And We're Back! (Sorry For The Break)

     Well, It looks like we managed to miss all of August again.  Like last year, we've been on the road every Sunday. First we were in Maine, then I was at Cross-Country camp (Cy made dinner, but without me, nobody thought to write.)  The third Sunday of the month found me at work, and Mom, Dad and Cy at the summer swimteam end-of-summer potluck.  Last week we had just gotten back from our backpacking trip in the Gorge, and we got deli sandwiches and rushed off to Trek in the Park, for their last show of the season. Trek in the Park is like Shakespeare in the Park - only it is live actors performing Star Trek episodes.

     But now, it's September, and the impending doom that is the school year has forced us into a more rigid  schedule.  For now though, the weather is still warm, and the sun still shines.  Grilling season.  A hobo pack is currently on the grill, fresh dug potatoes from our garden, onions and carrots.  Waiting in the fridge is a meat I don't think we've ever cooked before.  As it turns out, you can buy whole sardines from the New Seasons meat counter.  And by whole I mean heads, guts, spines, eyeballs whole (brains too).  Six or seven inches long, they smell like, well, sardines.  We covered them in olive oil and salt, enough salt that I think if we leave them there long enough they'll be preserved.  At Mom's behest, I also made watermelon tomato salad, a summer classic.

     The sardines turned out great, though I must admit I'd rather just eat them from a can.  That way you don't have to clean eyeball chunks off of your grill.  The hobo pack was excellent, the potatoes warm and soft, the carrots, like all cooked carrots, sweet.  The watermelon-tomato salad was everything it always is, summery, sweet, and surprising.  An excellent way to end our summer.