For many years, I’ve read The Secret Garden on the vernal equinox. My summer in Austin, I was reading on the balcony and dropped my copy down into the back yard of the empty downstairs apartment. My roommate (who really should’ve joined the circus at some point in his life) bounded down walls and over fences to retrieve it for me.
I hope I have time this weekend – I will be working. It doesn’t happen often that I have to work over the weekend, so it’s okay.
It’s also time to stop eating winter food.
I don’t love eating, half the time. That’s particularly the case when the weather is hot. I live in Houston, so that’s 8 months out of the year when I would really much prefer to subsist on iced herb tea. Unfortunately, that’s not possible.
My office thermostat is set at “morgue,” so I do tend to want to eat during work days. Shivering uses a lot of calories.
Summer is Legume Time – cold bean salads with corn, red bell pepper, scallions, herbs, and a vinaigrette dressing; chickpeas with onions, tomatoes, and feta; as much hummus as I can get.
Dingo’s summer favorite is a big bowl of spicy Asian noodles with grilled chicken or shrimp.
And it’s time to bust out the quinoa. This is my Super Number One virtuous lunch: cook up a pot of quinoa (for heaven’s sake rinse it first, I don’t care what the package says). In the morning, put a serving into a container with a small sploosh of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Stir. In a second container, chop up fresh spinach and add feta crumbles. At lunch time, heat the quinoa until it’s hot. Dump the spinach/cheese over top and close it up. By the time I get to my desk, the spinach has steamed and the feta is melty. This is so good and just FULL of protein.
Last summer’s breakfast was almost always homemade yogurt with Woodstock Granola on top (I’m partial to Cherry Ginger Almond flavor). I can’t take that much dairy since my dad died (sad = queasy), so I’ve been mixing the granola with my oatmeal, to good effect.
If my office gets warmer, though, I don’t know what I’ll do for breakfast. Homemade granola bars?
I put in a vote for a nice oatmeal scone or muffin. I should send you the recipe booklet my MIL got in Buxton, England. Apple cider muffins. Lambing cake (cake you eat at lambing time, basically fruitcake with no rum)…..
Ooo, I’ve had apple cider cupcakes, so that sounds lovely. Does lambing cake meet your fruitcake standards or mine? 🙂
I owe you 97 pages worth of letters.
You could probably kill someone by throwing lambing cake at them, it’s that dense. Also, I made Anjelica Houston’s grandmother’s Irish Soda bread. It nearly broke the skillet I cooked it in. We may use it to shore up the foundation.