Late summer itch/ramble.

It's almost back-to-school time. The shift from late to summer to early fall is everywhere. The mornings are chillier, making for perfect running weather and the kids wear sweatshirts with blankets tucked in around their legs when we take them out in the jogger. The tomato plants are brimming with green tomatoes (which will hopefully turn bright red after the next three days of heat!). The kids are growing out and wearing out their summer clothes and shoes just in time for new footwear that will keep piggy toes warm and tops and bottoms that will protect arms and legs from ginormous piles of fallen leaves. I've started to have fleeting thoughts of squash soup and applesauce.

And I have the purge itch.

A general notice to all items within the house:
Watch out if you aren't nailed down. If you don't prove yourself to have both form and function, you may find yourself listed on Freecycle or sitting on my front porch waiting for the donation truck to sweep you away.

Favorite things to purge: toys, clothes, superfluous kitchen items, things in storage which aren't ever taken OUT of storage, more toys, and more clothes. This fall, I also need to Freecycle a bag or two of fabric and perhaps some yarn. You know, get real about what projects I actually want/need to do.

I find that my kitchen inspiration changes greatly towards the end of the summer, as well. I find that if I listen to my palate's whims, it pushes me to follow the season's directions. So, I pulled Patricia Wells's At Home in Provence* off the shelf earlier today and earmarked the Crustless Onion Quiche and the Tomato Clafoutis. I'd also like to make a huge Vegetable Tian in the next few weeks and a Tomato Tart (I need a goat for a constant supply of goat cheese, please). The thyme in the garden is going bonkers, so that should add a nice touch to all of the above.

Ooh. And maybe some gazpacho. And some popsicles. And and and...

We have a wide-open, unplanned weekend coming up and I'm pretty excited about it. The weather will be warm and the beach will be calling. The garden will be waiting for us, too. Time to enjoy the last few weeks of summer. Ahhh.

*Normally, I'd question a book on Provencal cooking that is written by an American. However, this was gifted to me by a friend who lives in Aix-en-Provence and she swears it's one of the best resources in her cookbook library. Several years ago, Mike and I were treated to the most delicious stay at her family's beautiful home in Provence. The only specific plans that Nathalie made for the week was what we'd have for dinner every night. On the first evening we arrived, she had made the simplest, most elegant quiche I have ever eaten. It was gorgeous and so yummy. In honor of that wonderful memory (friends and food, conversation and catching up, warm summer air and a cheese course to blow your mind to finish it off...!), tonight we're having quiche with tomatoes from the garden - all shapes, sizes and colors - and I'll throw in some chard and kale because god knows we have plenty of that.

Clarity

It's blissful when they both take naps at the same time. Ahhh... clarity and peace.

I want to sign up and do this online course about sewing with knits. Fun!

On my list

This past weekend we stumbled on the coolest event at the Chicago Botanic Gardens, the annual Kite Festival! It was awesome and we all enjoyed the expert kite fliers. There's something about a soaring kite that literally and figuratively lifts a person up. We'll be on the lookout for it next year!

I always see something new that I want to grown in my garden when we visit the CBG. This time, I spotted some Velvet Queen Sunflowers. I want to grow armfuls of them!

Clearly, I need to live on a big piece of property with lots of room for a biiiig garden. Preferably smack in the middle of a city like New York. That's possible, right?!

Edible summer

Today, I shared summer meals with my favorite people. Sitting at the dining room table or outside on a picnic blanket, enjoying each other's faces and stories (or babbling!) - this is my favorite place to be in the summertime.

:: Strawberries and blueberries and raspberries - oh my! - piled high atop granola and yogurt for breakfast.

:: Mangoes so juicy that their sweet slices slip from the grasp of baby, toddler and adult fingers alike.
:: Green smoothies* with kale and chard plucked moments earlier. "Mama, I want some more smoothie, please!" (Um... YES!)
:: The last of our sharp Wisconsin cheddar brought home from our summer vacation.

:: New red potatoes smothered in chunky pesto made from our garden's early season basil.
:: Crisp, clean lemon cucumbers and our first three plum tomatoes made a salad.
:: Sweet cherries in the Cherry Chomper (endless entertainment for all four of us).
:: A big bowl of shelled edamame ("mamies").

:: Fresh Mint Chip Frozen Yogurt. Mint from the garden, producing the closest thing to BerryLine that I've tasted in the last 3 years. Takes me back to memories of hot summer nights strolling Mass Ave in Cambridge. Ahhh...
:: A cup of Lemon Verbena tea (my favorite, most under-utilized herb to grow) to sip and listen to the cicadas.

August. Summer at its excruciating peak. Too hot to handle were it not for the glorious things happening in the garden and thus, on my plate!!!

*I've started to do more of this in light of the massive amount of greens we have in the garden. I'm happy to report that the hype is true: they are quite delicious and uber nutritious. (Plus, it's fun when they're bright-Kryptonite-green.) My recipe today: 1C water, 2 ice cubes, 1 frozen banana, 7 huge leaves of kale, and 1 mango. Blend into oblivion. It's really refreshing and the best part is that Christopher and Colin love them, too.

Give.

Some of our dearest family friends are walking by their daughter's side as she goes head to head with Leukemia. Ellie's diagnosis and brave spirit has affected all of us deeply. And with the distance between our homes, it is often hard to know how to help. What to do. What to say.

Luckily, our friends Polly and Jeff are do-ers. And right now they're offering everyone a chance to do something. Jeff is fundraising for a very special place called Camp Okizu by running the Feather Falls Run in Davis, CA on Sunday, Sept. 9th. He is training his buns off for the 5K and has made biiiiiig promises about his time. :) I know he'll beat his own goal and I wish we could be there to make a hell of a lot of noise and cheer him on.

Go Jeff! Go Ellie! Kick some cancer ass.

To help Jeff reach his fundraising goal, CLICK HERE!

If you'd like to read more about Ellie's battle, please read Jeff's blog love4ellie.blogspot.com. He writes brazenly and compassionately about his experiences parenting a child fighting Leukemia.

To read more about Camp Okizu - CLICK HERE.
To read about the Feather Falls Run - CLICK HERE.

Screen time

This isn't a diatribe on screen time or TV or media, etc... if you know us, you know how we tend to run things around here. Screen time for the kids is limited - some might say heavily. Mike and I, on the other hand, could stand to get our heads out of our smartphones more often!

Regardless, I saw this and thought it was very clever. Makes a good point without any finger-wagging.



This is especially relevant to us at this moment because Christopher has begun (demanded?!) to read to US! Yep. We are allowed to read books on loan from the library (because he hasn't read them, yet!), but otherwise he reads to us. He follows the words on the page with his pointer finger and reads aloud to all of us. His favorites are Goodnight Moon and Freight Train. We have large lap editions of these which make it easier for him to follow the words and really take in the story while he reads. It's fascinating watching his infatuation with numbers and letters. Unlocking more and more of that secret code every day.