Outstanding carbs needed to enable our limp across the line

We have fortified ourselves with extremely satisfying dishes of pasta and grits and bread throughout the past few days as we've limped towards the finish line that I feel we just crossed by closing two tired boys' bedroom doors.

The time has come, the bags are packed and T and I are wiping the sweat from our brows.

Amen, friends. We are back to school!

A few nights back, we had pappardelle with corn, fresh herbs and ricotta. Then came my springtime shrimp and grits, and last night the grand prize: my pasta with caramelized shallots, Brussels sprouts and speck.

Of.the.gods. Tonight, carb-fest continued as we grilled pizzas and called it a day. I am going to throw myself in my bed right now and read away my sadness at having finished All the Light We Cannot See by jumping into The Girl in the Spider's Web, the fourth installment of Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo et al) though, naturally since Larsson is now dead, written by someone else.

In the Spider's Web, David Lagercrantz, also a Swedish journalist and writer, takes the helm of leading us back into the labyrinthine world of Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. Nervous but hopeful that this one is a honorable follow-up to the original, thrilling, enticing series.

Mahgah

I just gave Percy a dental bone. He feels these every-few-days treats are the ultimate win, and so plays a sweet game of hiding them from himself until his anticipation is so great that he "finds" and happily devours it.

Right now, he's in the hide phase; I know because I get to sleep in the basement tonight and can hear Percy's long-claw paws prancing excitedly on the floor above. I hear the bone drop on occasion. It's then picked up and ferried to the next hiding spot. Soon he'll claim his prize. 

Bless his simple heart. 

This morning, I donned a dress, saw writer-group friends, laughed happily and welcomed the boys home. 

Lisa, me, Kristi

I made another plum tart because I surely didn't want to compost abandoned Italian plums but also I finished the last one yesterday and need to get my fill before plum season 2015 ends.  

Something is/might be seriously wrong with me.

I am, admittedly, in the thick of my annual p.t. obsession, but this year realize that it coincides neatly with the boys still being home on summer break.  

Interesting. If by interesting I mean, duh; I'm stress-cooking to beat sixty.  

Many a friend contacted me today, secretly and front-door-gone openly, about having also cried yesterday and/or feeling equally desperate for their offspring to go the eff back to the village known as school. 

Three more days, friends. Three.more.days. Would anyone care if I spent the next few like this? 

In the meantime, I'm going to attempt to excise the following tunes from the jingle-lovin' bit of my brain:

•A Pug and a Patty (an original by Oliver; about Percy stealing a chicken patty); 

•The (stupid fucking) Gummy Bear song;

•"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Jefferson Starship which A) never gets old but B) is tough to excise and sometimes you want just that and C) played a fantastic supporting role in The Skeleton Twins which A) made me love Bill Hader even more (um, Stefon!) and B) was poignant in the ways those sorts of films usually try but fail to be. 

What you should be doing with your Sungolds

If you've been reading Em-i-lis for at least a year, you might know that I adore tomatoes. Raw, in sandwiches and tarts, with peaches, in savory jams, cooked into beautiful sauces for pasta, canned for later use. 

Basically, I'm Forrest Gump's shrimpin' friend, Bubba, or Christopher Guest's nut-aficionado character in Best In Show, with tomatoes.

As an aside, y'all have to watch this clip. Sends me to the floor in peals of laughter every.damn.time. Harlan Pepper, god bless you. HAH!

But back to Sungolds. Possibly, they are my favorite tomato. At the least, they are my favorite small type. I love their golden orange hue, their perfect sweet tang and the way you can eat them hand over fist and never tire.

all delicious, but the bright orange Sungolds are my favorite.

Several summers back, I was heavily into anchovy-garlic anything and one evening cooked some Sungolds over low heat with anchovies, garlic, capers, parsley and olive oil. The sauce ingredients melted together in the most divine, sticky, unctuous way, and the tomatoes broke down just enough to add pleasurably to the mix but also maintain a distinct texture and standing. 

lusty sungold love

Lusty Sungold Love was born, and I have found that the very best way to enjoy this dish is spooned atop toasted baguette slathered with fresh ricotta. Each bite makes you pause. Maybe you'll close your eyes or sigh a small, contented "aah." And then you'll reach for another slice of bread, the bowl of ricotta and the spoon dunked in the lusty tomatoes. And you'll start again and enjoy it just the same.