August

August evening. Amos is making trains and mailboxes with his tegu blocks. He constructs something that he is using to pretend to cut grass on the rug. He asks me for a bucket, a pretend bucket. Here it is, I say, placing a pretend bucket near where he is working. Is it a tall one or a small one? He asks. Tall. I’m chimping the grass, he says. He likes to make up words and I am amused that his make-believe revolves around yard work.

Eowyn is in her bouncy chair, singing with all the might of her little lungs. We stop and look at her and she makes a sound like laughter, her first, although she seems to be laughing at nothing and we can’t get her to do it again. Outside the golden hour is approaching, so much earlier than it was a few weeks ago. Crickets chirp their steady background music.

Some days I am parched and thirsting for that elusive five minute of peace. Other times, Amos is outside cutting the grass with scissors or playing with beans on the kitchen counter (handily contained by a large plastic bin) and I can feel my whole being relax a bit with this break from answering questions or responding to pleas for help. Its not all bad, I do what I can to really appreciate the moments that are good. These moments are mixed into ever changing and ever lingering challenges swirled with never ending doubt (am I doing this right? I may never know).

I am happy to have a kitchen table full of food that we have grown. By grown, I mean we stuck some seeds and seedlings in the ground and let the heat of the summer and an occasional squirt with the hose do the work. But we have braids of onions hanging by the windows and I may even end up canning some of the tomatoes that are so abundant this year. We scattered a second planting of lettuce seeds and I hope we’ll be eating it in salads soon. I’ve come to realize that I feel happiest and most alive when surrounded by things I’ve made myself. I’ll be sad when the fall and the frost leaves us with nothing more in our garden plot.

I lose track of the days and hope summer will last at least another month until I see the calendar and it finally sinks in that September is next week. A new page of days doesn’t mean summer is over, no one in our house is going back to school, but I’m not ready to let go of this season. Time really does go by so much faster every year, summer seems just a blink between months of winter.

Until then there are more perfect breezes and blue skies to be enjoyed. 

Cherry Vanilla Popsicles

Summer Summer Summer.

I really am trying to soak it all in. Windows open all the time, a hint of salt in the air. The morning and evening light. The heat of the day and the cool night air. Trips to our community garden plot before the sun gets too high when we marvel at how much the plants have grown in just a few days. Salads that taste better than anything we eat in the winter. Lying in grass in the shade enjoying the cool breezes. Amos' constant in and out, digging holes in the front yard and making mud puddles. He rings the doorbell and leaves mud on the floor. Trips to the beach for wading in the water, watching snails, more digging in the sand. Sandy feet and sandy floors. Letting go of the clutter and things undone, reminding myself that it's just summer taking over, or the new baby in the house. Berries and cherries as much as we can. Popsicles on the porch almost every afternoon. Sticky fingers and faces.

I make most of our popsicles by throwing any fruit into a jar with yogurt or coconut milk and whirring it with the immersion blender until it can be poured into the mold. I was inspired, though, by the many great recipes in Icy Creamy Healthy Sweet, Christine Chitnis' beautiful book of frozen treats, all of which can be made free of dairy or refined sugar. Cherries are a sweet treat in themselves, but I used her recipe for a simple cherry compote and then went off book, swirling them with yogurt and vanilla. I sometimes question Amos' popsicle a day routine, but then I decide that fruit and yogurt with a touch of honey is as good a snack as any.

Sweet, cold, melty, sticky, summer summer summer.

Cherry Vanilla Popsicles
Inspired by Icy Creamy Healthy Sweet by Christine Chitnis
You can, and should adjust the amount of honey and vanilla to your taste

2 cups pitted fresh sweet cherries, cut in half
2 teaspoons honey
2 cups plain yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine the cherries and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and let it cook for a minute or so. Remove from heat and let the cherry compote cool. 

Mix the yogurt and vanilla together. When the cherry compote is cool, swirl it into the vanilla yogurt. Pour into your popsicle mold and freeze.

Makes 8 large popsicles.

Exploring

Summer has finally arrived in Maine, filling the sky with blue, warming the air to the perfect temperature, and leaving everything else astoundingly green. It is such a short season here, sometimes I start to panic (it's already July!!) and worry that we won't get to do all of the things that seem essential to a wonderful summer. Luckily, we've already made it to the beach a few times, picked piles of strawberries, and taken a spontaneous trip on the mail boat run around the sparkling water and islands of Casco Bay. That leaves plenty of days for walking and biking to a playground, eating popsicles, working in our community garden plot and feeling the perfect breezes through open windows.

