Summer days

The weekend was long, humid, and hot—which was perfect because it gave me an excuse to retreat into the cool, air-conditioned comfort of our little house. I was a busy-bee this weekend—furiously knitting my second attempt of the Barnwood Hat, which happily came off the needles and was promptly blocked. My in-laws came for a visit on Saturday, bearing jars of homemade blackberry and black raspberry jelly, along with two enormous zucchini from the local Amish market. I knew right away that I wanted to turn at least one of the gigantic beauties into a pan of zucchini bread, so Sunday afternoon was spent grating, squeezing, mixing and baking. If you’re looking for a good zucchini bread recipe, try Smitten Kitchen’s—I might add a splash more vanilla next time, but it’s so simple and delicious. Be sure to try it warm from the oven with a small smear of butter…just trust me on this.

While the bread was baking, we made a simple caprese salad with the most beautiful roma tomatoes and soft bocconcini. All you need to do is toss them into a bowl with good, extra virgin olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, fresh basil, sea salt and black pepper and you have the perfect summer lunch. Vegetables are so good this time of year, aren't they? We didn’t get to plant our garden this spring, but what’s nice about our community is that it backs up to a small farm; the farmers were kind enough to set up a little produce stand right in the neighborhood. On Sunday, we stopped and bought fresh corn on the cob and a little jar of flowers for the kitchen table. We feel really lucky to have locally-grown ingredients available right in our backyard. 

I was able to get my hands a little dirty this weekend, repotting the Bird’s Nest fern we bought from Terrain two years ago. It had long outgrown its container, so we moved it into a bigger home—a pretty, red ceramic pot. She's perched in my knitting room on top of my yarn chest—her green, ruffled leaves catch the light in the most beautiful way.

Tell me—how to do spend your summer days? Also, what’s on your needles?