Summer Staples

On my way to class this morning I was thinking a lot about summer. Being an Oklahoma grad student I think summer hits me differently than other people. You see, mid-terms (mid-March) to finals (early May) is all one climate controlled season to me which I usually spend indoors, chained to a desk and my laptop and surrounded by research. So, when "summer" actually gets here, for me, that is the day of my last final.

Then there is the Oklahoma weather. There is winter in Oklahoma and there is summer in Oklahoma, with a few brief and pleasant 50-60ish degree days thrown in between. So when summer arrives, you know it. You really can't miss your bare legs being scalded on your car seat - when the day before you could have napped in your car. Or, when a week ago forgetting to water your plants everyday was fine, today means life or death for those pretty perennials.

Summer always catches me off guard and my "summer-approaching-indicators" are sometimes the only thing that reminds me! For example, the 90's pop and early rock songs on my iPod rapidly increase. I start yearning for cute wiggle dresses, fun sandals, naps with cool sheets, B-list horror movies, lemonberry slushies (yup, the kind from Sonic) roadtrips, bright/weird colors of nail polish, magazines by the pool, trash TV, and walks to the Farmer's Market. I have already bought a few new shades of nail polish - ones that I hope will compliment a tan when I get one this year! Mint green, lilac and a pretty buff color, but my favorite is a color that looks like a polyester pantsuit that my grandma wore in the 1970's, a soft pinky-lilac color with just enough pop. The color looked like sherbet in a bottle, it looked pretty, and it was cheap...so I bought it!

Summer is also the time when Grant and I try new recipes that might be more time consuming or adventurous than our usual repas. This week we are making sunflower butter, thanks to some inspiration from a dear friend. I will post pictures and details when we get around it it!! We are also making veggie burgers with bacon and spicy mustard. Neither of us has ever made been burgers before and I am not sure if my falafel experience can count, so we are going to try it! I have also recently ordered a lovely book which helps me sustain the fantasy that I live in a world in which I wear heels every day and am also a fabulous chef of amazingly simple goodies. I can't wait to make our own homemade spicy mustard!!!