.

Plenty of people are pretty cheesed off at what a meal for four can cost these days, especially if you eat out. The latest round of President Trump’s tariffs — which are expected to impact a majority of U.S. food imports — are only making us more anxious with the seemingly ever-present possibility of higher food prices.

But as this complete meal demonstrates, the cost of dinner doesn’t have to come with a gut punch.

So how did we do it?

For starters, I thoughtfully planned a menu to avoid impulse purchases or buying items I already had in my pantry or refrigerator. Then, I took advantage of the low prices you often find at farmers markets.

All of my veggies, in fact, were purchased from local farmers for far less than what I normally would pay for out-of-season produce at the grocery store. Everything from the summer squash ($1 each) to the tomatoes ($4 for a pint of cherries or 50 cents for each heirloom) to the shallots ($7 for a box of seven), basil ($1.50 for a huge bunch) and peaches (60 cents each).

I also paid only $4 for the loaf of ciabatta on which the bruschetta was built, and had enough left over for toast the next morning. That’s a bargain.

As for the chicken, rather than a famous national brand, I chose the one with the grocery store label that was on sale.

I’ll admit it takes some planning to create flavorful, complete meals that get the most bang for your buck. It also often requires ferreting through your fridge and pantry before you head to the store — with list and pen — to see what needs to be used up.

Even committed shoppers don’t always follow that cardinal rule of looking before buying: When my refrigerator broke earlier this summer, I found four jars of sun-dried tomatoes in oil on a back shelf along with multiple half-eaten jars of pickles, several dried-out lemons and a moldy plastic container of sour cream.

Other tips for smart shopping and meal budgeting: Look for sales, compare unit prices, buy in bulk if it makes sense (it doesn’t always!) and use coupons. Also, never shop while hungry — it’s so easy to reach for a high-priced, unhealthy junk food on an empty stomach! (My weakness is Zapp’s Voodoo potato chips.)

The menu that follows is designed for four, but depending on who’s eating, it may serve more. You’ll definitely have enough peach crisp left over for breakfast the next morning!

Bruschetta

PG tested

When vine-ripened local tomatoes are (finally!) in season, I eat them almost every day in sandwiches, on toast and tossed with a little olive oil and vinegar as a salad. But my favorite way to enjoy the fruit is as bruschetta.

Traditionally, marinated tomatoes are simply piled onto toasted or grilled bread, but I like to slice and fry mine in a little olive oil to make the dish both warm and extra crispy.

You’ll want to choose a bread that can stand up to the juicy topping without getting soggy; think a sturdy baguette or loaf of ciabatta. Allow the tomatoes to marinate for at least 15 minutes before using to maximize flavor, and don’t forget to add a sprinkle of grated Parmesan before serving.

For tomatoes

1 large heirloom tomato, diced
1/3 cup basil leaves, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For bread

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 1-inch slices ciabatta or baguette
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Prepare topping: In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, basil, garlic, vinegar, olive oil and a pinch of salt and grind of pepper, and toss to coat. Set aside while you fry bread.

Add olive oil to a large frying pan set over medium-high heat. (I used cast-iron). When oil is hot, add bread slices and fry until golden and crispy, then flip with tongs and cook for another minute. Remove to a platter.

Divide tomato mixture among the bread slices. Garnish with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan and serve.

Serves 4.

— Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette

Honey Mustard Chicken, Tomato & Zucchini

PG tested

It’s easy to dry out boneless chicken breast on a grill because the meat is so lean. But if you borrow a cooking technique from campers, and wrap them with veggies in a foil packet, you’ll get tender, juicy chicken and perfectly cooked vegetables every time.

Feel free to cook the chicken with any vegetable you like. I used a mix of yellow and green summer squash and added in half of a leftover bell pepper I found in my crisper.

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup whole-grain mustard
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon hot paprika
Large pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1 medium green zucchini, thinly sliced
1 medium yellow zucchini, thinly sliced
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts,
Chopped fresh parsley, for serving

Prepare a grill for medium-high heat; preheat 5 minutes. (I used a charcoal grill.)

