As if the sweet grass-scented air and lake swimming weren't enough, one of the nicest things about getting away for the weekend with friends is the chance to ask questions that seem either too banal or too large for the span of a dinner date. With two days of open time stretching before you like an unfettered clothesline, it's easy to bandy back and forth from "what fulfills you?" to "Beatles or Stones?"



I like to comb through the rhythms of my friends' days, what makes up a dream life, and always, what they tend to make for weeknight dinners. And then when the conversation quiets, it's time to dive back into the lake, or take a hike by some waterfalls, or drape your legs over the arm of a rocking chair on the porch and sip at a gin and tonic.



This weekend I learned that if all else fails, South Korea may well be the answer when playing the 20th Anniversary Edition of Trivial Pursuit, that laying in the sun on a floating dock until your swimsuit dries is one of life's greatest pleasures, and that couscous salad makes a great go-to weeknight meal (thanks, Alison). I also got to teach two of my favorite lessons: how to do the electric slide, and why compound butter makes everything better.



Shallot-Lime-Chive Compound Butter

This is one of my favorite things about the summer. This butter makes already fantastic summer foods like grilled corn, potatoes, and steamed green beans even better.

1 medium-sized shallot, minced
juice from one lime
1/4 cup snipped chives
1 stick softened butter

Stir together all ingredients. Turn out onto a square of plastic wrap, then wrap the butter, and roll it into a thick log the very same way you probably used to roll Play-Doh into ropes. Refrigerate until firm, and then slice into rounds to serve.



Couscous-Lentil Salad
Serves 6

I must confess that I adore Near East Toasted Pinenut and Garlic Couscous. I know, it's probably very "inauthentic" of me to like a food product that comes with a flavor packet, but I think it's just delicious.

1 cup French green lentils
1 box Near East Toasted Pinenut Couscous
1 shallot, minced
1 small head purple endive, sliced crosswise into thin ribbons
1 1/2 cup shredded green beans
1/2 cup roughly chopped basil

Mustardy Vinaigrette
Makes 3/4 of a cup (tip: shake this up in an old jam jar and use the leftover to dress your salads the rest of the week)

1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt & pepper

In a medium-sized saucepan, bring lentils to boil with four cups water. Reduce heat, and let simmer until tender, about 15-25 minutes. Meanwhile, cook couscous according to package instructions. Drain lentils and rinse with cool water, then shake dry in a colander. Fold together lentils, couscous, shallot, green beans, endive and basil, and serve with some of the mustardy vinaigrette over a tangle of mixed greens.

Posted by sarah at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBacks (0)

You may know Margaret Roach from the editor's letters she used to write from the helm of Martha Stewart Living magazine. She then became editorial director of all of MSLO, overseeing magazines, books, and web content. And now, she's out from behind the desk and bad corporate lighting, getting her hands dirty everyday and writing from her garden in upstate New York on her blog, A Way to Garden. Her writing has the same understated, evocative quality that I love in M. F. K. Fisher and Mary Cantwell. How she manages to do so much, to be so generous, and to create so much beauty (and share it), I'm not sure. But I want to find out and then be just like her when I grow up.



Do you think gardening has some of the same meditative qualities as yoga?

Funny you ask that, because I have often said that gardening was my first form of moving meditation, and then came yoga. I try to practice both mindfully; neither one for me is "exercise" or "a hobby," as that would demean their importance. Certain aspects of gardening that you repeat again and again in a single "practice" (in a single gardening session outdoors) are like the asanas: a series of movements, performed over and again, with a particular alignment and order to them. Think of weeding (bend, pull, toss; bend, pull, toss...) or shoveling mulch or compost, shovelful after shovelful after shovelful (step, scoop, toss...). Gardening (like yoga) is also very much about connection, union...the experience of our inner world connecting with the outer one.

I don't have an outdoor space but I'd really love to nurture my green thumb. What are the best things to grow in pots in windowsills and on fire escapes?

First, the disclaimer: It's against the law to garden on the fire escape, or at least to in any way block safe access to it and use of it in case of an emergency. Now that we got that out of the way...yes, many herbs will do in pots, on a sunny windowsill or in a window box, so long as the pots are of a decent size (like 6-inch diameter or larger). Parsley, basil (especially naturally dwarf "bush" types like 'Spicy Globe'), chives, rosemary, and even thyme and sage will do OK. Bigger containers, like a half whiskey barrel, could support a whole miniature herb garden, really. A little trick: If you like garlic, try growing a few cloves in a pot (even over the winter) to get a crop of "garlic greens," which you can clip like you would chives to season or garnish salad, egg dishes, etc.



