Summer, is that you?

While daytime temps are struggling to get to 60 degrees and people are walking around in fleece jackets, I'm still beginning to sense that summer is here for real. The sun is making regular appearances, but its the food showing up at potlucks and weeknight dinners that is really hinting at the summer season.

1. At a birthday bbq, I tasted three of the most delicious varieties of deviled eggs that I've ever tasted: classic, smoked, and curried--each with an ornament on top (olive, almond, apricot). I copied the curried version and topped it with a dried fig--sweet and spicy!



2. At home, dinner salads are back on the menu in our little yellow kitchen and dessert might just be a rhubarb crisp.



3. We are beginning to try to eat up all of the leftover strawberry jam from last summer's late night jam-0-rama in preparation for FRESH STRAWBERRIES!!!! After a failed batch of carrot muffins, I tried my hand at PB&J cupcakes--a perfect picnic treat to get through that delicious--but overly abundant--strawberry jam. I served them naked (sans frosting)--no one complained and they could technically be called muffins and eaten for breakfast.

Happy Summer!

Flashback...

Ever since I moved away to college in Boston, my mom has sent care packages for all of the major and minor holidays. 10 years later, they still bring a smile to my face and make me feel a little closer to home. Sometimes they have pecans from my grandparents; sometimes useful things like shampoo and gum; sometimes holiday treats like PEEPS; and sometimes they are totally random.

Probably 4 or 5 years ago, my mom started including things for Justin in the boxes of fun--what a lucky guy. We just rediscovered one of his first gifts ....Thanks, mom!

Meet Chia Homer!

...aka Scott's bedtime snack.

Love and War

Care for a cold one?

I love that the sun is warming the soil enough to get our garden growing....

...but I am declaring war on the invasive slugs that are munching the life out of many of our starts. After an bright and peaceful run the other morning, I found myself moving chaotically and hopelessly about the garden picking tiny slugs from our veggie seedlings. It nearly drove me bonkers--before 7am. That evening, I complained to my dad about our disappearing bean and squash leaves and he suggested offering them a cold one...in a lid. I'm sorry to say that I've been taking pleasure in watching the slimy guys take their final plunge into intoxicating pools of pale ale ever since. Thanks, dad!

POTATOES!

HERBS!

14-carrot potential...

Ski-to-Sea

Last weekend, Justin and I ventured to Bellingham for our second try at the Ski-to-Sea Relay. We join the other members of Team Roosevelt Ilk for almost 10 hours of skiing, snowboarding, running, biking, canoeing, and kayaking fun for the second year. We enjoyed some sunshine, delicious food, and a good group of people. Go team Ilk!

Erika got us off to a great start in the cross-country ski leg of the race.

The end of a long day.