In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons oil. Cook shallot and garlic, stirring occasionally, until light golden and fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add whole-grain mustard, honey, Dijon mustard, paprika and red pepper and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then continue to boil over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thickened and slightly darkened in color, about 2 minutes. Let cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, toss zucchini, tomatoes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and remaining 2 tablespoons oil.

Season chicken with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.

Arrange 4 sheets of foil on a flat surface. Pull up sides to form a shallow boat. Divide vegetable mixture among packets. Portion chicken into four servings, then nestle each next to vegetables.

Spread tops of chicken with honey mustard sauce. Tightly fold foil packets to seal.

Grill, covered and rotating packets halfway through, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 165 degrees, 18-20 minutes. Carefully open foil packets and sprinkle with parsley.

Serves 4.

— adapted from delish.com

Peach Crisp

PG tested

Peaches taste even sweeter when they’re baked and their natural sugars concentrate and caramelize. Here, they shine in an easy-to-prepare crisp made with brown sugar and oats adapted from one of my favorite baking sites, sallysbakingaddiction.com.

You don’t have to peel the peaches, but some don’t like the texture of the fruit’s skin so it may be a game-day decision based on who you’re cooking for.

For filling

5 cups sliced peaches, peeled or unpeeled
1/4 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For topping

1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, very cold and cubed
2/3 cup old-fashioned whole rolled oats (or quick oats)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a deep-dish 9-inch pie dish, 9-inch square pan, 10-inch cast iron skillet, or any 2- or 2 1/2 -quart baking dish. Set aside.

Gently mix all of the filling ingredients together in a large bowl, then spread into the baking dish.

Make the topping: Whisk brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt together in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or forks until the mixture is crumbly. Fold in oats. Sprinkle evenly over filling.

Bake for 45 — 50 minutes until the topping is golden brown and the fruit juices are bubbling around the edges. Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack, and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving warm. You can also serve room temperature or cold.

Cover leftovers and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Serves 4-6.

— adapted from sallysbakingaddiction.com

©2025 PG Publishing Co. Visit at post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By ALEX VEIGA, Associated Press Business Writer

Stocks on Wall Street were down slightly in early trading Thursday, following new economic data and a mixed batch of earnings reports from big U.S. companies.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% a day after climbing to a new high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 52 points, or 0.1%, as of 10:02 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite was down less than 0.1%.

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Hormel fell 4.7% for the biggest drop among S&P 500 companies after reporting earnings that Spam maker fell short of Wall Street’s forecasts and cut its outlook for the year.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. surged 9.7% after the retail chain’s second-quarter results topped analysts’ estimates.

Gains in technology companies helped temper declines in health care and other sectors. Broadcom rose 2.7% and Advanced Micro Devices was 1.9%.

Tech giant Nvidia was down 1% a day after reporting quarterly earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street analysts’ forecasts, though the company noted that sales of its artificial intelligence chipsets rose at a slower pace than analysts anticipated.

Investors consider Nvidia a barometer for the strength of the boom in artificial intelligence because the company makes most of the chips that power the technology. Its heavy weighting also gives Nvidia outsized influence as a bellwether for the broader market.

Treasury yields were mostly higher in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.23% from 4.24% late Wednesday.

European and Asian markets were mixed.

Traders also had their eye on new government reports on the job market and economy.

The Labor Department reported that applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, the latest sign that employers are holding onto their workers even as the economy has slowed.

The most recent government data suggests hiring has slowed sharply since this spring.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department reported that U.S. gross domestic product —- the nation’s output of goods and services — grew at a 3.3% annual pace in the April-June quarter after shrinking 0.5% in the first three months of this year due to the fallout from the Trump administration’s trade wars.

The sluggishness in the job market is a key reason that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled last week that the central bank may cut its key interest rate at its meeting next month.

Lower rates can boost investment prices and the economy by making it cheaper for U.S. households and businesses to borrow, but they risk worsening inflation.

Traders are still betting the Fed will trim its benchmark interest rate at its next meeting in September. Traders see an 85.3% chance that the central bank will cut the rate by a quarter of a percentage point, according to data from CME Group.

