Comes Summer

Ah, today.

This morning began with a taste of my first peach, freshly plucked from the tree that grows outside my kitchen window.  It was a tad over-ripe, but it was still a small wonder, and a delight.  This evening I picked the rest of them, and tomorrow I shall make a pie (I'd have eaten them all out of hand if they weren't quite so soft, but I'm afraid there won't be time for that now...).  A glorious, summery pie.  Peaches, in Minnesota.  How sweet, how soft, how fragrant, how amazing.

This afternoon rolled on by, fueled by the leftovers of last night's chard casserole, a standby summer dish of mine that's based on a recipe I learned from my mother, in her wisdom (or Joy of Cooking?): a pound or so of fresh chopped chard, a half-cup or so of diced yellow onion, a clove or two of minced garlic, a can of diced tomatoes or chopped fresh equivalent, a couple teaspoons of horseradish, a few good fat squirts of ketchup (yes), a cup or so of bread crumbs, a cup or so of grated cheddar cheese, a quarter cup-ish of grated parmesan, some salt and a lot of freshly ground pepper, all stirred together and baked until...done.  It is magically delicious, nutritious, and also freezes well.

This evening I dined on--or, rather, devoured--two ears of fresh sweet corn from the garden up north, each mouthful another tiny explosion of pure joy and goodness.  Makes you say mmmm, hmmm.  I over-steamed them just a bit, while my attention was turned to slicing up cucumbers for salad and throwing together a quick stir fry from some of the other goods from the garden--snap peas and patty-pans, with broccoli and Siam Queen basil from my backyard--but there are two more in the fridge, just waiting to be cooked to perfection...

The windows are open tonight, to the whirrr and chirps of crickets outside, bikers speeding off the Greenway and past my front step, a passing conversation in the oh-so-quiet street.  Out back, above the gate, a tiny wolf mother has returned to weave her nightly web, spinning threads through the thin air under the waning moon.  Another leaf of the banana tree is unwinding, and a package arrived at my doorstep today--not unexpected, just a forgotten surprise...It's been so peaceful here, lately, that I feel just tremendously, wonderfully blessed.  

Say mmmm, hmmm.