bu-ut oh! those summer nights!

I kind of live for summer cookouts.

Did you know last Friday was National S’More Day? I hope you celebrated. I did.

Last Friday was great. Met friends and went to Bluemont Park, where we basically stumbled upon the Lost Dog 5K Series. Basically, the Lost Dog Cafe is a cafe that along with selling (amazing) sandwiches, also rescues, sponsors and finds homes for dogs, and created their own Lost Dog Rescue organization. Awesome, right? So they do this 5K series and it looks like SO MUCH FUN. Everyone meets up on Friday nights at a pretty park, enjoys all the fun race stuff (or, er, if you’re me, get a free chair massage and Larabar sample despite not running, nor ever planning to run, the race), and then runs a race for a great cause.

The best part is, DOGS CAN RUN THE RACE TOO, which meant runners raced past the starting line to the tune of “Who Let the Dogs Out” (along with actual barking). And those of us who were simply there to loiter around the park and toss around a frisbee still got to PLAY WITH THE PUPPIES WHO WERE UP FOR ADOPTION. Oh my Goddddddddddddddd if you are ever even slightly dissatisfied with any aspect of your life may I recommend picking up a puppy who then furiously licks your chin? Agh so great.

Then we had a spontaneous cookout. Lydia came too, and was in charge of arranging the cheese.

I grilled tofu.

Just sprinkled with Cajun seasoning. GREAT.

And potatoes (foil packet; olive oil salt and pepper), and WHOLE CARROTS. This is a tip my uncle Louie gave me. Grilling carrots whole is the bomb. You get the best of the cooked carrots and raw carrots world. You just roll them in a little olive oil (or a marinade, if you’re using one for meat or something) and then throw it on the grill whole. Like roasted carrots, the outside gets wonderfully caramelized and sweet and flavorful (win) and like raw carrots they still retain a wonderful no-mush crunch (win). Delish.

 

Also foil packet-ed zucchini (olive oil, salt and pepper), peppers (same), and okra (which I did with olive oil, cumin, and coriander- nice!).

 

Obviously my boyfriend ran out to buy 16 brats, too. Just in case.

And he bought smores fixin’s VERY IMPORTANT.

Then Lydia arranged them cause frankly these matters of arrangement and garnishing are important to her in a way they never ever will be for me. Thus her hand furiously arranging things in these first two pictures.

Here we go: 

I had one. Then I had s’more.

Speaking of cookouts, my family does them well too. (Though there were not smores, there were- unpictured- brownies, key lime pie, and Pavlova. I ate all in copious quantities).

Do other peoples’ family events just involve ridiculous amounts of food? And is it all awesome? I hope so. That is something I love about my family.

 

In the appetizer department, I obviously went nuts on the above guacamole; white bean, garlic, and rosemary dip (so good Kathy!); and horseradish hummus from Trader Joe’s, which I always love and should just buy and/or make.

Once I made myself a proper plate, it was sort of eyes-rolled-back-in-my-head experience eating the watermelon, tomato, mint and goat cheese salad. So good my aunt Nan made it… then her sister arrived later… with the exact same dish. There is a reason, guys.

 

Note the blossoming black eyed Susans out the window in the background. I mean really. Can it always be summer?

the harvest

So I’m starting to understand how parents feel. Because I”ve been watching something grow, and it’s pretty amazing. I mean, as I see it, as a young person I can either work it into my budget to have children one day… or be able to afford to occasionally buy lunch from the Whole Foods salad bar. Not one without the other.

But watching something grow feels good. Bragging about its accomplishments.

Regular readers will recall that the tomatoes started (relatively) small, just a wimpy little sissy things held up with chopsticks.

But they had a serious growth spurt, and got some big grownup stakes to hold ‘em up.

  

And along with a massive growth spurt in the height of the plants, what were once buds became proper flowers.

Cunningly held to the stake with the help of what are essentially giant bag ties. If we’re sticking with the (creepy?) children analogy, perhaps we could consider these the equivalent of braces?

  

Tragedy struck them in their youth- when we had our crazy DC weather, the gusts of windwere so violent that they blew two of the plants off the deck. One of the pots broke, the stems were bent every which way, and the soil was violently flung out.

I repotted them as securely as I possibly could. I sang them both “I Say A Little Prayer For You” and “Hey Jude”, because I’ve heard music is good for plants and because I’m fond of both of those songs and find they very encouraging.

And they just kept on truckin, man!

And what were once flowers popped out into these enchanting little green things.

