One Last Thing

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Labor Day! That means the end of summer is upon us (or in Texas at least according to the calendar), and what I want to know is WHERE DID IT GO?

Remember when you were a kid and summer stretched endlessly before you? Now it seems to go by in a flash, and this one... just vanished. Yesterday I realized that I've gone the entire summer without eating a cantaloupe. How is that possible? And how can I not have bought tomatoes from the farmer's market? I haven't had a margarita, even on National Margarita Day (yes, there is such a thing) and that is a long standing family tradition. (And I don't mean a restaurant or bar margarita, but my dad's "from scratch" recipe.) I haven't been swimming. (I didn't set up the infamous green inflatable pool this year.) I never managed to put any Sambac jasmine in the pots on my deck. (I love the delicate white flowers, and the scent at night is heavenly.)

To give myself a little credit, I have grilled quite a bit, and spent time in the garden and sitting on the deck, playing with the dogs.  I've watched several summer rainstorms from the swings on the front porch. I've watched dragonflies and fireflies and hummingbirds, and yesterday saw Monarch butterflies for the first time on our Greg's Mist Flower in the front garden.

I did make ice cream, but did not manage my once-or-twice-a-summer treat of a root beer float.

AND I have had exactly two Sunday mornings when the weather was cool enough to allow me to lie in the hammock and day dream for an hour or two, which for me is the absolutely perfect summer Sunday.

REDS, what have YOU missed doing this summer? And can you squeeze it in at the last minute???

HALLIE EPHRON: Yes, the days do seem to speed past. I remember older folks saying that and I wondered what they were going on about.

We have had a glorious summer here in New England, weather-wise. Sunny days and cool nights. We could use a bit of rain, but by now our lilacs are usually moldy from too much of it. We indulged root beer floats -  my go-to dessert in summer, just a small one. And wonderful local tomatoes. All I grow that's edible in my garden in herbs, but it's been so nice to go out and clip some parsley, sage, oregano, and basil.

I want your dad's Margarita recipe, Debs, pretty please?? It doesn't have to be summer for a margarita.

RHYS BOWEN: Where did it go? Every year I make a vow to enjoy summer, slow down, take a picnic to a nearby beach or park and spend the afternoon with a book. And every year Labor Day comes and I realize I've been working every single day. Stupid! I suppose I do always have an end of summer deadline and a new book that comes out in August, and I was in Europe for six weeks in May and June so I can't complain. But I should enjoy simple summer pleasures, slow, lazy days.

Actually my son got married in July and the house was full for a while and we did sit on the balcony talking, laughing and sipping wine until late at night, so that was perfect. And I have a post-summer treat coming up. We're going to a lovely bed and breakfast inn in Pacific Grove for my birthday. Right on the ocean, lovely grounds and Carmel nearby. I vow to sit, relax and do nothing for three days.

DEBS: Wow, Rhys! Three whole days??? I suspect that will be a world record for you:-)  Enjoy!

LUCY BURDETTE: Yes, time has FLOWN by! Good for you Rhys--you deserve every minute! We've eaten a lot from the garden, and are finally seeing these wonderful tomatoes ripen. And John brought in a strawberry tonight--we agreed it was the most amazing strawberry we'd ever eaten. And we've seen lots of friends and family and eaten many cakes. But hmmm, not one single root beer float, which I also love. And we haven't gone to Cape Cod, which I miss. Though I did finally get to yoga on the beach, which was lovely. All in all, a most wonderful summer, just too short...




JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: This summer we didn't make it toOld Orchard Beach for  glorious day of tacky pleasures on the sand and the boardwalk. However, if it's warm enough, we may go tomorrow! Thinking about it, most of what we didn't do this year is related to the weather; as Hallie says, it's been on the cooler side in New England (or, as I've read, we've just gotten used to unnaturally hot summers in the recent past) so the beach, hitting the midcoast or floating in the Saco River just haven't felt like pressing needs. 

We did get lots and lots done on the property, as I've told you about here. And we got to spend a lot of time, all five of us, as a family. I remain aware the time for that is slipping away faster than the end of summer, so I'm grateful for it.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: We have a swimming pool. I did not go in. Not once. And there you have it. We used to have wonderful times floating--we'd get blow-up rafts, and iced tea, and books, and just float around reading. It was so fabulous. That was before THE BOOK. Our garden is still fabulous, and we walk through it and cut flowers almost every day... The dahlias are crazy wonderful now. We did grill out. Yay, us.  We went to Tanglewood, and heard two gorgeous concerts from the BSO.  Ah, we went outside to watch the meteor shower, but I saw only one shooting star. One good part was when I looked at my calendar wrong, and realized I had worried myself out of a whole week. When I got the week back, it was fabulous.

DEBS: Oh, Hank, that cracks me up. Only you would worry yourself out of a whole week... But maybe we should all do that, and then discover that we had a totally FREE week! To do whatever we wanted. Float in pools. Swing in hammocks. Read (rather than write) books. Eat Lucy's tomatoes. And maybe even drink margaritas. (By that pool...)

So, Hallie, for you:

Charlie's Perfect Margarita

1 1/2 oz white premium tequila, 100% agave. (I use Espolito--even the smell is fabulous.)

1/2 oz top quality orange liqueur--no triple sec! (You can use Cointreau, but I use one called Clement Creole Shrubb. It's made in Louisiana--as you might guess--and is a little less sweet with a hint of herby spice. Delish!)

1 to 1 1/2 oz fresh squeezed lime juice. (I use the larger amount--I like my margaritas limey.)

Chill a short glass.  Rub the edge of the chilled glass with a cut lime, then dip the rim in fine kosher or sea salt. Fill with ice, add the other ingredients, garnish with a lime sliver, and enjoy!

