A Recipe for One Kind of Pleasure

The Mindful Kitchen with Heidi Barr

In the American midwest, the summer solstice that arrives with June means that my garden is in full swing. The seedlings and directly seeded plants are in the ground, and this year [more than] ample moisture has meant early growth for some produce. Harvesting and figuring out what to do with the abundance has added another element to the day, in addition to weeding, hoeing, mulching, and pest control.  Fortunately, the earth is wise, and the days when the work hours outnumber the hours of rest are the same days when sunlight is ample and generous.  Bodies get physically tired, but energy abounds as each new crop is ready for the first time, once again.  

Summer is a season ripe with opportunities to move and work, and it’s also a season that offers new reasons to practice stillness and rest. It’s not always an easy balance to strike in the season of light, especially when you do a lot of work outside. It’s also a season of remembering to savor and a season [as all seasons are, in their own ways..] of pleasure when you practice mindfulness and intentionality, no matter what your work day holds. Paying attention with all of your senses makes a difference.

 A recipe for one kind of pleasure

First decide to be here 
and just here, but leave a little room 
for memory and hopeful expectation.
Then, slice a zucchini, maybe some garlic, 
to just the size you like it. Chop fresh basil 
into ribbons of scent, and slip 
a serrated knife through a fleshy 
orange tomato, one just off the vine, 
because that’s your favorite kind
and it’s ripe and ready to taste.
Let the juice go where it will
as you drop it all into sizzling oil
hot enough to alchemize 
such delight into nourishment.
Let the reminder of high summer
and the anticipation of right now
carry you into the ecstasy
of harmonizing with yourself.

Here’s a recipe to try your hand at harmonizing with yourself.

Sungold & Zucchini Spaghetti

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 pints Sungold (or other) cherry tomatoes, halved

1 medium zucchini or summer squash, sliced into half moons

1-2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 tablespoon red wine or balsamic vinegar

1 handful fresh basil leaves, torn or chopped

1 pound spaghetti or linguini

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Parmesan cheese to taste

Prepare the pasta according to package directions. As the noodles cook, heat the oil in a large sauté pan. Add the sliced zucchini and sauté until golden on each side (4-5 minutes). As the zucchini cooks, tear or chop your basil, and be sure to inhale the scent of summer as you do so. Once the zucchini is done enough for your tastes, add the sungolds to the pan, along with the garlic. Cook it all while stirring for a few minutes, just long enough for the tomatoes to give off some juice. Add your basil and salt and pepper to taste. Drain the noodles if you haven’t already, and toss them with the veggies. Serve immediately, with your desired amount of parmesan cheese.  Serves 4 as an entrée.

Sungold

There are too many
of you to pick all at once
--after all, we’re just one small family—
but I try to keep up with your abundance,
your sweetness dropping
into my hands, onto the soil, 
bursting between my teeth,
a taste of summer
that I never used to like but do now.
Now I crave you when you aren’t here
and that makes me glad your season is short—
abundance is sweetest when bookended by desire.

Poems included in this piece are found in Just Wild Enough, a collection of poems by Heidi Barr, which is available now.