Here on the Maine coast, not all summer days are sunny and warm. Foggy days give us a break from slathering on sunscreen and a chance to be enveloped in a completely different palette of colors. We welcome the sun when it returns.

I try to get Amos, Eowyn, and myself out on a small adventure most mornings. Adventure is probably too strong a word for simply getting out of the house and going somewhere. Although we aren't really out in the wild, we can easily reach many beautiful trails, parks, and beaches. We find pockets, patches, and swaths of nature all around.

Amos is happy exploring anywhere outside. We watch birds and ants, throw rocks, dig in the sand or soil. He often hands me the flowers, rocks or pine cones he collects and I quickly lose them. My solution was to sew a collecting pouch that he can bring on adventures to carry the treasures he might find. I used a bit of muslin from my dyeing experiments and appliqued it with some wool felt that I got on a visit to Purl Soho. I'm sure it will see many more adventures before the summer is over. Where are you exploring these days?

Tiny Precious Berries

 

Even if we didn't have the bears, the hillside, and the plink! plank! plunk! of the metal bucket, Blueberries for Sal is a very accurate manual for picking blueberries with a two year old. Amos picked five, ate four. Wandered around looking for Blue berries, not green ones, ate one, two, three. Picked four. Dumped them in my container. Picked and ate. Meanwhile, I was just a little less obsessive than Little Sal's Mother about picking blueberries to save for winter. I will freeze mine, not can them, but I think I will have to go picking again by myself so we can keep a supply of berries in the freezer.

We eat blueberries by the quart full around here but I managed to save some to make the most amazing blueberry cake. The recipe caught my eye in the beautiful new Seven Spoons cookbook by Tara O'Brady. I couldn't resist the idea of making a blueberry snacking cake, but I also wondered if that was the best use of these tiny precious berries. What if it was bland or dry or the sweet juicy blueberries got lost in a spongy cake? These are important questions when summer produce is ripe and fleeting. Fortunately, the cake exceeded all of my expectations. The sturdy cake was lemony with hints of vanilla which perfectly highlighted the blueberries, turning each one into a burst of flavor. It is an absolutely worthwhile use of freshly picked summer fruit.

Blueberry Snacking Cake
Adapted from Seven Spoons by Tara O'Brady
The original cake calls for two tablespoons of poppy seeds but I didn't have any and I was happy without them. This recipe is not fussy, but it takes a bit of time, especially for baking. It is worth every minute.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar, plus more for sprinkling
4 eggs, at room temperature
Seeds scraped from one vanilla bean or two teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons creme fraiche or sour cream
juice and grates zest of one lemon
1 cup blueberries 

Preheat the oven to 300' Butter an 8 inch round cake pan and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper. Butter the paper as well. Whisk together the flour and salt.

Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 8 minutes on medium high, scraping down the sides of the bowl regularly. It will turn into a light thick mixture, almost like icing. Decrease to medium speed and add the eggs one at a time, scraping the beater and the bowl and mixing well after each addition. The batter may look curdled at this point, but it will still come together just fine. Add the vanilla. With the mixer on low, add half of the flour. Then add the creme fraiche and lemon juice and finish with the remaining flour until everything is incorporated but not over-mixed. Stir in the blueberries by hand and pour into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the top with sugar. 

Bake for 80-90 minutes until a skewer in the middle comes out clean. Allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes before removing it from the pan. It will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for four days, if it lasts that long!

Popsicles!

Summer is never going to end, right?

The reason I ask is that I finally bought a popsicle mold. At the end of July.

After I made my first batch, I was entertaining ideas of starting a popsicle stand -- not the kind you find yourself leaving from time to time, but one that sells popsicles with interesting and refreshing flavors. But I've given up on making popsicles full time and settled, enthusiastically, for making as many kinds of popsicles as I can for as long as summer lasts.

Any kind of smoothie can be turned into a good popsicle -- green, berry-full, banana peanut butter. Adding yogurt or coconut milk makes them nice and creamy. Amos calls them poxibles and eats them sitting on our porch dripping here and there. 

