Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”
― Henry James
Summer.
I’m on a hike where moss carpets the path and trees cast slender shadows dappling the summer sun. Stopping for a break I allow my body to land in the downy moss and there I’m surrounded by cartoon-like mushrooms. Toadstools in all shapes and sizes. I feel a bit like Alice in Wonderland in this memory except that I know it’s not fiction. I’m recalling a reality from a hike a few summers before. Next I’m knee deep in the river. The cold water against my bare skin is an alerting shock before I grow accustomed to its chill. I stand there, with fly rod in hand, feeling the warmth of the sun and overwhelmed with gratitude for this moment.
These moments that lift me in times of unease and bring me to a place of boundless joy and peace. They are summer moments. Warmed by the sun and completely surrounded by beauty. In this season I store up my treasures of memories like reeling in a silvery chinook salmon, slowly smoking its rose colored flesh over a fire while watching the waves kiss the beach below, so I can bask in their warmth for many moons to come. While I also revel in the flush of plums, apricots and tomatoes in this season and turn their juicy fragrance into jams and sauces to enjoy when their mother’s limbs have gone bare, I put up memories to take off the dusty shelves of my mind’s eye when the rain and gray feel relentless.
While there are times when I leisurely tinker in the kitchen to store these summer tastes it is also the season where I spend the least time inside. It’s this season where outside adventures take precedence over long hours lingering at the stove. I applaud the earth for doing the cooking for me as I grab a tomato off the vine, a hunk of sharp cheddar and a piece of bread and I’m ready to hit the trail or dip my pole into the water. Summer is marked with long sun-filled days, the smell of smoke in my hair, the garden’s dirt in my nails, beer chilled in the icy rivers and the tender nudge to take just a moment to preserve these tastes and memories for the months ahead then get back outside and be warmed by the sun.
These are the recipes that capture this season. Simple, often grilled, and full of flavor.
Grilled Summer Squash with Muhammara
With these words I can feel the feeling of summer. 😌
These words are magic! I'm dreaming of the gentle back and worth meditation of a fly cast with only the sound of the river around me. ox