Health

Today is the summer solstice and I can almost feel the earth tilting toward the sun. It is a time to be outside, to lift our faces to the sky, to bask in the longest light of the year. And, while we're at it, to always, always wear protection—melanoma is on the rise and the FDA has recently released new guidelines for wearing sunscreen. Most important is to choose "broad spectrum" coverage that protects against both UVA and UVB rays; to apply it every day, even if you're not going outside (UVA rays penetrate glass); and to reapply it every 80 minutes. Not so poetic perhaps, but then neither is cancer.

This month has whizzed by in a blur of work, but I have a renewed focus on dedicating time to my well-being. This has meant doing more yoga, riding my bike, hiking and even playing around with my hula hoop (highly recommended). I've also spent time in the garden, where weeding and picking pests off the plants give me a strangely wonderful satisfaction. Everything has exploded because of the rain and I love all the birds that come to visit this time of year.
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Now these are baby carrots. Scarcely wider than a gentleman's ring finger and half again as long. Look for them at your farmers market and for bunches of hot pink French breakfast radishes. Munch on them raw for a sweet, crunchy snack, or roast them together for a light seasonal meal. And if your carrots have vibrant bushy greens attached? Do not toss them into the trash, nor even the compost pile. Turn them into an earthy pesto and enjoy the thrill of vegetarian nose-to-tail cooking.
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Forgive me, friends, for I have sinned. It's been longer than I care to think about since my last confession. You probably imagine me leading a carefree life of bucolic bliss: wandering through the woods foraging for pristine delicacies; plucking tender vegetables from my garden; traveling to exotic places; whipping up epic feasts...and there are certainly times when all this is true. But, oh, there are other times. And those I tend to keep to myself, tamped down in a dark and moldy spot.

Why would you want to know about my fears and foibles and failings? That all smacks of dirty laundry and this is meant to be a place of inspiration. But deep down I know that what we often find most uplifting has nothing to do with perfection and everything to do with the full spectrum of our shared humanity.


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My husband has a green thumb. It turns out that, in addition to gorgeous, generous and good (and George, of course), G stands for gardener. Not only has he built three new enclosed raised bed areas to add to the two we already had, but he has planted them with a chef's dream of choice vegetables and herbs. Last night I picked succulent fresh mustard greens and tender young garlic, sauteed them up with little chunks of chorizo and tossed it all with some brown rice pasta. Dinner happens in an instant when it comes from your backyard. At first I was a little cranky that I have been working too hard to be involved in the planting this year, but now I just feel spoiled. But enough about me. How are you spending this first holiday weekend of the season? If you've got any free time, check out some of these interesting ideas and resources I have been collecting for you this month.
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There's a game I play sometimes: I look at my life as it is in this moment, think of everything I possess right now, and ask myself if I would be happy if nothing ever changed. I won't deny that sometimes this leads to sadness bordering on desperation. What if I don't finish my novel? Never build that house on the lake? Fail to see Burma? Is this it?  Time and money often factor into this mental equation. Self-doubt can creep in. On those days, I question if I have fulfilled my potential, tried hard enough, risked enough. But I am not what I own, nor even what I do, and if I start to define myself by those measures, there is no satisfaction guaranteed.

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Do you know this famous photograph by Dorothea Lange? It was taken in 1936 at a camp for seasonal agricultural workers north of Los Angeles. The woman was the 32-year-old mother of seven children, all of them living on frozen vegetables from the surrounding fields and birds that the children killed. They were on the brink of starvation. After returning home, Lange alerted the editor of a San Francisco newspaper to the plight of the workers at the camp, presenting him with two of her photos. The editor informed federal authorities and published an article that included Lange's images. As a result, the government rushed a shipment of 20,000 pounds of food to the camp. It's hard to imagine that such acute hunger could still exist in America, but it does. Today I'm joining bloggers around the nation in drawing attention to the food insecurity that is rampant in our country, in the hope that we can come together to put an end to hunger.

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We awoke to a light dusting of snow yesterday, like the last faint, frosty gasp of winter exhaled over the awakening landscape. The snowdrops— always the first sign of spring, along with the red-winged blackbirds—have come up under the river birch. The perennials are stirring and we've begun to plot this year's garden narrative: eggplant here, squash there, less shiso, more chervil, perhaps one more raised bed...The blood quickens, strange dreams visit us in the night and our skin itches with the change of season. To ease myself through this transition, I signed up for a share from Portland Apothecary's Spring CSH (Community Supported Herbalism). A big box was awaiting me upon my return from vacation, full of medicinal tinctures and elixirs to help me "move through the seasons with health and awareness." Everything is lovingly handcrafted by Portland-based herbalists Elie Barausky and Kristen Dilley, and the products are accompanied by thorough and beautifully written instructions and recipes. I can't wait to see what they have planned for summer!
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Smoothies have been one of several breakfast options for me for years, but it wasn't until recently that I started to have them every single day. And it has really made a difference. Somehow I am no longer stressing over what to eat in the morning, especially if I'm trying to get out of the house quickly. And I'm not worried about eating "too much," or too much of the wrong thing. I guess this makes me sound neurotic, but it's been life-enhancing so I wanted to share it with you. The smoothie is an opportunity to pack all sorts of nutrition into a drink that is light yet substantial, irresistibly creamy and smooth. We are hard-wired to crave something sweet and, rather than trying to reinforce some Draconian regimen of denial, I like to address that first thing in the morning. So will you, once you start your engines with a scintillating smoothie.
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Spring is on its way. I saw the first chimpunk today, quite frisky after his long winter's nap. Beneath last year's detritus, the mint patch is already stirring greenly, and the first bulbs—snowdrops—have emerged under the river birch in the side yard. Soon we will be tramping into the wet woods in search of vernal pools and the salamanders and frogs that inhabit them. I am dreaming of what we will plant first and itching for morel season. At this time of year I get a serious jones to clean out drawers and closets, reorganize the attic and generally freshen up the place—and myself. Now is the moment to undertake cleanses, juice fasts and detoxes, as you prepare to shed the protective layers of winter and emerge into the sunlight.
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Are you eating your vegetables? It's becoming quite trendy to eschew meat at the center of your plate. This style of eating has long been embraced in Asia and out of necessity in many poorer countries. In fact, it's not so dissimilar from the Mediterranean diet, which was endorsed yet again in a study released last week. It's really no big news that a vegecentric diet is the way to go, as evinced by this 1819 quote from Thomas Jefferson: I have lived temperately, eating little animal food, and that not as an aliment, so much as a condiment for the vegetables which constitute my principal diet.

I love the notion of animal products as a condiment and often use them this way in my cooking. Small amounts of highly flavored meat or fish—smoky pork, spicy sausage, salty fish roe, pungent anchovies—add just the right hit of umami to salads, pastas and vegetables, raw or cooked. Look to what some of the more ingenious chefs are doing for ideas on vegetables dishes with heft. Consider the oven-roasted slab of broccoli I had at The NoMad. Daniel Humm made it the star, with a little bacon to keep things interesting. This cauliflower dish is from Dan Barber, who never met a vegetable he didn't like.
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