Fudgecicles are fun. Experimental blueberry, beet, coconut milk pops not bad. My favorites so far started with a banana coconut milk ice cream base that, instead of churning, I poured into the molds. They needed no embellishment, but I couldn't resist coating some of them in chocolate for an extra special treat.

There are so many popsicle possibilities so I am sharing this as inspiration. Whether or not you enjoy frozen treats, I hope you are savoring whatever makes your summer sweet.

Thai Vegetable Salad with Peanut Coconut Sauce

The big adventures of our summer are over. We've visited our old neighborhood in Saint Paul, spent days at the lake, and just got back from a quick trip to New Jersey for a perfect summer wedding. Happily there are few events or obligations marked on our calendar for the rest of the summer. While our travels and activities are so worthwhile, I get a little anxious when we don't have unscheduled time.

We still have one full glorious month of summer left. Enough for lots more days at the beach, bike rides or hikes, ice cream cones, sweet salty air, and so much good local produce. I am trying to shut out thoughts that summer is dwindling and to remember all that we've already experienced and all the beautiful days that lie ahead. Now that we will be in one place for more than a few weeks I realize that I have barely begun to make use of the summer foods which, for most of the year, are only memories. I've munched pounds of snap peas and cucumbers and thrown together piles of vegetables that need little more than some cheese or olive oil to make a meal but now that we're settling back in I feel pulled to spend more time in the kitchen.

Beyond making yogurt almost weekly and figuring out something for dinner I have spent most of my hours in the kitchen sweeping or putting away dishes. I am taking a master food preserver class but I have not yet canned anything on my own stove. Summer is not always the ideal time to cook or bake but I miss feeling engaged with the hearth of our home.

One of my favorite salads this summer provides a break from my typical dinner dishes but it requires no hot slaving and it is served cold. It starts with a pile of sliced fresh vegetables which you tangle among the thinnest of rice noodles. The sauce, which I discovered when my brother made a similar salad, is lightly peanutty and savory with a hint of sweet. It keeps well in the fridge and seems like a good thing to have on hand. Together they make an unfussy and satisfying meal.

Thai Vegetable Salad
This recipe works best as a rough outline. Slice your vegetables so that you have about as many vegetables as noodles, or more. If you prefer more noodles, you can cook more or use fewer vegetables. A mandoline slicer (this one is the best) is ideal for quickly slicing the into the thinnest strips. 
The recipe for the sauce is adapted from this one, make sure you adjust everything to your taste.
I like to serve this salad with pan fried tofu for a more complete meal.

4 ounces of very thin rice noodles (I like these)
1 small cabbage
2 carrots
2 small or one large cucumber
1 red pepper
1 small bunch of cilantro
A handful of snap peas, mung bean sprouts, or scallions

Peanut Coconut Sauce
13.5 ounce can of coconut milk
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon red curry paste

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the noodles. Turn off the heat and let them sit for two minutes. Drain the noodles and run them under cold water to stop them from cooking further and to chill them. Once the noodles are cold, set them aside. 

Slice all of the vegetables into thin, bite sized pieces or strips. Toss the vegetables with the cold noodles in a serving bowl. 

To make the sauce, pour the coconut milk, peanut butter, brown sugar, soy sauce and curry paste into a blender or food processor. Blend or process until smooth. Adjust ingredients to your taste.

Toss the salad with the sauce before serving or leave them separate and let each person sauce their own portion.

Serves 2-3 for a meal, 4-6 for a side.

Be In It

I did and didn't mean to take so much time away from here. With ever growing lists of projects and ever dwindling amounts of time, I can rarely fit in everything I want to do. I'm sure you can relate. It's constant back and forth, and I'm always standing ankle deep in the sloshing water as the tides come and go. I keep telling myself that it would make sense to focus on just one or two things. So, for a few weeks I did.

And then we went on vacation.



We filled our time with almost everything summer and vacation-y that we could have hoped for. S'mores with home made marshmallows and home made graham crackers. Dropping everything to go watch the sun set. Swimming and hiking, jumping into water so cold it was hard to breathe, and eating as many wild blueberries as we could find. Reveling in  the company of friends from nearby and far away. Playing, eating, and catching up with family we see only once a year as well as family we see often. Watching the mountains and sky and lake change from day to day. Kayaking with a two year old and with a pair of loons, but not at the same time. Trying, often unsuccessfully, to get Amos to take naps. Blowing motor boat bubbles and making sand cakes. Disconnecting from work, email, phones. Reading as many books as we could.

