Homecoming

You didn't think I forgot, did you?

I won't bore you with details or any "I've been so busy!" type talk...that sort of thing is so boring.  In fact, I recently read "The Busy Trap" by Tim Kreider (New York Times), and it completely spoke to me; I vow to resist blabbing anymore about how oh-so-busy I am, particularly when most of it is indeed self-created (or self-inflicted?).

Besides, nothing like that happened anyway.  I haven't blogged for two simple reasons: 1) I've been feeling uninspired, and 2) I feel like I've lost my center a bit.  So I've just been focusing on really getting my house, my life, myself back in order again.  Which, believe me, is nowhere near as dramatic as I just made it sound.  All is well, actually.

So I don't have a recipe to share with you today but, given that I do share so much of my life here with you, I thought I'd show you what I've been up to.  It's been a lovely summer so far.   We've actually been without Bug for a solid month (a month!); she's coming home tomorrow and I'm beside myself with excitement.  And that's why I can't share any recipes with you, actually: Adam and I have been going out nearly every damn night!  I have done a shockingly tiny amount of cooking in the last couple months.  Which is okay and fine.  Sure, I miss cooking...but you do what you gotta do sometimes, right?

 My late spring started with a riverside NYC picnic to celebrate Adam's birthday:

I've eaten lots of ice cream in the past couple months, including Shake Shack's incredibly smooth and rich olive oil ice cream:

This was a highlight: another riverside picnic, this time to watch E.T. in Brooklyn Bridge Park with Adam and the Soul Twin.  Naturally, I ugly-cried...E.T. is just as lovely and heartbreaking to me now as it was to my 7-year-old self.  Luckily, the downtown NYC view I enjoyed this time was much better than my young heart could have imagined:

Bug graduated from elementary school.  Yowza.  Middle school, here we come (seriously, is that the face of a kid old enough for middle school?!):

Adam and I enjoyed a much-needed day at the beach:

We had our annual Ginger Man summer celebration (this was our 4th year), which wouldn't be complete without pretzels and beer (along with lots of laughter and our urban adopted family and friends):

Adam and I just returned from a four-day, Bug-free vacation to Tucson, which including many, many margaritas pool-side...

...and blue skies and sunshine...

Our next stop?  As if our summer hasn't been full enough, we leave this Sunday for a 3-week trip to Europe: Dublin, Zurich, and Hamburg.  I had grand visions of learning elementary German before leaving...but that didn't quite go as I planned.  So I'll just have to get by being able to count to ten to any German or Swiss citizen who asks. 

Thanks, everyone, for sticking with me - I do hope as the fall arrives, Bug starts school, and I'm in more of a routine, that I'll be here much more.  I've missed it very much.

Eat, drink, and stay centered.

  

Cape Cod

We knew Hurricane Irene was coming but we also knew that we couldn't cancel our long-awaited weekend at Cape Cod where friends were coming from around the country for a college reunion.  Even 65-mph wind gusts couldn't stop us.

Pre-Hurricane Irene

Trying to read (Spoiled) while the winds picked up

And we lost power. Not only lights but running water.  Right on, right on...

After a sleepless night of wind and exfoliating flying sand, we awoke to a gorgeous day...

Jeff and his son on the Cape

Ahi tuna tacos at Finbars

Big Gay Ice Cream

I finally, FINALLY went to the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck last night with my pals Jen, Jack, and Chris (Note: I probably don't need to even tell you this, but the pics were taken with a phone camera...):

I ordered the vanilla with fig balsamic syrup.  The syrup was delicious but Jen, Jack, and Chris had the right idea getting the Monday Sundae (twist ice cream, Nutella-lined waffle cone, dulce de leche, sea salt, and whipped cream).

Come ON already!

Like most Northeasterners, I have HAD IT with all this snow and cold and gray and gloom. I want peaches, I want asparagus, I want a picnic, I want VITAMIN D! So in an homage to all things sun-related, I give you some hope for brighter things to come:

Eat, drink, and hang in there a little bit longer!

Note: The burrito/taco thing is my own creation - seared tuna, sour cream, cilantro, raw red peppers, cabbage, mashed avocado, and lime juice.

Help out a fellow librarian and kidlit blogger

Matt Holm reminded me today why I love children's literature folks so much. Click here to find out how to help Bridget Zinn, a fellow librarian, a YA author, and a kidlit blogger, who has been diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.


On a food-related note, Bridget shares on her blog that she has to avoid fiber in her diet, which means that ice cream is a go...but broccoli is not. Oh, sweet irony!

Eat, drink, and remember that we're truly a community.

Jamie Oliver's ice cream with olive oil and fleur de sel

As if I needed another cookbook! Nevertheless, I bought Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Italy this past weekend. First, it made me long desperately to travel. Second, it inspired me to take my cooking to the next level.

However, I unintentionally ended up making an odd choice for my first go at his recipes: vanilla ice cream with olive oil and fleur de sel. Imagining the flavor combinations, I was immediately intrigued. Salty and sweet are one of my favorite flavor combos (caramel corn, sweet and sour pork, chocolate-covered pretzels, Ina Garten's 40 cloves of garlic recipe). Not to mention that I loathe baking and fancy dessert-making so this is the ideal choice for me.

Jamie recommended using the best olive oil and ice cream possible, and I had both on hand (Ronnybrook's vanilla ice cream is silky and divine). And I sprinkled gray salt on top. Here are the results:





That's right - I don't have a fancy ice cream scoop, hence the odd shaved shape made by my big spoon. But that matters little. The flavor was just amazing - so unexpected and unusual, yet so obvious and complimentary. This will be a standard for me when guests are here - no muss, no fuss...yet there is absolutely no skimping on the pleasure and flavor. Sounds perfect, right? Then give this a go tonight.

Eat, drink, and enjoy simple desserts

I don't always have time to...you know...cook

Sometimes it's all about having the free time...

And cava on the balcony...




















Ice cream and shortbread on a sunny day...




















And pizza delivered right to my door early on a spring evening...