If you are making these in a batch, it's best to mix the ingredients in a pitcher, then fill the chilled and prepared glasses. And if you are making a batch, you may appreciate an electric juicer. It takes a lot of limes!

Readers, what have you missed this summer? Can you get anything in this last official weekend?

Best Food of the Summer

ROBERTA: Since we all ought to be outside enjoying summer instead of hunkering down behind our computer screens, how about describing your best taste sensation of the summer so far? TEN WORDS OR LESS...

I'll go first:

Homemade pizza dough, ditto pesto topping, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes.

Okay, now you! Make us drool...

HANK: Peaches. Corn. Lobster. Proseco. Proseco. Mozzarella. Tomatoes. Pesto. Gin. Tonic.

DEBS: Artisan sourdough. English Cheddar. Fresh figs. Prosciutto. Honey. Toasted sandwich.

HALLIE: Tomatoes. Basil. Corn. Barbecued steak, rare. Watermelon. Ice cold beer.

JULIA: Hood's Green Monster Mint ice cream. Homemade blueberry pie. (I'm obviously bringing dessert!)

RHYS: smoked salmon sandwiches. Oysters. Chilled wine. Ripe peaches. Cherries

ROSEMARY: Miller's new light beer with lime. Yum!

Great job, Reds, I'm starving... What's your best treat of the summer so far?

You Know It's Summer When . . .

DEBS: Sitting on my deck last weekend, I heard the first cicada of the season. A sure sign of summer here in Texas. (We've had hummingbirds and fireflies since early April.) That started me thinking about all the sensory triggers that we associate with the changing of seasons, things that for most of us go back to our childhood.

The drone of cicadas. The tinny melody of the ice cream truck (Creepy. Gave me nightmares.) The prickly feel of junebugs when you catch them in your hands. Crape myrtles in bloom. Tomatoes and corn and cantalope on the fruit and vegetable stands.

And the smells! Meat cooking on grills. Chlorine from swimming pools. Coppertone or Sea-and-Ski suntan lotion (unmistakeably different,) the damp scent of sprinklers running in the evening . . .

But for me, I realized that the one thing that shouts SUMMER IS HERE is the smell of a burning mosquito coil.

My dad was a manufacturer's rep for theater concessions, and along with popcorn, popcorn boxes, and drink cups, he sold PIC mosquito coils to drive-in theater chains. We always had the little dark green coils on their metal stands burning on our patio in the evenings.

These days, they are made by OFF and come with nice little clay pots that keep you from stepping on them and burning your feet. Nice improvements, but they still smell exactly the same, and I love it. (They do actually repel mosquitoes, by the way.)

So, Jungle Reds and dear readers, for our Saturday list:

What's the thing that lets you know "it's summer when . . ."

JAN: When I have to add a hat, wristband, sunglasses, and towel to my tennis bag.

RHYS: Back in England it was the smell of new mown grass and the thwack of a cricket ball. Here in California it's the reappearance of the fog creeping over the hills from the ocean. I wish we had warm lazy evenings, but we don't. But the sound of happy kids coming up from the swimming pool at the bottom of my hill is a sure sign summer is here.

HANK: Oh, Coppertone, of course! And Bain de Soleil, the gooey orange stuff. And even the fragrance of baby oil, back in the day. Where we live now, the ice cream guy--his chimes playing ONLY and INCESSANTLY The Entertainer--arrives precisely at 5pm, which is a silly time for a popsicle. But it's so nice to be sitting in the back yard by the pool, and hear that tune. It's completely summer. Jonathan and I get blow-up rafts, and float around on the pool with books and iced tea. Now THAT is summer, and you are all invited.

The peonies arrive! Tomatoes and Basil! And we change to gin and tonics. (Diet tonic water, highly recommended.) And flip flops! (Of which I have too many--cf yesterday's guilty pleasures.)

DEBS: OMG! Can you believe we actually put baby oil on our skin???? And now we live in 50 sunscreen. The days of innocence. . . .


JULIA: Mmm, yes, new mown grass. Catapults me straight back to my early teens. The smell of river water and pine tar when we swim in the Saco. The sound of thunder and rain pounding on the roof (why is it a sodden downpour in November sounds entirely different from a drenching in June?) Lately, with our own and our friends' children graduating, the sentimental strains of "Pomp and Circumstance." Then, of course, the sound of parents discretely weeping into tissues and handkerchiefs!

The most significant summer smell for me is the delicious aroma of hamburgers on the bbq. Ross grills several times a week in the summer, on a rickety old thing that's held together with duct tape and prayers. I don't particularly care for hamburgers from restaurants or fast-food joints, but I'd eat Ross's hot-off-the-charcoal burgers every dinner between Memorial Day and Labor Day, if I could.

ROBERTA: Oh that reminds me, Julia, corn on the cob. And tomatoes that taste like tomatoes, not mealy paste. And Tonka gets so hot we have to take him in for a haircut.

HANK: Debs, are you sure those green coils aren't toxic? We use them all the time, but I always wonder.

HALLIE: Soft shell crab (just cooked it this week). YES, tomatoes that smell spicy sweet and leave that smell on your hands. Fresh herbs--I'm growing sage, chive, basil, and oregano. Apricots and cherries and peaches and plums. And melons that smell sickly sweet. And, to repeat, freshly cut grass. And the smell of my little compost heap, starting to heat up. And the skunk sauntering through our backyard at dusk.

DEBS: Rhys, I'm convinced that new-mown grass smells different in England than in Texas. Here it just makes us sneeze . . .

Hank, I think it's a law that all ice cream trucks MUST play The Entertainer:-) And we may all take you up on the G&Ts and floating in the pool. With books. And Ross's burgers. And tomatoes with fresh basil and mozzarella.

How much better can it get?