And now I'm back to trying to prioritize one project or another or none at all because naps are still hard and time is short and full, as always. I'm figuring out how to work at my desk while Amos colors or fills his toy truck with playing cards, or runs around picking up cloth napkins and wooden balls with kitchen tongs. I am wondering how to find fulfillment and whether what I am doing matters at all. I worry about this blog and if I am writing anything worthwhile and how I can make it better.

My plan, for now, it to keep going. To feel the shifting sands, the pull of the water one way and another, to let the seaweed swirl around my ankles and just be in it.

Pedaling

I love traveling by bicycle. Whether it is pedaling across the bridge into Portland or touring the greenways of the Twin Cities, I love being able to use my own strength and energy to propel my bike forward. You arrive perhaps more tired than when you left but you travel at a human pace, knowing exactly how you got there. When pedaling along, you can observe your surroundings in detail and stop whenever you want, wherever you want at a moment's notice. You feel the air, the sun, the rain, you smell the sweetness of late spring. Sometimes, of course, you are fighting against the wind, and you can't avoid the occasional smell of festering roadkill. But whether gliding easily down a hill or working your tired legs to get back up, you feel alive and connected to the world as you pass through it. The bumps in the road, the sounds of birds and trucks, the deer crashing through the wooded roadside, you get to hear and feel and see so much more than if you are just passing through in a car.

Last weekend we embarked on our first bike tour with Amos. It may have been our first bike tour since we rode across the United States seven years ago! I have been wanting to explore the Eastern Trail and this section crosses the street less than a quarter mile from our house. In Southern Maine, the route goes from South Portland to the border of New Hampshire. It is part of the East Coast Greenway that goes all the way from Key West, Florida to Calais, Maine along roads and trails.

We had near perfect weather on our two day trip. The sun was warm but the route was shaded with sweet smelling piney woods. From South Portland to Kennebunk, most of the route is on trails which used to be part of a railroad and is now occupied by a natural gas pipeline and shared with bicyclists, walkers, and runners. Most of the trails are packed dirt, which, except for a few soft spots, was fine for the tires of my touring bike. Bridges take you over many of the major roads, though there is some navigating through the streets of Saco and Biddeford and few other areas. Signs for the east coast greenway marked almost every turn which made it easy to follow the route. We brought a trail map but barely used it, so, of course we missed the one turn that wasn't marked. After going a little off the route we were able to find the trail again without too much trouble.

Amos seems to enjoy traveling in our bike trailer, pulled behind Ray's bicycle, much more than sitting in a car seat on a long drive. We stopped a few times each day for snacks, lunch, and to stretch, rest and play. It was easy to stop along the trails but on the roads it was trickier to find places to stop since most people probably don't want strangers picnicking on their lawn. For several miles, while we searched for a place we could take a break, I imagined that more people should build benches on the edge of their lawns or put up signs, "Feel free to take a break here." But most people don't travel for miles without a car looking for a source of water and a flat shady spot to rest.

Our bike touring doesn't take us to very remote areas, but when you are a few hours or more from home with most everything you need in your panniers and trailer, you feel lighter, your only responsibility is to pedal, take care of your body, and enjoy your surroundings. When traveling by bicycle I feel a greater sense of trust that everything will work out because sometimes you have no other choice. Our relatively smooth travel was derailed, literally, when Ray's chain got stuck in his crank. We weren't sure if we would be able to go on so Amos and I had ate peanut butter and jam sandwiches next to someone's mail box while Ray tried to pull the chain unstuck. On this short tour close to home Ray didn't pack tools or a repair kit. We could have called someone to come pick us up but luckily our trip didn't have to end there. Our unexpected rescuer pulled into his driveway, next to our picnic spot. He had a set of allen wrenches in his trunk, as if he helped stranded cyclists all the time, and Ray was able to fix his chain.

Other than the trouble Amos had falling asleep in the tent (10 pm, toddler running around, pulling hair, climbing over sleeping bags) the rest of the trip went very smoothly. We biked from South Portland to Berwick and back, about 50 miles each way. I hope that we have many more family bike tours ahead of us. There are so many places to pedal and roads to see.