 

And yes, I did count them pretty regularly (and watered them evvvvery day). What was once two or three became eight, then fifteen, then twenty two (!) in pretty rapid succession.

And Holy Toledo they got bigger and bigger and bigger!

AND THEN THEY STARTED TURNING RED! I seriously can’t pick what was the most exciting point in the process (yes, seriously. Exciting.) but this might’ve been it.

At a certain point I had to consult the advice of more experienced gardeners regarding the harvest.

I took their advice until one (not actually either of the ones in the picture, suggesting some tomatoes simply mature at their own rate, like some humans) at last was ripe and beautiful.

It came right off the vine. Good sign!

 

I was so. proud. It looked totally heirloomy!

Since a single tomato was available to fill me, my sister, my boyfriend, and my mother… none of us got all that much. I made a salad with some (also local, though not grown by me) spinach and a simple vinaigrette (blackberry balsamic and olive oil).

Plated…

 

OH MY GOD MY TOMATO WAS SO GOOD.

If all it is is the magic of having grown something yourself, I want to grow all my own food. I think it was also just a really excellent varietal of tomatoes (thanks Lyddie!)- they are heirloom Abraham Lincolns. Anyway, they were wonderful- firm on the outside, juicy and sweet within, tasting incredibly flavorful and redolent of sunshine :)

 

if it aint broke

You know what there is something to be said for? Routine.

Knowing what breakfast will make you full. Knowing what ingredients you can combine to make a delicious lunch that’s easy to transport. Having the dinner you can throw together in ten minutes flat when you arrive home from work totally hangry.

A few of mine:

This summer, I’ve actually been taking an oats break. I love oats, but right now what’s doing it for me in a major way is shredded wheat. My winning combo is shredded wheat, milk and/or yogurt (my favorite is six tablespoons yogurt plus two tablespoons milk. Oddly specific but awesome texture for soaking into the cereal but retaining some toothsomeness), nuts (either almonds or walnuts), and banana (chopped fine for maximum flavor dispersion- I cut the banana in half the long way, then those halves in half).

 

Flavors are nice, texture is fab, and it keeps me just as full as oats with the same unprocessed, whole grain goodness.

 

Back when I was taking classes (eesh, remember that? I wonder if I’ll ever do that again…) I made this for I want to say four meals in a row.

Cook up some mushrooms and garlic in oil, then add tomatoes and cook down. When they’re nice and soft, add some white beans.

Then cook in some couscous (you won’t need to add as much water cause the tomatoes yield a bunch). Trader Joe’s whole wheat couscous is to die for (and whole-grain-phobes would never know, it tastes exactly the same as the white stuff).

So good, so satisfying.

 

For lunch, you can have it with some yogurt ‘n fruit if you’d like!

Or just straight up. Spices are optional, too. You could tweak this quite a bit as you fancied. Cumin? Caramelized onions? Oregano? Harissa? Olives? Sun dried tomatoes?

  Another AWESOME superfoods lunch- sardine salad! I like mine mooshed up with finely minced celery and carrot plus some yogurt and chili powder. Or mustard. Or anything. Sardines are so good.

Then you can eat it with crackers or whole-wheat flatbread ripped up in a haphazard fashion and baked until crispy (lazy crackers!)

 

SO FUN TO EAT. I also suspect that it’s inherently healthier for me to eat stuff a little at a time, drawing out the experience, focusing on flavors and textures. More satisfying!

 

My be-all and end-all home-alone-for-dinner meal is greens with a poached egg on top.

Oil and vinegar. Salt and pepper. Yesterday, today and tomorrow.

very full Wednesday

Okay, want to know the reason I went so long without blogging?

Here’s the thing: Amy (who had been my immediate supervisor at work, the person who gave me all my training, the person who knew how to do everything, and also a cool person who ended up being my friend and whose travels through Europe- prior to heading to school to get an MBA- I am eagerly following) left. And I got her job. Whoo, promotion. Exceeeeeeeept… no one got my job. For three months.

So one me… one new job… plus one old job no one else was doing.

Plus participating for the first time in a new summer program which is generally really exciting- your tax dollars at work!- but a sh** ton of work in terms of administration, paperwork, training, site visits, etc., with a new leadership reorganization that makes me want to staple said paperwork to my face when I think about it too much.

Plus generally not knowing at all what to do with my life- more classes to move me towards my RD/MPH goal? Finally FINALLY move out of my childhood home and live as an independent adult? But with who? And gosh I’m stressed out so I think I’ll eat 100 cookies to help- etc. etc.