The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for Federal Reserve action, rose to 3.64% from 3.62%.

By Roberta Burkhart, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

PITTSBURGH — A new study has found that people who lived in areas with high levels of leaded gasoline emissions in the 1960s and ’70s are more likely to report memory problems today — a finding that researchers say could deepen our understanding of environmental risks tied to dementia.

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The study and others presented in July at the 2025 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference used data from more than 600,000 participants from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study from the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research.

Participants who lived in areas with higher estimated lead emissions — often tied to dense traffic and industrial zones — were significantly more likely to report poor memory. Although the Michigan study did not include cognitive testing or formal dementia diagnoses, the findings point to a potential long-term connection between environmental exposure and cognitive decline.

“Research suggests half the U.S. population — more than 170 million people — were exposed to high lead levels in early childhood. This research sheds more light on the toxicity of lead related to brain health in older adults today,” said Maria C. Carrillo, the Alzheimer’s Association chief science officer and medical affairs lead, per a July 27 news release.

Other studies presented at the conference suggested that any lead exposure during one’s lifetime may cause cognitive problems; that certain populations may be disproportionately affected, pointing to social disparities; and that a biological connection exists between lead exposure and Alzheimer’s, Carrillo said.

On the one hand, these conclusions are not all that surprising, said Mark Haut, the director of WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute’s Memory Health Clinic, and Steven Albert, professor of behavioral and community health sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. Neither expert contributed to the studies.

But the conference presentation highlights the need for further study plus continued and expanded long-term collection of data, so that the connection and repercussions of these kinds of toxic exposures can be better understood — from both environmental and treatment perspectives, they said.

Plenty of research, Haut explained, has shown brain development and resilience can be compromised early in life by toxic exposures.

He described the concept of “brain reserve,” comparing it to a cup that starts full and empties over time. Lead exposure — especially in childhood — can siphon off this reserve early. So while lead might not directly cause Alzheimer’s or memory loss, it may set the stage for cognitive decline by weakening the brain’s defenses over time.

Albert noted that while the studies presented at the conference relied on self-reported memory issues rather than clinical diagnoses, the implications are still notable, especially given the scale of the data.

While there’s growing concern about historical lead exposure contributing to memory decline, Haut cautioned against overstating the link.

“First, it’s an association study, a correlation. It’s not cause and effect,” he said.

Still, the evidence that lead is neurotoxic is solid: “Heavy metals, which include lead as well as mercury, are not good for your body or your brain, even at low-level exposure.”

The leaded gasoline study was one of several presented at the conference exploring the role of environmental factors in dementia risk. Another study, with nearly 2,780 California participants, found that even current residence near industrial sources of lead was associated with worse cognitive performance.

“There are many environmental pollutants, airborne toxins, that have been associated with cognitive performance,” Albert said.

He also pointed to a systematic review published the same week as the conference in Lancet Planetary Health linking long-term air pollution exposure — specifically particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and black carbon — to increased risk of diagnosed dementia.

“The big implication of all this is that a lot of the dementia that we attribute to old age and … the accumulation of amyloid and tau and the shrinking of the brain and neuronal debris” may have an environmental source, Albert said, referring to amyloid and tau proteins.

In Alzheimer’s patients, brain cell function is disrupted by the accumulation of amyloid plaques and tau tangles, which ultimately leads to brain shrinkage and the buildup of neuronal debris — or remnants and waste products from damaged or dead brain cells, per the Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

Why lead matters — and who’s at risk

Lead has long been known to affect brain development in children. But research into its long-term effects on aging brains is still emerging.

“Lead is bad for lots of things,” Albert said. “There’s been some studies that suggest it’s related to IQ generally, and also aggression and lots of other things in animal model studies.”

A study published in the journal PNAS in 2022, which found 170 million Americans alive today were exposed to high lead levels in early childhood, also indicated that many of those individuals were exposed to levels five or more times higher than what’s considered safe today. It estimated that lead exposure is responsible for the loss of more than 800 million collective IQ points among those 170 million Americans, as of 2015.