It has been almost two years since Amos became the primary focus of my time and energy and I am constantly scaling back my expectations of what I can accomplish aside from the time that I spend with him. I am often discouraged because I feel like my creative work, especially writing and sewing, is moving so slowly. But I have come to realize that there is no need to give up just because I feel like I'm not getting anywhere. I will continue to move forward as slowly and steadily as I can for as long as I can keep creating.

Usually when I feel discouraged I just have to look around at all of the making I am doing every day and I remember how lucky I am. This week I have been trying to finish several projects that couldn't wait any longer. I managed to get several things done in just a few days. These were things I had to do, but really I was lucky to get to make a few new pairs of shorts for Amos, stitch up a baby quilt for a friend's new little one, pot up lots of herbs for our front porch, plant vegetables at my dad's house, and make rhubarb crostatas to bake for brunch on Sunday. When I am trying to squeeze it all in and set aside other projects that should have priority, I wonder why I do all of this. Then I remember that this is the stuff of the life I want to live.

Throw it all in

I'd like to excuse my recent laziness in the kitchen by saying that good summer produce hardly needs embellishment. But been taking the easiest route for most of our meals in the past several months. I make a lot of vegetable, grain and bean salads which are perfect when filled with fresh summer vegetables and herbs. Recently I've been making a pesto which is equally lazy, just throwing some basil, some spinach, and whatever else I have on hand into the food processor. I use a garlic clove or two, maybe some nuts or cheese, and plenty of olive oil. The last batch I made included some soft goat cheese with gave the sauce a creamy tang. The variations are endless and as long as you have good ingredients and flavors you enjoy, I say, throw it all in.

I've been tossing this sauce with potatoes and other blanched vegetables but I know it will be a great addition to anything with tomatoes once they are ripe and abundant. It is an easy way to add color, flavor, and some extra greens, protein, and healthy fats to whatever summer brings into your bowl.

Free Form Pesto
You don't need a recipe, but here are some suggestions. And when I say throw it all in, you will want to consider flavors a bit. Not all herbs/nuts/cheeses/oils go together but many do.

1-2 cups herbs and or greens such as basil, spinach, cilantro, mint, kale, arugula (I like to use one herb and one green for a batch of sauce)
1-2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup nuts or seeds such as sunflower seeds, walnuts, almonds, etc
1/4 cup cheese such as parmesan or chevre or you could use a bit of yogurt or sour cream for a creamy sauce
1/4-1/2 cup oil (depending on how thin you want the sauce to be) such as olive, avocado, grapeseed 
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Place all ingredients in a food processor and whir until the sauce reaches the consistency you desire.

Makes about a cup of pesto.

The Business of Every Day

I marvel as the days get longer and longer, celebrating the light until we pass the tipping point and still enjoying it even as the sunrise is a few minutes earlier and earlier. Two weeks ago when I walked home from my yoga class at nearly nine o'clock the sun had yet to dip below the horizon. I didn't turn on a light as I sat at the kitchen table. Now, at that time, the room is almost dark. I tend to mourn the loss a little more than I celebrate the gain, but the days are still quite long. Summer is in full swing and the weather lately could not be more perfect.

Just yesterday Amos started walking a lot more, going from two three four steps at a time to nearly walking across the room, over and over. He is top heavy and wobbly but beginning to join the world of vertical travel instead of being a lying, sitting, crawling ball of energy. I notice these small changes, too. Watching him learn to walk is actually thrilling and seems almost miraculous except that almost all of us go through this stage and then don't think anything of striding around. I am excited to watch the progress but I already feel nostalgic for my crawling baby. He continues to change little by little each day and week, giggling more, understanding more, becoming capable of more.

We're in another summer of transition. Of the seven or eight summers Ray and I have had together, at least five of them have had a big event. Travel, a wedding, a move, a baby, and at the end of August we'll be moving back to Maine, which has always been our plan. Its strange to think that so much of our life together (and all of our life with Amos) has happened here but now it will continue somewhere else. During our time in Minnesota, we've learned to lean on each other completely. We will certainly miss this wonderful place to live, but we'll be happy when the transition is over.

A minute more or less of sunlight, little hands reaching higher, chubby feet stepping further. Filled with the business of every day, these changes go nearly unnoticed until you look at the sky or see the shadows have shifted. Other times there is something big circled on the calendar and it forces you to contemplate the way everything has been different and the way nothing ever stays the same.