Has writing always been a part of your life? And what do you think about self-publishing on blogs -- are you loving it?

I just wrote my short bio and resume for MargaretRoach.com, the gateway into my eventual larger portfolio of activities online and off. The first sentence or two: "There was little hope of escaping a career in the world of words, being born as I was to a couple of journalists who both also loved to read. The pull was strong enough to sweep in not just me but also my sister, Marion..." So yes, writing has always been my thing, and my family's thing. Nature and nurture. I have written newspaper articles, books, magazine articles, sections for marthastewart.com...but nothing has been as empowering or astonishing as this medium of blogging. I only wish I had come to it sooner, and were at least a decade younger so I could really master it and have a long career at it. But meanwhile I will try to make up for lost time...

Favorite books?

Classic reference: Wyman's Gardening Encyclopedia: Dated, wonderful, all you need to know in one chunky hardcover (please disregard any chemical suggestions--he didn't know better probably). No fancy photos, but all the answers, or practically. A classic guide to living for me: A Path With Heart, by Jack Kornfield, longtime Buddhist teacher. A must-read for everyone. More escapist, perhaps, and newer than either of those: Birds in Fall, by Brad Kessler, a recent novel about the aftermath of a plane crash but with an ornithological riff.



What's your ideal day look like?

I like to do many things at once; I am a grazer both when eating and working. So I have my cup of black tea early, and start on multiple things (writing, paperwork for my business, gardening in the season, bird-watching year-round), catching myself staring out the window a lot or into space if outdoors, and I generally flutter from thing to thing till I fall down in a heap. That's basically my life story.

What's your go-to, quick weeknight meal?

Baked potato with butter, salt, and a can of vegetarian baked beans on top. True. My English heritage showing, I suppose (ask in any pub for "jacket potato with baked beans"). Or baked beans on toast (again, butter, please). Or baked potato with cottage cheese (and yes, butter). Or pizza--homemade, with my own garden-grown tomato sauce and pesto on it, the crust also from scratch from Nick Malgieri's Neapolitan Pizza recipe from How to Bake. I quarter the pre-baked pizzas and freeze them, then just pop one "slice" in the oven at suppertime, so one pizza-making yields eight suppers. Or just crackers and cheese and gherkins...in fact, I probably eat more of that combo than anything else.



Mmm, I think cheese and crackers make one of the best meals ever. Favorite movies?

Pulp Fiction. McCabe and Mrs. Miller. Mean Streets. As Good As It Gets. Once. Truly Madly Deeply. Moonstruck. (I am so bad at recalling movie titles, but these, at least, are in my head.) If we extend to BBC series, I will watch anything with Robson Green, or Helen Mirren, and lately devoured multiple seasons of the original English crime drama "Cracker" with Robbie Coltrane. Frankly I am far more seriously addicted to music than to movies...but you didn't ask that, did you?

Well, why don't I? What are you listening to these days?

Oh, my..I am (as ever) a grazer, and frenetic. My standards are Leonard Cohen, Al Green, Lucinda Williams, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson (oh, and a dozen others whose work I also have every drop of, like John Prine, John Hiatt, Van Morrison, Nick Lowe and...and...). I like Keith Richards when he goes country (and as a Rolling Stone). I like Teddy Thompson (and his parents). Alison Kraus lately, especially with Robert Plant.

I like songs that make me laugh, like Bill Kirchen's "Get a Little Goner" ("If you're gonna get gone, get a little goner...") and Jean Knight's "Mr. Big Stuff," ("Mr. Big Stuff, who do you think you are?...") and "These Boots Are Made for Walking" (particularly the cover by Velvet 99).

I like songs that make me dance, like Kemo the Blackican's "La Receta" or anything Tina Turner, especially early stuff with Ike like their hot version of "Stormy Weather." I like Motown Girl Groups, and am glad to hear this sound coming around again.

I like any version of the song "You Are My Sunshine," and have many. I collect songs from around the world and through the ages that have the word "hallelujah" in them (or its variations, like alleluia). And then I like to listen to WFUV, from Fordham University, and other alternative-ish stations on my Sangean wifi radio, and get newer stuff, like Great Lake Swimmers, Nicolai Dunger, Josh Ritter, Alejandro Escovedo, Ray LaMontagne, Joseph Arthur, Architecture in Helsinki, Brett Dennen...so many I cannot keep track. Eclectic, usually about love done in or love in bloom (more the former than the mushy stuff). Singer-songwriter, with emphasis on the lyrics.

Blues, too (more Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon than now). And vintage Pablo Casals cello solos. And I have gone on forever and could keep going. The iPod is full. If I hadn't started blogging I'd have more music; that was my previous favorite thing to do on the Mac: make music mixes.



