For A Good Time, Keep The Bugs Out

What’s the biggest bugaboo about outdoor entertaining?

Bugs, according to a recent survey for the Portmeiron USA tableware manufacturer. Unwelcome insects were cited as a major nuisance by 62 percent of the people polled, followed by flimsy paper plates (51 percent).

Other pet peeves: unsteady lawn chairs (36 percent), fragile plastic cutlery (35 percent), condiment squeeze bottles with drippings on the sides (31 percent) and undependable picnic table umbrellas (29 percent).

While bugs may be a concern, so are some of the methods of getting rid of them. Bug spray bothered 25 percent of those surveyed, while another 24 percent were annoyed by electric bug zappers and 8 percent disliked the smell of citronella candles.

Women were more likely than men to complain about bugs, 68 percent to 55 percent.

The only things that seemed to bother men more than women were those stinky citronellas (12 percent to 5 percent) and, for some strange reason, checkered tablecloths (15 percent to 10 percent). Maybe they’re just checker bored?

By the way, bug-a-phobes can test their “mosquito magnetism” and get tips for fending off the pesky critters at the official OFF! Web site (mosquitoes.com).

Off the grid

Cleaning the grill after a cookout isn’t exactly a picnic, either, but reader Jim Liptak of Spokane says he’s found a solution.

Liptak is sold on Clean BBQ disposable grill liners, heavy-duty perforated aluminum grids that fit over grill bars (perfect for staying sanitary at those well-used public park pits).

They come in packages of six, with the small size (12 inches by 10 inches) selling for about $8 and the large (12 inches by 20 inches) for $10-12. Liptak has seen them in two catalogs, Improvements (800-642-2112 or www.improvementscatalog.com) and Miles Kimball (920-231-4886).

And if you really want to keep clean, Reynolds is offering “Quick & Easy Dinner on the Grill,” a free brochure of global recipes for “grilling” in foil packets. For a copy, call toll-free to (800) 745-4000 or visit www.reynoldskitchens.com.

Lentil properties

Foil or not, we wouldn’t recommend barbecuing lentils. But “You Can Do a Lot With a Lentil!” is the theme of the cook-off at this year’s National Lentil Festival in Pullman on Aug. 21. (Even ice cream, which was one previous entry.)

Recipes must be original and contain 15 or fewer ingredients, including at least 1/2 cup of raw lentils or 1 cup cooked. Top prize is $250; entry deadline is July 16.

For more information, call Michelle Poesy at the Pullman Chamber of Commerce toll-free at (800) 365-6948.