Couldn't Let it Go

I was standing at the kitchen counter, chopping red bell peppers, when I started to think about how these vegetables under my knife would provide flavor and sustenance months from now. That is always how canning goes, but at that moment it really stood out to me. I have canned pints of salsa every summer for the last several years. This year I have completed only a few canning projects, done at a slower pace than in years past, in between feeding Amos, while he is napping, or when Ray is home. It seemed like a big undertaking this summer, but I was determined not to miss gathering tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, onions, garlic, and a few jalapenos from the farmers market and (hopefully) making our years supply of salsa.

The salsa I made last year lasted until sometime in June. I didn't think I had enough tomatoes or time but over the weekend I was able to can 20 pints which should last us until next summer arrives.





I stood and chopped; stirred and tasted. I thought ahead to opening a jar in January as I often do when preserving the summer. I wanted to be able to look back on a cold winter day, or a blustery spring day and see the colorful, beautiful work that was hot and steamy and a little bit tiring, but so worth it.





We will open these jars when we want salsa, without thinking of the moment in time when they were made. When I stood at the counter chopping, when Ray took Amos for a drive and watched him while I ladled the salsa into the jars, when it was the hottest week of the summer but I couldn't let it go by without making salsa.

 

The recipe is pretty much the same one I posted years ago.

You Can't Go Wrong

It is finally hitting me that most of August has gone by. When its time to turn the calendar to the next page, there will be hints of leaves changing color, speculation about frost, and the smell of cinnamon and spices from some corners. I don't have to tell you that the summer has flown by but I will say that when I look back at the past couple of months I can't quite say where they all went. I think I spent most of this summer sitting inside nursing Amos. But I did make it to several farmers' markets, walked across the stone arch bridge at least twice, went to Harriet Island, and ate more ice cream than I have during any other summer that I can remember. And, as I keep reminding myself, its not over.

Here in Minnesota we are at the peak of good local eating. Tomatoes and corn are abundant, I might be able to find some good melons and in the next several weeks the fall crops will gradually appear, but lets not talk about that yet.



One of the ways I most often use and enjoy summer produce is by throwing it into a salad. I skip the lettuce and fill a bowl with chopped vegetables often accompanied by a grain, a bean, some cheese or all three. I've been picking a handful of fresh herbs (basil, thyme, oregano, and mint) chopping them finely and tossing those in with salt, pepper, a couple glugs of olive oil and enough vinegar to make it interesting but not overpower the other flavors.

I can't get enough summer vegetables and a salad meal is a delicious way to enjoy them. A few of my favorites have been: quinoa and lentils with tomatoes, parmesan, sauteed zucchini and kale; black beans, corn, scallions, tomatoes and cilantro; chickpeas, quinoa, red peppers, cucumbers and scallions. It's all so good you can't go wrong.

July July Blueberry Pie

Blueberry pie seems to have become a July tradition for me. It doesn't seem like summer without it. This pie plate makes for an enormous pie, but our visitors helped us to devour most of it. When it comes to pie, I believe it is always better to have more, anyway. Here are pies from years past if you are looking for a recipe (2010, 2011, 2012).

What are the summer traditions that you can't do without?

P.S. I know have a phone that can take good pictures. I'm having fun with that and have joined Instagram if you care to follow.

Refreshing

So far, it has been a beautiful summer. We have filled the days with getting to know Amos and ourselves as parents and they are speeding by. At the moment he is napping, his normally wiggly body barely moving with each breath. I am sitting at the kitchen table gazing through the window screen at the familiar view that is decked out in all the greens of summer. The air is sweet and warm and gentle. After several weeks of settling in to this new life it is as if nothing and everything has changed.

I've spent very little time in the kitchen lately, hardly even sitting in my favorite spot at this table. Ray and I have taken turns cooking and we've been eating our way through the stores in the freezer. I am ready to do more in the kitchen soon. Fortunately this is the best time of year to just throw together meals from whatever we've gotten at the farmers market and good local produce is, of course, abundant.

I love the clear skies, warm air and plenty of cool breezes that summer brings us. We've been lucky that the really hot spells have only lasted for a few days at a time. Even so, this is the summer that we've fortified ourselves, again and again, with plenty of cold drinks. There is iced coffee for Ray and we stocked up on lime- and lemonade which is so satisfying on those sweltering days. I've been taking the empty juice bottles, filling them with water and stashing them in the fridge so we can always have cold water to keep us hydrated and refreshed.

