Summer Salads

The Minimalist (Mark Bittman of the NYT) is my favorite recipe-guru. He just put out a list of 101 summer salads, and it's divine. Some of his recipes are a little too east-coast for me (I'm not a huge fan of canned clams, or tuna packed in heavy oil, and getting some of the finer ingredients can be tricky here in the Rockies), but mostly they are creative and new and easy. I've entertained using his 101 appetizers list, and people thought I was a magician in the kitchen. I haven't tried any of these salads yet, but it being summer, and hot, and produce being what it is right now...I can't wait. So I thought I'd share.

Here are the first three I'm going to try (I've only read the first few dozen, because I can't process 101 recipes at once):

13. A red salad: Combine tomato wedges with halved strawberries, basil leaves, shaved Parmesan and balsamic vinegar.

24. Blanch spinach, then drain and shock in ice water. Squeeze it dry, chop it and toss it with toasted pine nuts, raisins, olive oil and a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar. Capers are good, too. Quite elegant, actually.

44. Make a crisp grilled cheese sandwich, with good bread and not too much good cheese. Let it cool, then cut into croutons. Put them on anything, but especially tomato and basil salad. This you will do forever. (My note: why didn't I think of this? And he's right, I will do this forever).

I'm drooling.

Good news. Seriously.

I got a job interview. I'm trying not to get too excited (ok, I'm really too shocked to even be excited), but given how things have been? With the no-jobs-at-all-ness? I'm pretty excited. This, in large part because it's not just a job interview, it's an interview for a job I would actually like to have. Again, with the shock. I've been considering applying to be a cop (but those shifts really suck), I've applied to be a receptionist at a hair salon, I've applied to work for free, and so on. And I'm a lawyer, for chrissake. So this interview? For a job as a lawyer? But not a sucky firm job?

I'm probably about to wake up, aren't I? Please say I'm already awake. And that it's real. And even more important, please assure me it will go well. It took a year to get this interview. I can't wait another year.

I live in the #1 Best Place to Live in the United States!

Louisville (Colorado, duh) was named the best place to live in the U.S. by Money Magazine. We were #3 a few years ago, but we've moved up the list. I'm surprised it took me two and a half years in Boulder to figure out how awesome this little neighboring town is. I really didn't even know it existed for a while. For shame. Louisville really is the best place to live, and I plan on sticking around. Little traffic, low crime, street fairs every Friday night in summer, fabulous restaurants, affordable rent (affordable to buy, too, I just don't have first-hand knowledge of it!), Colorado weather, and terrific neighbors. What's not to love?

Okay, so I'm lazy

So, as usual, I didn't write it. But Maureen Dowd is just so on top of things, why bother? Here's another good Dowd column. A dig at Sarah Palin. Go forth, and read!

P.S. My favorite line is the one calling Bristol Palin the "ambassadress of abstinence." Which is demonstrated by Bristol holding her son....who was, of course, conceived in abstinence.