sum-sum-summertime menu | Jama's Alphabet Soup

"Of all the wonders of nature, a tree in summer is perhaps the most remarkable; with the possible exception of a moose singing ‘Embraceable You’ in spats." ~ Woody Allen

photo by fruitcakey.

Happy June, my sweeties!

Hello, brand new month of dads, grads, weddings, and roses!

Doesn’t matter what the calendar says. Bold, brash summer has already blown in. Cover your eyes, I tell myself. Even if you don’t want them to, people will start showing more skin. And they’ll cruise around in their sporty cars with the tops down, their radios boom-da-booming at deafening decibels, and your neighbor with the hairy back and blue Speedos will be out barbecuing every weekend. *shudder*

Despite the inherent dangers of the season, summer has its shimmery moments, too: the much anticipated bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables, blissfully long hours of daylight, lazy, dress-down days ripe with possibility, the only season of the year when serious play earns respect. Shocking pink flip flops will likely make an appearance, along with cool cotton dresses, white linen suits, and tropical drinks garnished with pineapple wedges and cute little paper umbrellas.

Pina Colada just for you! (Randy Son of Robert).

Best of all — the BOOKS! All year long, we amass giant to-be-read piles that *ahem* every time we walk by. "Read me now," the spined ones mutter, "I won an award, your friend wrote me for god’s sake, this craft book was highly recommended, the NY Times called me a must-read, what about all the ARCs you need to review?"

Attack the "required reading" pile, if you must. But throw in some reckless reading, too, inhaled in exuberant marathon jags — by the pool, on the beach, in a hammock, curled up on the couch. Just this once, if the mood strikes, allow yourself a trashy mass market paperback, a scandalous memoir, a rock biography. Kick off your shoes and give "light reading" new meaning by floating with the clouds. Remember the endless summers of your childhood? A trip to the library to pick out anything that captured your fancy — oh, those free and easy reads. Drink them up, swallow them whole!

"Table for Two, Paris Bistro" by Lisa Lorenz (prints available here).

This summer, I’ll be adding a little French seasoning to my soup. Recently, I saw "Gigi" again, and I’ve been craving books about France, mainly Paris. I will reread Eloise in Paris, Madeline, Linnea in Monet’s Garden, The Adventurous Chef: Alexis Soyer, and a crop of others I’ve reserved from the library. France is my second favorite European country; what’s not to like? French cuisine, haute couture, the great artistes — and my latest obsession, the macaron. I wanted to research it back in March, but all those cupcakes demanded my complete attention.

Macarons at F. Lamet, Paris (photo: little miss pamplemousse).

Now, my mission (and I’ve wholeheartedly chosen to accept it), is to find out more about the elusive, sweet little French meringue cookie that has worked its way into cutting edge dessert circles around the country in an attempt to dethrone the cupcake. Shocking! Why, just recently, Champion Dessert Sleuth (CDS) Sara Lewis Holmes encountered this miscreant at the RIF Gala. Were those macarons baked locally or smuggled across the border? ~~Enquiring minds~~ Desperate foodies want to know!

Pink and Lemon Cupcake by elaineparker.

And no, I have not forgotten and will not neglect that little matter of unfinished business, a.k.a. serious research of the cuppie kind. The Georgetown Cupcake sisters’ reality show premieres on TLC next month, the famous Crumbs chain should be opening a new store in our area soon, and we simply must talk about D.C. cake entrepreneur, Warren Brown.

Along with my foodie field trips and French reading, I’ll be looking for several more books to complete the Paper Tigers Reading the World Challenge I’m participating in this year, where I’ve agreed to read something about/from each of the seven continents (still not too late if you want to sign up). I already covered Asia with my picture book lists about Korea, China and Japan last month, and North America is a given. Still searching for something interesting from Antarctica, South America and Africa. Any recommendations for me?

One book we should all reread this summer is To Kill a Mockingbird, which was first published 50 years ago this July 11th. And, oh! I just ordered a copy of Charlotte and Emily, because I am a diehard Brontë fan. I’ve visited Haworth twice, and would love to go back! Can’t wait to feast on hearty North Yorkshire fare.

I’m also looking forward to regularly visiting the local farmers markets, so I can fully savor all the flavors of summer. After all, June is National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month, National Strawberry Month, and Rose Month. Come July and August, I’ll be looking for Georgia peaches, because summer wouldn’t be summer without homemade pies! Len was asking for a blueberry pie the other day, so I guess I’ll have to start with that.

photo by TheCookingPhotographer.