Someone Told Me that It's July!

What says, "July!" better than watermelon and berries? Sure, sure. There's lakes, oceans, sprinklers and swimming pools; sunshine; boats of all persuasions; sunshine; long days, often lazy and hazy; sunshine; kids happily home from school; sunshine… well supposedly.  

In my book, the season is measured by three months, a concept that has been mentioned ad nauseam, here on CMI. The calendar is irrelevant, though no one consulted moi during its establishment. Still I say, June is the Friday of summer, filled with anticipation; July is Saturday, to be savored; August is Sunday, the wind-down that always flies by too quickly. By September, vacations are over, kids are back in school, boats and campers are being considered for storage when weather tanks and days get shorter, etc., etc. So let's talk Friday, first… you know, when the rains came…

Quite the wet month and one for the record books, was June. Can we have a do-over, maybe?  Sure, we had some gorgeous days, reminiscent of past Fridays of summer. But that rain, right up to yesterday and through last night. Thunder, lightning, wind and sheets of hard rain a-fallin'. Jeesh.

Mambo pretty much slept through the last day of June, while I watched some mindless, sappy series-not-worth-recommending on Netflix, simultaneously working on that gift blanket and playing WORDS. Pathetic.

Not a typical summer's day, but hey, you've gotta go with the flow. Besides, when Chloe's artwork and message popped up on my device, I couldn't help but think that sunshine had arrived.

And then came Saturday… well, actually it's Wednesday, July 1st...

We awakened to lots of clouds that quickly parted to let Old Sol through for a peek. It's finally toasty and muggy, outdoors. YES! Bring it on. In celebration of the month, I had a red, white and blue breakfast, with yogurt, blueberries, raspberries and granola. Patriotic and delicious. Then, I just had to make a blueberry pie. The berries have been outrageously delicious, this year, abundant and cheap, cheap, cheap at Sam's. Who can resist? But truly, I was inspired by the chicken quiche I'd made earlier in the week. It was so good, especially topped with avocado-mayo-lemon juice dressing.

But it was the crust that was to die for, inspiring more baking.

 Let me give you my crust recipe, once again:

Put 2 level cups of flour in a bowl; stir in 1 teaspoon salt

Add all at once ½ cup canola oil and 5 tablespoons ice water

Stir quickly with a fork and divide as desired

Roll thin, thin, thin between 2 sheets of waxed paper

Peel off top paper and lift dough with bottom paper onto pie pan

Gently peel away paper and "play" with crust till as desired -

It will be damp and flexible

And there you have it, one of my best cucina offerings.

Happy, Healthy July! May the Saturday of Summer Linger!

Dine Al Fresco!