If you don't like cooking, make sure you know how to shop. There are people who can pull together a wonderful dinner without ever lighting the stove. If you have access to lovely cheeses and charcuterie, fresh produce and a delectable bakery, you can simply act the part of curator, responsible only (but crucially) for the selection and arrangement of the perfect elements. A salade composée, or composed salad, is another variatiom on this theme. This French invention (if, in fact, anyone can really claim ownership)—a fitting combination of prescribed rules and laissez-faire—is a perfectly calibrated assortment of ingredients aesthetically arranged on a plate and drizzled with dressing, rather than tossed with it. (Though I'm not above tossing mine, if I feel it may be of benefit.) The most famous example is arguably the salade Niçoise, with its complementary hard-boiled eggs, anchovies, canned tuna, potatoes, olives and green beans. The most successful manage an artful balance of colors, flavors and textures and a pleasing architecture, like the ones currently featured on two of my favorite blogs—flavor in spades and hungry ghost—whose fertile creativity and gorgeous refinement continually amaze.
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A quick turn around the garden at this time of year yields an impressive diversity of flowers. Most of them are rather humble natives, medicinals or even volunteers, but they are no less colorful or beautiful than the showier annuals. I love to have cut flowers in my home. I find it very uplifting, especially when we have grown them ourselves. I often add ferns for a bit of greenery, perhaps a sprig or two of mint, and I always include a few stems from my beloved scented geraniums. A bouquet like this is a tonic to the eye and a feast for the senses. Place one by your bed and see if your dreams aren't sweeter.
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