Squash love, smart people

Today has been as calm as Wednesday was busy. Both wonderful, and three cheers for balance!

I found this morning that a recipe of mine, Roasted Delicata Squash with Bacon-Shallots, Pomegranate, and Yogurt Sauce, was chosen as a community pick on Food52. I adore this new photo of it. Thank you F52 and Mark Weinberg. 

As awful as this election has been, I have to say that there are some very.funny.very.smart.people out there making hilarious lemonade out of the preponderance of lemons DT is throwing at us. Observe, should you need/want a laugh.

Pretty much everything Alexandra Petri has written for the Washington Post.

And, the fact that someone purchased the URL nastywomengetshitdone.com which links DIRECTLY to hillaryclinton.com. GENIUS!

Okra and the 4th

So I realized last night that in my crisper drawer were the okra that T bought last Sunday. So fresh were they when purchased that they'd maintained their proud shape and verdant green hue. No need to risk missing the window: part of dinner they would be!

Do y'all know what okra love? Not gumbo, but bacon! Okra smothered in bacon drippings? 

There is NO slime in well-prepared okra: fried, smothered, grilled... Don't wash before cooking, and you're in great shape. 

So last night: bacon, okra, corn and more bacon. Delicious!

And watermelon and feta and watercress. And tomatoes and pea tendrils and blue cheese. And bourbon shrubs. And there you have it. 

I freaking love okra. Love it.

Today I spent large swaths of time either running (6.25 miles; legs now crying) or putting together the three-layer ice cream cake Jack requested for his birthday. My oldest baby turns 9 in the morning, and I just can't believe it. I mean, I can, but at the same time, wow. 

He does not like regular cake, and I enjoy learning something new each year as I make a new, celebratory, non-cake dessert.

Let me tell you the main thing I've learned so far: do NOT make your own Oreos. Accept the fake-o, chemical shit in the Nabisco ones and love them. They are the best. By far.

Tom bought Jack an inexpensive drone for his birthday and is playing with it right now like he's a seven-year-old who just received the most awesome thing IN THE WHOLE WORLD. It is crashing repeatedly into the windows, and the pets are vexed out of their minds. Men = boys = always kids.

Happy almost-4th, y'all!

Good food and bad, a "Don't"

Sugar snap peas are hot off the presses right now, y'all. Are you eating them by the truckload? We are! While the boys love them raw and plain (indeed delightful), I like to play around and make summer veggies like the sugar snap into more substantial side dishes or salads. 

I haven't made my Sugar Snaps with Bacon, Feta and Mint in a while so did on Sunday night. Delicious again. Surprisingly, Tom thought the mint was distracting. I do not concur, but if you're not a mint fan, feel free to make a bad decision and omit it. 

Tonight, I'm gonna do something with this mess of fresh favas that Ol helped me pick out at the farmers market. I also have hull peas and corn, tomatoes, plums and peaches. A plum tart is coming and beyond that, well, the night is young.

I feel exceptionally lucky to have a babysitter today. Three hours of blessedly quiet free time. I left the house immediately because Oliver had donned the Hulk gloves and Jack was steamed. Tired as get-out, I stopped in at Starbucks to get a flat white before ambling over to get my stinky toes cleaned up and polished (see above for lovely result). 

Just before my order came up, Jack called me. Now, I am glad that he knows how to make a call, but I will tell y'all that he sometimes abuses the "call in an emergency" admonition. Today was such a day. Because I was so distracted by his Oscar-deserving tale of woe, I picked up the wrong drink. Might as well have thrown $5 in the garbage. 

Anyway, I beseech you to NOT order whatever this is. It was disgusting and this key is incomprehensible. What is 2R syrup? #adont