Recipes for hot days, three books worth your time, and a few things making this week better.
There is something about a fresh haircut and color that puts a spring in your step, and I will be the first to admit I am always a little trepidatious walking in. My stylist has a talent for taking more length than I had in mind. But she has been cutting hair longer than I have been wearing it this way, and the result is always better than I expected, so I have learned to let her work. By the time I left the salon chair my hair was lighter, healthier, and the conversation had covered the only topic more unpredictable than hair: the weather.
The consensus among the women in those chairs was unanimous. The weather apps are useless and the meteorologists are not much better. Like most of the country, we have had a stretch of heat and dry, and this week was supposed to bring five days of clouds and rain. It has been hot and sunny every single one of them.
An update on my deer, on my way home from my morning walk two days ago, I counted nine deer in my neighbor’s front yard, five of them fawns still wearing their spots. They made their way around to his birdseed buffet in the back and gave my circle a break. Small mercies.
Now, on to the favorites.
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Friday Food
Cold Thai Noodle Salad from The Modern Proper. When it is too hot to think about turning on the oven, this is the answer. Rice noodles tossed in a bright peanut-sesame dressing with crisp vegetables and fresh herbs. This meal comes together quickly, keeps well in the refrigerator, and tastes even better the next day when the dressing has had time to settle in.
Philly Cheesesteak from Britney Breaks Bread. A proper Philly cheesesteak is one of those things that seems simple until you are actually making it, and Britney has the technique right: thin-shaved beef, softened onions and peppers, good provolone, and the right kind of roll. Bill has already been informed this is on the menu.
Summer Grain Bowls from How Sweet Eats. This is the kind of recipe that becomes a template. A base of farro or quinoa, roasted vegetables, something creamy, something crunchy, and a dressing that ties everything together. Make it once and you will find yourself riffing on it all season with whatever is in the refrigerator.
Something Sweet
This easy Double Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread recipe is moist, chocolatey and perfect with a cup of tea or as dessert.
Read, Watch, Listen
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On the Library List
Three books this week, I could not have planned a better mix if I had tried.
A Thousand Little Goodbyes by Lucy Gilmore. Two best friends, one cross-country road trip, and a goodbye that one of them has not yet found the courage to say out loud. This is the kind of book that sounds like it will wreck you, and it will, a little. But it is really about what it means to love someone well enough to let them go, and what it looks like to be left standing on the other side of that love. Keep the tissues close.
The Typing Lady: And Other Fictions by Ruth Ozeki.. Eleven stories spanning decades and geographies, all of them circling around the same questions: who are we becoming, what do we do with the selves we almost were, and what does writing do to the person doing the writing?
The Cafe at the Edge of the World by John Strelecky. I have shared this book before but it deserves another spot on the blog. This is a quiet, unexpected little book. A traveler stops at a remote cafe and finds three questions on the back of the menu: Why are you here? Do you fear death? Are you fulfilled? What follows is less a novel than an invitation, one of those books that meets you exactly where you are and somehow knows what you needed to hear. Millions of readers around the world have found it. I think you will understand why.
Outfit of the Day
Keep the chilly fall weather at bay with this cropped trench coat. It looks classic with blue jeans or corderoy pants and a white button down shirt. You could add a scarf for color and versatility or use you bag or shoes to do the same.
Outfit Details Below
Whatever your weekend holds, I hope it includes a good book within reach, and at least one moment where you stop and notice something beautiful — even if it is just nine deer crossing a yard in the early morning light. Those moments are easy to miss and impossible to forget once you have had them.
I am curious: do you have a go-to summer recipe that you make on repeat every year, the one that means summer to you? I would love to know what it is.
You can find me on Pinterest and Instagram as well. Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow for Weekend Meandeirngs with Kim and Juliet!
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