Modest Harvest

I would use the term “grazing” to describe the way I have been eating this past week. That is how long it’s been since Jay moved to NYC. We’ll spend the next nine months having a long distance love affair and my meager backyard harvests turn out enough produce to feed myself. My teeny garden would seem very inadequate for a couple to feed from, so I’m actually finding myself quite content with its size right now.

I have also discovered the fabulous Kiva grocery store here in Eugene, with a mind-blowing cheese selection. It’s a very quick scooter ride when I decide it’s time to augment the backyard grazing with cheese-gorging. I have enjoyed a week of butter lettuce salads with thick slices of tomato, toasted walnuts, and dollops of intense, French blue cheese. How strange it is to be cooking for one again. Or rather, not cooking at all.

School is also out of session until the end of September. One could make the argument that I am grazing my way through these long summer days in many ways: puttering around on the scooter, doing lots of writing, tango dancing, and munching on random vegetables while I water my garden in the mornings. This solitary break over the next month promises to be very quiet, reflective, and full of simple pleasures.