I find that on a hot afternoon a cold sweet drink can be a great pick-me-up. An iced chai is my summer drink treat of choice (and the occasional milk shake or root beer float). As nice as it is to step into an air conditioned coffee shop to buy one, it was about time for me to try making chai concentrate myself. Sweetened and spiced to my taste, it is even more refreshing to have the perfect iced chai ready to pour any time.



Chai Concetrate
I like my chai spicy and not too sweet. Everything in this recipe can be adjusted to your taste but this is a good place to start. I used green tea since I couldn't find a decaffeinated black tea and I was very happy with the way it worked, but black tea would be more traditional. The larger quantity of sugar will make a tea that is very sweet, I prefer mine with the smaller amount.

4 1/2 cups water
8 bags of green or black tea
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise pods
8 cardamom pods
10 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 inch fresh ginger, chopped
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla (or one vanilla bean pod that has already been scraped of its seeds)
1/2-3/4 cup sugar

In a medium sauce pan, bring the water to a boil. Remove from heat and add the tea bags, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, cloves, peppercorns, ginger, nutmeg and vanilla bean pod (if using vanilla extract, add once the water has cooled). After 5 minutes, remove the tea bags and stir in the sugar until it has dissolved. Let the spices steep until the water is cool. Strain out the spices and store in the refrigerator.

To serve mix one part chai concentrate with one part milk of your choice. Heat or enjoy over ice.

Chai Shake
Freeze some of your chai concentrate in ice cube trays to make this extra icy chai. A scoop of vanilla ice cream in this shake would be really really good.

4 chai ice cubes
1/2 cup chai concentrate
1/2 cup milk

Put everything in the blender and blend until smooth and icy.

Raspberry Jam

I've immersed myself in canning projects as much as possible in the past few weeks, ensuring that I will have plenty of summer stored away. I often put these jars in the pantry and cupboard with ideas for winter meals. Yesterday while canning raspberry jam I kept thinking about one of the simplest, least glamorous or photogenic foods that is undeniably delicious and satisfying every time.

I don't eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches very often any more, but I ate them for lunch nearly every day of my childhood. I liked them best with whole wheat bread and just enough peanut butter and raspberry jam to keep them from oozing. Throughout my school years I brought my lunch with me and surprisingly I rarely packed it myself. My mom made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with perfection, spreading the peanut butter on both sides of the bread to keep the jam from making the whole thing soggy. When my dad packed our lunches he always put a chunk of cheddar cheese on top of the sandwich which by lunchtime would become oily and leave a dent where it sunk into the bread. This didn't deter me from ripping the sandwich in half and thoroughly enjoying the combination of sturdy bread, salty sticky peanut butter and sweet raspberry jam.

I'm sure everyone has their own memories of peanut butter and jelly or other childhood lunches which by choice or default have embedded themselves into our memories and senses. Even if peanut butter and jelly sandwiches don't appeal, there are still lots of the wonderful ways to use raspberry jam if you have some in your cupboard.





Raspberry Jam
I prefer not to use pectin which means that the jam I make is usually soft and spoonable. Sometimes it might be too soft, but it can be a wonderful sauce or addition to yogurt or ice cream.

6 pints fresh raspberries
3 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

Combine the raspberries and sugar in a non-reactive pot (enameled cast iron or stainless steel both work for this). Let them sit for a few hours until they have become very juicy. Bring the pot to a boil and let simmer. Stir occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add the lemon juice and, if possible, skim off any foam that appears on top of the jam. Continue simmering for about 45 minutes. To test whether the jam is ready, put a small plate in the freezer. Put a spoonful of jam on the plate and return it to the freezer for a minute. If the jam holds its shape, it is ready. I don't worry too much about cooking it down to the perfect jam  but about 45 minutes of simmering should do the trick.

Meanwhile, wash 6 half pint jars and place them in your canning pot while the water heats up. When the jam is ready to can and the water is boiling in your canning pot, remove the jars. Fill each jar, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, and put on lids and bands. Process the jars in the water bath for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool completely. Check to make sure each jar has sealed before storing for up to one year.