First course: Assault on salt

The best thing you can do with salt is toss it over your shoulder, according to the American Medical Association. The AMA is campaigning to get Americans to cut their sodium intake by half in the next 10 years.

The AMA hopes to persuade the government to require an icon of a saltshaker on the labels of foods high in sodium. The hope is that this will cause consumers to become more aware of their sodium intake.

Americans consume about twice as much salt daily as they should, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The recommendation is less than 2.4 grams of sodium a day, which is about a teaspoon of salt.

Onions on the grill

Due to a kitchen remodel, our summer cooking has been limited to the outdoor grill this year. It has been a challenge, but we've gotten quite creative when it comes to cooking vegetables. A sweet onion grilled until it caramelizes and turns crunchy is great as is or on top of steaks and chicken. We like them so much, we just might continue to cook them this way after the cooktop is back in service. Here's how to do it:

For each big sweet onion, such as a Walla Walla or Maui, soak four wood skewers in water for about 30 minutes. Peel the onion and trim off the ends. Push the skewers completely through the onion from side to side, leaving about  1/2-inch of space between each skewer. Slice the onion apart between the skewers. Brush the slices generously with olive oil and place them on a hot grill. Cook them on one side until they are dark, golden brown. Turn them over and grill the other side. Depending on how hot the grill is, it will take about 10 minutes per side.

If you want to jazz them up, just before they are done, brush the onion slices with a little honey mixed with Worcestershire sauce or grated fresh ginger.

Hurry for See's dark chocolate

Dark chocolate and almonds are a nutrition bonanza -- according to a study at Yale University. Chocolate is a source of flavonol antioxidants and almonds are full of vitamin E and protein. That's a good excuse, anyway, for popping into a See's Candies to pick up a dark chocolate almond bar. Here's another excuse: The bars along with five limited-edition dark chocolates will be available just through August.