Favorite flowers?

Alliums, the ornamental onions, probably. So insane looking. I'm am more of a foliage and fruit person than a flower girl, especially big, bold foliage that brings a hint of the tropics to my cold-zone garden, and fruits meant not for humans but for the birds.

What's the best thing about leaving the corporate world?

Top benefit: Living in my garden for the first time in the 20-plus years I have been making it--waking up every day and looking out at it. And not ordering lunch ever again in midtown. And grazing all day, as I said, like a high-calorie-burning kid, up and down to the fridge that's full of food I cooked or at least that I like (unlike all those midtown takeaway spots).

What's one dream you have for your life?

Love, love, love. To love my new work, to love my garden, to love some great new guy who's showing up any day now I think (tee hee). Or as David Byrne says in some song or other of his: "Peace, love and monkey business."

Posted by sarah at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBacks (0)

As we were standing in the mean June sun, Sebastian (who took all these pictures) asked why in god's name the Renegade is always held on the brutalest of summer days. I should have knocked on wood as I said, a know-it-all to the end, that it's the one time of year when it's guaranteed not to rain.



But it rained, and it rained hard. Luckily, by the time the skies opened, we had taken refuge at a table set on an uneven, creaky wood floor in a restaurant that, bless them, still observes happy hour.



But back to the fair: few things make me happier than seeing vibrant, creative people doing their thing. I am somewhat embarrassingly chatty with vendors, but I can't help it. To know what makes you happy takes serious smarts. To do what makes you happy takes tremendous guts, and to put it out there to the world takes a pluck I admire more than anything.



I walked away with beautiful prints by Jennifer Judd-McGee of Swallowfield and the marvelously joyous work of Julie Meredith of Etui (I scored that languorous lady in an inner tube above). It was such a thrill to see in person work I recognized from the online world, and also to fall in love with new things I'd never seen before. I've even got my eye on who I want to design our wedding invitations.



Assuming all work escaped unscathed from the downpour, it was a pretty terrific day of inspiration and creation, and the kind of sweltering heat that can only be followed by a super summer rainstorm. You can't ask for more than that.

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I'm in a funk. A not-wanting-to-cook funk, and the heat and humidity ain't helping. This dinner was really, really good, full of big bold flavors that made heavenly sandwiches the next day. But I can't say when I will next turn on the oven. Why bother undoing the hard work of the air conditioner? And then, sushi is only a phone call away, and I could stay right here, ensconced on the couch, watching reruns of 90210.

While we're at it, why not also mention that I haven't done anything crafty in a while either. I signed up for a sewing class I promptly ditched. Rebellious teen tendencies die hard, I suppose.

I think what I have on my hands is a desire to belly-flop right into the beginning of summer and do as little as possible. That is what I did on the first days of real summer oh-so many years ago (I would give anything for three months off again!), when I would put my feet up on the ottoman and watch tv in the air-conditioning for days, breaking only for bike rides to secure more iced coffee. Eventually, exhausted from sheer boredom and over-acquainted with the airings of News Radio, I would stumble lazy-eyed out into the sunshine and fall into the rhythms of summer life: swimming, junking, cocktails.

Soon enough you'll be able to find me walking up and down the aisles of the farmer's markets, oohing and ahhing at the crates of potatoes as if they were baby cradles. The tomato parade will commence, and that will lead to plenty of inspired meals, one hopes. And then in a sudden burst of creative productivity, I may be sewing skirts, and crafting pretty details for my home and person out of ribbon, fabric, and felt.

But for now, I admit defeat. I got nothin'. I just don't feel like it. This could very well continue through the rest of June, July and August, and in the chance that it does, consider this a forewarning. You may not find much ambitious on the pages of this here site. But summer's not for ambition anyway, now is it?



Chicken Breasts with Chickpeas, Tomatoes, and Paprika
Serves 4, adapted from Bon Appetit May 2008

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon paprika (the recipe called for smoked; I didn't have any and used hot Hungarian paprika instead)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
2 chicken breast halves with bones
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 12-ounce container cherry tomatoes
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Mix olive oil, garlic, paprika, cumin, and crushed red pepper in a small bowl. Stir 1 teaspoon of the spiced oil into the yogurt and set aside. Place chicken on large rimmed baking sheet, and rub with 2 tablespoons spiced oil mixture. Add chickpeas, tomatoes, and 1/2 cup cilantro to the remaining spiced oil mixture, and toss to coat. Spoon chickpea mixture around chicken. Season everything generously with salt and pepper.

