Slipping into Summer

Late afternoon as I dipped my toes in the large fountain at the National Gallery Sculpture Park, I closed my eyes to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin, the murmur of people around me and the first notes from the live jazz band drift across the courtyard. This (to me) is Washington in summer. 

There's just something about slipping off your work shoes.

There are a few spots I love to escape to and in the often punishing summer months of our fair city, this is one of them. The cornice of the Archives building in full view, but it's shadow just out of reach. Glimpses of Calder, Paine, Bourgeois appear and fade from view amidst the tightly trimmed boxwood.

Starting a weekend out here seems almost perfect. For as much as I love having the garden almost to myself earlier in the week. Jazz in the Garden brings out melted Washingtonians in droves to perch on blankets and cast aside blazers, to linger over a glass of well queued for wine or sangria. Every piece of grass and pavement is transformed into a private party of friends and new acquaintances.

Mexico City Corn

Since migrating from the Midwest there have been no shortage of jokes about my knowledge and love of corn being a direct result of the fact I grew up near corn fields. Yes, that's right, all heartland expats share a secret society of knowledge about this starchy vegetable. So imagine my surprise when I bit into my first ear of the season at Standard the other week and my mind was blown.

I'm not a purist when it comes to how you prepare corn. (Although I will say, why boil it when you can grill it?) But this was a new spicy, delectable preparation: Mexico City Style Corn on the Cob. Holy blessed street food.

I was hot to trot for a recipe to try and reproduce this new veggie champion. Common ingredients across recipes included chili pepper, cayenne pepper, mayo, lime, cheese (Parmesan vs. Cotija), black pepper.  Beyond that the variations included sour cream or butter, garlic, cilantro. Some are also very specific about leaving the husks on as handles or not. If you do, just soak them in advance so you don't smoke up your grill.

The version I ended up using, I would make a couple tweaks to next time. I would use the cotija instead of the parm. It really is different enough to matter; I would add a  little cheese on top after slathering the corn; and add a little more heat to the mix with an extra shake of cayenne. This version is from Cook's Illustrated.


1/4 cup regular or light mayonnaise

3 tablespoons sour cream

3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves

1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)

3/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

4 teaspoons juice from 1 lime

1 ounce Pecorino Romano cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)

4 teaspoons vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or 1/4 teaspoon table salt

6 large ears corn, husks and silk removed 

While grill is heating, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, cilantro, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon chili powder, black pepper, cayenne (if using), lime juice, and cheese in large bowl; set aside. In second large bowl, combine oil, salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon chili powder; add corn and toss until coated evenly.

Grill corn, turning occasionally, until lightly charred on all sides, 7 to 12 minutes total. Remove from grill and place in bowl with mayonnaise mixture; toss to coat evenly. Serve immediately.

New Summer Salad Favorite

Cooking through everything we purchased in one week ended up stretching into two week, but I am happy to say that we actually did it. No leftovers were thrown out. No limp celery was discovered at the bottom of the drawer. And this couscous salad recipe may be my new bomb-digity go to recipe for summer. It calls for making the veggies on the grill, but given our lack of ready access to a grill, I decided to roast them.

One note: This recipe makes a lot of salad. I mean enough to take to a picnic with 20 of your closest friends, so cutting it in half  or more would be a good way to go if you don't want it for every meal for five days. That being said, it is delicious cold and at room temp so it makes the perfect office lunch item.

I also doctored up a quick peach cobbler with very ripe peaches from the fridge. Yum.

Now I need to come up with recipes for the quinoa, jasmine rice, and navy beans in my cabinet. My orzo is going to be made into this (thanks to M for the idea!). Ideas welcome.

Is This Thing on?

Let me get this out and then we can get on with it. My silence of late has largely been a result of suddenly feeling like the act of blogging was over exposing my private life to the world. Too much navel gazing about non-important topics and a strange totally irrational fear that someday I'll go to apply for a job and they'll pull up some blog entry that they found offensive and as a result can't hire me because I'd never be able to get a security clearance.  Right, that should be my big concern as a higher ed/arts person...all those top secret Matisse manuscripts I won't be able to review for exhibition prep...

Several kind friends have even said they read my tripe from time to time (you are very kind and know who you are. Thank you. I owe you a drink and this is why we are friends. You indulge me by reading this and then actually saying something nice. My ego thanks you.)
 Anyhow, I've realized that I started this whole endeavor to create greater accountability for myself in life balance; to experiment with this media directly to better understand its applications in my work; and finally to give me a chance to write something besides a planning document from time to time.

So I'm going to cautiously stumble my way back to the keyboard and try and do this with greater regularity (ha!) and also recognize that I've been so inspired by friends across the country lately that I need to take a moment and write about it.

For now I'll just say that as DC summer swells into full heat and humidity, we're trying to fill our days with more friends and laughter and enjoy the time we have together. And if you need a better excuse to enjoy summer, check out 3191's summer essentials they posted before taking their own summer break.

Berry Welcome

Summer temps are seeping into the forecast so I decided to embrace the abundant berries at the store by making a simple straightforward crumble. Raspberries, blueberries and strawberries tossed together with a little flour/brown sugar and poured into a square pan. A quick crumble on top of flour/brown sugar/melted butter and into the oven at 350 for 35ish minutes until the berries just bubble. Eat.

It's a bit sweet. I might add oats to the crumble next time and maybe do blackberries instead of blueberries. All options I've seen in various recipes that make sense to me. Also, this would be awesome with cream, ice cream, etc. And I'm thinking a tiny sprinkle of fresh mint, thyme or sage when serving would be yum.

Cold Flossing

It took decades for my dentists' advice to finally take, but I've started flossing. Daily. Over the last six months I've tried diligently to floss at least once a day, but not freak out if I miss. As a result at my last check up the dentist proclaimed that my teeth and gums were in far better shape, but that my lower flossing technique was lacking (well done on the uppers she said). So of course, my poor lower teeth have been getting a daily flossing detail like they were some high end luxury car. I'm just hoping this 30-something intervention will help me keep my pearly white shark teeth later in life and I won't been applying denture cream to my tortured gums in my 70s.

However, my dental hygiene superiority is a bit tempered as a I stand in my very comfortable 70-72 degree apartment. I like cold people. I hate being hot. Except at yoga and right after the gym, but then I rush to take a cold shower so it's really a fleeting fancy. I am completely incapable of turning up the thermostat. Despite the record breaking heat we're having out here and the calls for conserving energy, I just keep on keeping on in my little igloo.

The power company rep is calling for people to set their thermostats at 78. *@$#% 78! I can't possible be cool with our window units chugging away at 78 degrees. I relish the feeling of my skin being cold and sleeping under a light sheet or blanket. 78 would mean pretending I'm back in Sienna only to look out my window and see a parking lot instead. Not happening people. I am totally failing mother nature on this one. Energy conservation fail for sure.