There are places that hit you. There are places where you can relax. There are places that have seen you at your best, and truly accept you at your worst. There are places that have seen you enjoying that single moment. There are places that help you breathe a little more deeply. There are places that give you the space you long to feel. There are places that allow your body to move a little more easily and for your mind to be a little more clear.
I look at this picture and it invokes many feelings. I think of the possibilities. Of running into that meadow, sitting in the shade of the tree and staring at the clear blue sky. I think of being in the present, truly in the present. Just letting the sun warm my face. There is no worrying about the past or what the future will bring or what is happening with my loved ones in that moment. Because in the present, I am just being. Without all of the attached emotions.
Sosie started her senior year of high school this week. I think about all that this year entails - the list of "lasts", but also of the beginning that ends with that last, "last". I think about how our family will be forever changed. I think about how her journey is just beginning and that the best is yet to come for her. I think about the fact that it doesn't feel like 31 years ago that I was her age, and starting my college days at Colgate. I think of Team USA and my friends from DC as if it was just yesterday. I think about starting over in Massachusetts as a newly married person and building a community (and family) in Needham that was truly the very, very best. I think about our move to Augusta and the connections we have made and the wonderful life we have built over the past six years, however hard it seems at times. The future is bright but it is important to sit and let the sun warm your face, letting the moment just be.
Put on Like Gold by Vance Joy and let's get cooking.
My family and I had a magical week on the Vineyard in July this year. And for our beach lunches we got fresh fruit and veggies and made salads that we couldn't wait to eat, sitting in the hot sun, in the sand, staring out at the amazing waves. We made these salads every day and even after a month, I am still making them for lunches at home. There was something about this meal that just resonated on many taste buds and levels. Talk about a lasting moment of vacation.
It is a simple salad. First, we went to Morning Glory, a market in Edgartown. They sold Pam's Pesto there and I gave Pam from Pam's Pesto a huge hug when I met her at the Farmer's Market in West Tisbury a few days later. See, this is truly the best pesto ever. If you ever have the chance to eat Pam's Pesto - either green or ruby red, PLEASE DO. But in its absence, any kind of pesto will do. The beautiful thing is that you can make this salad your own! Tons of variety. And it invokes a sense of place, the kind of space I described above, whatever that space is for you. Even if it is in your own kitchen.
Beach Salad
Arugula (or any green)
Fresh tomatoes
Ripe sliced peaches or nectarines
Toasted pine nuts
Sliced Mozzarella
Fresh corn off the cob
Drizzles of green and/or red pesto. I do both!
Micro greens of any variety
You can add: roasted red peppers, cucumbers, cauliflower, maybe a splash of red wine vinegar, freshly ground salt and pepper.
Enjoy and have a very happy day, my friends.