Roast until chicken is cooked through. The original recipe said this would take 20 minutes; it took more like 40 for me, thus meaning when we ate it was a billion o'clock and I was hangry (hungry + angry). Remove pan from oven and dust with remaining cilantro. Slice up the chicken breasts and serve with chickpeas and tomatoes. Plop a dollop of yogurt sauce on top. This would be really good with some couscous, too.

Posted by sarah at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBacks (0)

After a day in the city, when I step out from the mouth of the subway onto Brooklyn pavement, I can feel my shoulders unfurl and my breath get deep. For all of New York's annoyances (and there are plenty), I love my neighborhood and its million delights: the constant baby parade, the dogs, the husband-and-wife-team restaurants, the creative buzz, the trees with leaves that fall to the pavement and get slick in the rain, the brownstones, the lovely little shops. And while I am mourning the loss of Rare Device, I have some new Brooklyn loves I wanted to share, all of which you can appreciate whether you live in the nabe or not:

D. S. and Durga has some very fancy colognes for both ladies and gents, but its their facial toner that has my heart. The tonic is one maharanis have used for ages; all I know is that it makes my skin super soft and makes me feel like a very down-to-earth princess.

Buttercup & Ivory makes beautiful embroidered linens with a sense of humor. I'm loving the formal place setting tablecloth on which you could serve Chinese takeout or linen coasters with wine spills that take the pressure off.

The soaps from Red Hook shop Saipua are lovely and the hand-stamped paper they come wrapped in even lovelier. But what I truly love are the lush, romantic flower arrangements and the pictures on owner Sarah's blog that give a sense of the pretty, charming details in her world.

Do you read A Chicken in Every Granny Cart? If you don't, you should. Ann's blog captures all the nuances and big, grand vistas of living in Brooklyn with her lovely pictures, great stories, and recipes you want to gobble right up. None of them know it yet, but I totally want to invite Ann, Valerie, and Cathy over for supper.

Two things I want to know: Have any of you ever met blog crushes in real life? And what do you love about where you live? I'm all ears.

Posted by sarah at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBacks (0)

I'll be the first to admit that the May POP Project did not have the same easy-breezy appeal of April's project. In fact, it seemed like such a challenge, some of us initially thought we wouldn't even give it a try. But try we did, and I am so, so impressed:

EB of Spice Dish gave up her ipod for a week, meaning she had to actually hear the conversations her neighbors were having on public transportation -- not always pleasant -- and decided maybe life is better with a few media distractions.

Giving up magazines and other "brain trash," Sara Rose found enough time on her hands to plant her garden, give herself a pedicure, make a proper dinner each night, catch up on her z's, and converse with people about topics other than her usual magazine fodder.

Teacher Meets World used the media detox as a springboard to get back to her very impressive reading list. Tara watched a squirrel bury an acorn for 20 minutes; I like to think this is the direct result of the media detox. Kyle at Forever 22 vowed to only use one tab on his internet browser at a time -- a tip I borrowed. Honest to Blog cut down on tv, only allowing herself to watch Gossip Girl, and was hoping to find herself with a "bajillion" hours on her hands. Gretch-a-Sketch hoped she and her homework could reacquaint themselves during the media detox.

Personally, my experience was most like Karen's at faded willow: I loved the idea but struggled with the execution. Living in a small apartment with someone who had not chosen to give up media proved difficult; while I was trying to chop vegetables in a moment of zen, I would hear the latest presidential campaign gossip via the nightly news. My job, which is largely about blogs and current events, made the internet impossible to ignore, but I did employ the one-tab-only rule on my browser. Television was the area that I really managed to squash, though. I realized that I turn on the tv when I want to just do nothing. Instead of watching Rachael Ray make another 30-minute meal, I found myself doing nothing in ways that were more peaceful, and more satisfying, like staring out the window and watching the day go dark. That's a habit I could definitely see myself hanging on to.

Thank you so much again to everyone who detoxed and wrote about it. This POP Project was no walk in the park, so I am really gratefully to everyone who participated and I hope you found it a worthy experiment.

And now for the June Pink of Perfection Project assignment: Somewhere in your life there is a teacher, a babysitter, a sibling, a parent, a friend, a role model, a mentor, a boss, or an aunt who deserves to be told of their charms, their gifts, and that they are an inspiration. Scrawl it on a college-ruled page or make a pilgrimage to a stationery shop, but thank them, flatter them, and be sincere. Write a fan letter telling them just how exquisite they are. Here's how to participate:

• E-mail me and say you're on board (remember to include a link to your blog!): sarah@pinkofperfection.com


• Complete the project.


• Write about the project on your website or blog by June 30.


• Send me the link to your blog post via the comments or email.

Posted by sarah at 6:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)