The Summer Day

Who made the world?

Who made the swan, and the black bear?

Who made the grasshopper?

This grasshopper, I mean –

the one who has flung herself out of the grass,

the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,

who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down –

who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.

Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.

Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down

into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,

how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,

which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?

- “The Summer Day” by Mary Oliver, from New and Selected Poems

Here is what I’m doing with my wild and precious day today: spending as much time as I can with the girls.  My youngest is home from a month as Leader-in-Training at camp; my oldest has a few days off before returning to camp for the rest of the summer as a counsellor. As they get older, our time together is more precious than ever, and I intend to make the most of it.

What are you doing with your wild and precious day?

Roasted Beet and Orange Salad with Goat Cheese and Toasted Walnuts

(adapted from Fresh, Fast and Green by Suzie Middleton)

1 recipe quick-roasted beet slices (see below)

2 Tbsp orange juice

1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest

1/2 tsp coarsely chopped fresh thyme leaves

1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp minced fresh garlic

kosher salt

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

3 cups mache or Boston lettuce, torn into small pieces

1 orange, peeled, cut into quarters, and then cut crosswise into 1/2” thick slices

2 ounces fresh goat cheese

1/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts (optional)

Arrange four salad plates on the counter.  Combine the orange juice, lemon zest, thyme, balsamic vinegar, garlic and a pinch of salt in a bowl and stir well.  Transfer 2 tsp of the dressing to a small bowl.  To this small bowl, add the olive oil and a pinch of salt.  Toss the lettuce with this mixture.  Combine the roasted beets with the remaining dressing.

Lightly scoop a quarter of the lettuce with your hands and put it on a salad plate.  Add a quarter of the orange slices and a quarter of the beet slices on top.  Sprinkle a little salt over each salad.  Crumble the goat cheese and sprinkle evenly over the salads, then do the same with the walnuts.  Serve right away.

Quick-Roasted Beet Slices

8 to 10 ounces golden beets (4 or 5 small, or 3 medium), trimmed, scrubbed but not peeled, and very thinly sliced (1/8” to 3/16”)

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp coarsely chopped fresh thyme leaves

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.  Line a large sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper.

Put the beet slices in a mixing bowl and toss thoroughly with the olive oil.  Arrange the slices, evenly spaced, on the sheet pan (it’s okay if they touch).  Sprinkle with thyme and salt.

Roast until the beets are tender and glistening, 16 to 18 minutes.  The smallest slices will be black around the edges.  Let cool for a few minutes before serving.