Many of us are in summer mode, grilling outside in yards, on patios, and in porches. My go-to favorites for grill season, even with all the fancy recipes in all the food magazines, are burgers and, for dessert, grilled stone fruit.

I am wary of ground meat that comes to supermarkets or warehouse stores in bulk, because I like my burgers very rare. When I stopped last weekend at ShopRite, I asked a butcher to grind up a chuck roast and he said they are not doing that these days. I sighed and said my burgers will have to wait, I guess. He then said they grind hamburgers every day. I found that reassuring, so I bought three pounds, came home, and made them into burgers to freeze. I like them so rare that I grill them frozen.

Shop-Rite

Several along the Connecticut shoreline