It’s been a big week! Hudson started second grade on Wednesday and Skyler went back for her last year of preschool on Thursday. It felt like we had one extra week of summer this year and everyone was ready this time! I took the usual back-to-school photos and man, they’re looking so tall. How much longer do I have until I’m the shortest one in the family?
I’ve also been gearing up for a fundraiser I’m helping to organize, The Village Feast, that supports Farm-to-School programs in town, and want to mention it here to encourage all local friends to join us on September 29th, after the close of the Farmers Market in Central Park! The family-style meal will honor the bounty of our local farms and a silent auction will be held to provide support of early and continued education around food and agriculture. It should be a beautiful day and there are going to be some incredible items up for auction. (Alice Waters just donated an opportunity to be chef for a day at Chez Panisse!) Get tickets before they’re gone!
Any fun plans for the long weekend?
Here are some links of note if you’re in the mood…
It hit me last month—a little too suddenly—that we were about to lose all of our babysitters! Graduations, moves, study-abroad programs… it all seemed to happen at once. So we’ve been starting a search, and it’s not easy! Ideally we’ll find someone wonderful to come a few afternoons each week, but also a few equally wonderful someones who we can occasionally call on for dates and whatnot. The kids, thank goodness, tend to love every new person who comes through the door and who gives them her full attention! They love babysitters. Over the years, I’ve discovered that finding the right fit between caregiver and parent is often trickier.
I’d love to know, how do you determine whether someone is the right fit?
While the right questions vary from family to family, here are some it might help to ask…
There’s no reason why a hearty salad can’t make a stellar main course for a late-summer get together. Simple to make, it can be prepped ahead of time, and it doesn’t have to be served hot.
The only drawback, potentially, is that a single bowl can look a little… shy.
Enter the undone salad. If you spread out all of those colorful ingredients, the food basically sets the table for you! All of that fresh, beautiful food and wine can be the centerpiece—and get its due.
I had some girlfriends over recently for dinner, some swimming, and some good conversation—a chance to connect before the school routine starts and the evenings grow cool. I appreciated that this menu also meant getting to linger around the table over glasses of wine without having to get up and down and miss a single moment.
I chose a California Cobb salad as my inspiration, but you could just as easily try this with another composed salad. For a Greek spin, think red onions, cucumbers, Kalamata olives, and feta, or for a Thai-inspired one think roughly chopped herbs, julienned carrots, with shrimp and peanuts.
The ingredient list is simple, so focus on using fresh, local ingredients—the best you can find: Romaine lettuce, blue cheese (a Roquefort is the classic choice), bacon, hard-cooked eggs, tomatoes, avocado, and grilled, boneless, skinless chicken breast.
Bottles of Frei Brothers Reserve Wine—a long-standing Sonoma wine with whom I’m partnering this year—were brought out to fill everyone’s glasses. Their Russian River Valley Chardonnay—with its rich, nutty characteristics and silky finish—made for a perfect pairing.