IQ is not the only area where lead exposure damages us, Albert noted. Instead, it often overlaps with other social determinants of health, like poverty and poor housing, making it difficult to isolate one factor.

Higher levels of exposure and living near environmental pollutants often correlate to those with lower incomes, he said.

Haut agreed, pointing out that many exposures are geographically and economically determined.

“The other interesting thing about this data is it also points to the neighborhood that you grow up in,” he said, referring to the data presented at the conference. He noted that areas near former industrial sites or lead sources tend to lack resources and have more pollution.

He discussed the concept of “neighborhood disparity” and added, “whether it’s lead by itself or with all these other factors, or lack of access to health care, and poor nutrition … all those kinds of factors kind of figure into this.”

These compounding variables, he said, make it difficult to isolate lead as the sole cause of cognitive decline.

Haut underscored the difficulty of drawing firm conclusions about toxic exposure and cognitive outcomes without long-term, consistent data collection.

He pointed to research systems in other countries, such as Britain’s UK Biobank, which follows the lifelong health journeys of a half-million volunteers.

He said these types of studies take decades — “I’m talking 60 years” — but are necessary to build a clearer picture.

What can be done now?

While the exposures in question may have occurred decades ago, Albert said there are still meaningful steps people can take — especially in places like Pittsburgh, where aging housing may contribute to continued risk.

“Something as simple as dehumidifiers, air purifiers or even opening up the window or scrubbing fungal moisture in the basement — all of these things probably can make a difference for the quality of indoor air,” he said. “And maybe that would have important health consequences.”

Albert recently led a study through the Healthy Home Lab at Pitt, funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, that examined indoor air quality and its links to health. The study’s findings are under review and are not yet published.

“We looked at indoor air quality, which is one of these also less well investigated things — to look at particulate matter and carbon dioxide and also fungal species that you can actually measure in dust,” he said. “There probably is a lot of work to be done for the home.”

Even without a clear cause-and-effect link to Alzheimer’s, Haut emphasized the importance of protecting brain health through lifestyle choices.

“Diet actually is really important” in addition to one’s general health, he said, recommending lean protein, fewer processed foods, more fruits and vegetables and lower sugar intake. “Pairing that with daily exercise is really important.”

But perhaps the most powerful tool is interpersonal connection.

Haut said socialization is something he consistently recommends. “That’s the best brain exercise, right?”

He explained that human social interactions engage the entire brain and vary constantly, making them more neurologically stimulating than something like repetitive brain games.

A preventable piece of the puzzle

Ultimately, Albert sees the lead findings as part of a broader conversation about preventable risks for dementia — and one that should lead to greater public health investment.

He pointed out that the Lancet Commission has identified up to 14 different factors that affect cognitive health in old age, including high cholesterol, traumatic brain injury, hearing loss, Type 2 diabetes, smoking, obesity and high blood pressure.

“The estimate is that if you reduced those or eliminated those, you could cut the dementia incidence by about 40 or 45%,” he said. “And lead is a good one because we know a lot about its biological effects on the nervous system.”

Even as research continues, he said the public health message remains clear.

“With age, the ‘whips and scorns of time,’ as Shakespeare called it, you will see increases in dementia,” Albert said. “But the way we live and what we expose ourselves to probably increases our risks.”

© 2025 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Visit www.post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

CHICAGO (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration has asked a military base outside Chicago for support on immigration operations, the base said Thursday, signaling a push to expand its law enforcement crackdown to other cities.

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The Department of Homeland Security has asked Naval Station Great Lakes for “limited support in the form of facilities, infrastructure, and other logistical needs to support DHS operations,” said Matt Mogle, spokesperson for the base 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of Chicago.

He said no decisions have been made on the request and that the base has not received an official request to support a National Guard deployment.

The request shows the Republican administration’s desire to move beyond Washington as it ramps up immigration operations. Trump has threatened to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago and other Democratic-led cities after he called up troops to target crime, immigration and homelessness in Washington.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, told The Associated Press that the nation’s third-largest city doesn’t need or want military intervention to fight crime.

The Chicago Sun-Times first reported about the Trump administration’s request.