But… I’m dealing. My old job FINALLY got replaced with someone who is fantastic- sweet, conscientious, a quick learner. And everything else, I’m making it up as I go.

So here’s the day we had a work celebration saying farewell to Amy! Er, three months ago. I’ll also add that the director of our department just had a super awesome and cute baby last weekend. So we were celebrating that, a little, and also being all “Eesh, more stuff to do with Kendra gone!”

But hurray for working with good people, and hurray for deviled eggs.

 

In general work events, perhaps unsurprisingly when you remember I work at an organization with “Food” in its title, are kind of ridiculous.

Really surprisingly healthy too, minus the Doritos :) Mmm.

Kendra had a dope new patio, and her exceedingly nice husband grilled everything for us.

Mmm. 

More mmm.

Oooh, Michael’s cheesy thing just came out of the oven, mm!

Aww…

   

Lest you think I hadn’t had enough tables overflowing with food that day, I then had a family event! Two of my great aunts (who I may have never met?) were visiting my other beloved great aunt Rose, and she had a shindig to get the family together. It was in Silver Spring at night (an hour and a half during rush hour, eesh, but we love our family so!) held in the super nice clubhouse-type-space at the Leisure World where aunt Rose lives.

Sometimes Dena remembers she is a really good photographer and demands that we pose for family pictures at these events.

Aunt Rose looks great but the rest of us do kind of the Chandler Bing smile in front of cameras.

Anyway, the table was a tasty mix of stuff made by family and things catered by a great Greek restaurant nearby.

 

Legit Greek salad! No lettuce!

 

My oh-so-yummy plate. Freed from the tyranny of having to choose between spinach pie and squash pie.

So fun catching up with family. Also met new cousins who shared how their family had dealt with their first threat of a tornado after moving East from California (climbing into the bathtub wearing bike helmets… to me, this seems very practical).

Obligatory dessert. On the left was a Macedonian variation on Baklava that was somehow… wetter? Good stuff.

If your days are going to be crammed with huge amounts of work they might as well be crammed with huge amounts of food, eh?

breakfast goes classy

You, yes, you, deserve a classy breakfast. So do I. We all should. It’s amazing how much a classy breakfast (or even better, brunch) can do to make you happy for the day. Do yourself a favor, particularly on the weekend, check yourself to hotel room service catered by you.

May I make some suggestions?

Post-church-brunch: Eggs florentine.

Ridiculous.

Here’s what I did: heated up just a little bit of water in a large skillet. Added spinach. When the water started bubbling, cracked eggs on top. Covered, and cooked on low just until the egg whites were set, at which point the spinach was perfectly tender.

Toasted an English muffin. Put the spinach on top. Put the egg on top. Topped with pesto!

Heaven!

Moving from Italy to Mexico (er, moving from “Italy” to “Mexico), these were a marvelous twist on huevos rancheros.

Toasted up a sandwich thin (or whatever bread you have). Fried two eggs. Put a bit of black beans on the bread, topped with the eggs, and topped with avocado and hot sauce. AGH SO GREAT ALSO. Fruit on the side is always nice when you’re planning a classy breakfast.

     

Moving to the sweeter side, Steve is a good boyfriend and therefore makes efforts to have Ileana-friendly breakfasts available for me. He also lives walking distance from a Trader Joe’s luckyyyy. So he obtained some Fage (something of which he would not know the existence without me; now he’s thoroughly addicted), some fresh blueberries, and some pomegranate seeds. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

 

So pretty and colorful too, oui? And Steve’s also great about dealing with my intense, intense aversion to natural light (essentially: if there is any daylight whatsoever and you turn on a lamp, I will yell at you).

Plus toast on the side, and a cuppa.

 

Sweet and simple, I often find myself just wanting plain ol’ french toast. It is so easy to make I’m surprised I don’t do it more.

 

And finally, the not-particularly-breakfasty, celebration-of-summer-flavors, taste-the-rainbow brunch.

I threw some thawed frozen peas in a food processor with some basil, garlic, and olive oil (also good in there: mint, ricotta, etc. Sky’s the limit). Smeared that on some bread.

Made some corn that’d been picked up that morning that we picked up from the farm stand on the way home from church. Nuked in the husk in the microwave for four minutes (wow so simple and so good!)

And finally my mom made a salad with tomatoes and green peppers, also from the farm stand. Plus basil, oil, and balsamic vin.

SUMMER YOU WIN!

Fage, you too :)