First, thank you all so much for your kind words about Max. I was actually really nervous to post something so close to my heart – but your compassion really shone through your comments and put me at ease. So, thank you, thank you, thank youuuu.
After my morning of puttering, I went to the gym, did some work and came home for lunch.
Delicious.
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The Veg |
The Dressing (made in the food processor) |
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1 shredded zucchini 2 shredded carrots ½ cup edamame 1 ear of corn |
¼ avocado 2 tbs. flax seed 2 tbs. sunflower seeds 2 tbs. soy sauce ¼ cup shredded zucchini Splash of water |
Later in the afternoon, Punky and I sat on the deck and read. Well, I read…she slept.
I am reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (based on Cait’s review!). I’m almost finished and it’s SO intriguing, I don’t really want it to end!
I also had a frosty snack to keep me cool. Into my Rocket went:
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2 cups ice
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½ scoop vanilla protein powder (~15g)
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1 tbs. cocoa powder
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½ tsp. xanthan gum
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1 cup hemp milk (this was my first time using hemp milk and it turned out to be tasty!)
For dinner, I was inspired by a picture in my Rachel Ray magazine…
Chicken lettuce wraps with: tomatoes, avocado, black beans, bacon, and soy sauce + spicy mustard dressing
This was such an easy dinner. I grilled the chicken, picked the tomatoes from our own plant…
…then sliced the avocado, opened a can of beans, pulled some leftover bacon out of the fridge, and was done! Then we just rolled the fillings in the lettuce leaves. Yum city. Clean-up was a breeze as well. I love fresh and easy meals like this.
Now Punky and I are back on the deck, enjoying the cool night air. Have I mentioned how much I love summer??
Any good book recommendations? I am almost finished with this one and I want to dive into another good read!
Everything looks so bright and summery! Much better than the constant rain I’ve been getting over here!
I’m currently reading The Pact by Jodi Picoult and I’m loving it. Have you read it?
I just read your story about Max. What a great way to remember him! And I really loved the quote you put up from Timothy.
Have you read Hunger Games? It’s a trilogy, the third one is supposed to be out later this summer.
Gad to see the outside couch is still going strong!! I just finished Kristin Hannah True Colors and really loved it. But I like light, chick-lit reading.
Everyone loved The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo but I just could not get into it. I read like 100 pages and stopped.
Have you read The Help? That was really good.
I really need to read that book! My dad even liked it! How funny?
My absolute favorite book is “Water for Elephants”. I could not put it down and plan on reading it again before the movie comes out. It’s amazing!!
Ditto on The Help. It was SUCH a good book!
i am so jealous of your tomatoes!!! they look so good! there is NOTHING like fresh home grown tomatoes
the HELP is great! i am in teh middle of it right now!
Oh YAY! I’m so glad you’re reading it. Definitely read the next book in the series – “The Girl Who Played with Fire.” I haven’t yet but I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews.
I’d also recommend The Lace Reader and The Seamstress (which I’m reading now and LOVE). And ANY Wally Lamb “I Know This Much is True,” “She’s Come Undone” and “The Hour I First Believed” are all excellent.
Also – that lunch!? It looks AMAZING! I love the dressing that you put together.
And I’m SO jealous you have a tomato plant! I so desperately want a yard that I can plant in!!
PS – how do you like the kindle? I’m always so curious but i don’t know if i could ever give up my precious books!
You *just* inspired a meal idea for next week. It’s going into my grocery list.
Did you do anything special for the chicken as far as seasoning or anything?
I’m so excited to try this.
Just read The Help and Sarah’s Key. Both excellent! I have The Red Tent and American Wife lined up next! I always loved using my summer breaks to catch up on good books. Enjoy.
American Wife or The Poisonwood Bible :0)
Gods in Alabama by Joshlyn Jackson is really good and so is Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. Love summer reading!!!
The girl with the dragon tattoo is book #1 in a 3 part series. I believe the 2nd book is called the girl who played with fire? The whole book series is intriguing! I love them.
The movies for the series are really good too…(but they are in Swedish) I think they are going to make the series into an American movie too, I just hope that they don’t “hollywoodize” it too much.
i keep seeing that book in target. glad it’s good bc i sure was wondering!
thats so cool that you have your own tomatoes. i cant wait to have my own veggies when i have my own place.
i wish i read more…i STRUGGLE with reading. i’ve been on the same book for like 6 months now!
I second Brynne’s suggestions above. Both are stellar. That Old Cape Magic is pretty good too. Good summer read. Or The Deer Park by Mailer if you’re feeling something a bit saucier.
Love the lettuce wrap idea!
Do you prefer fiction or non-fiction? I’m a fan of the latter: The Consolations of Philosophy (by Alain de Botton); The Sex Lives of Cannibals (by Maarten Troost); or Blink (by Malcom Gladwell).
If you really want to try something different, I recommend anything by Octavia Butler. Try “Kindred” to start.
Oh – and “A year of living biblically” by AJ Jacobs was HYSTERICAL.
I’ll recommend anything by Joyce Carol Oates. She’s my favorite author – such vivid characterization and …well, you know what, before I spiral off into a patented English Major paper on your blog, I’ll just leave it at vivid characterization
Her Marilyn Monroe bio Blonde is an awesome lighter read, or Foxfire or We Were the Mulvaneys for something a little more loaded.
I be LOVING the looks of that chicken wrap plate – I love when eating is interactive
I just started “The Food of a Younger Land” (Mark Kurlanksy) and I’m in love! It’s essays pulled from the Federal Works Project about food trends in America prior to WW2.
I was simply amazed reading all about your friend. What a champ he was… He sounded like an amazing person and it is so cool that you knew him so well. I can’t even tell you how much that story hit me because i found myself in a very similar situation a few years back with a close friend. Thanks for sharing, i know it must not have been easy. I am sure that he is looking down on you right now smiling reading all about your wonderful, sunny existence through your blog
Making the most of everyday is definitely something you practice and that is all that anyone should ever worry about! P.S. Your dinner looks absolutely outstanding and i intend on recreating when i get home tonight, even stopping at the grocery store on the way home to ensure it is a possibility! 
Do you like adventure stories? Quite possibly one of the best stories i have ever read is entitled “Adrift”. Look it up when you are bored, you will not be sorry! 
I LOVE lettuce wraps!! So easy and so good!
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That’s a gorgeous looking dinner and I absolutely love lettuce wraps but have never thought of doing them with non-asian ingredients. And I am so jealous that you have fresh, homegrown tomatos. They’re not ready here yet!
House Rules By Jodi Picoult (same author as My Sister’s Keeper). WONDERFUL WONDERFUL READ!!
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Hi Katie! Love your blog! A million miles in a thousand years : what I learned while editing my life by Donald Miller is the best book I have read in a long time! It is non-fiction but reads like a novel.