MountainMornings

Mark Bittman, of the Minimalist cooking series in the NYTimes, posted a how-to video of his Watermelon and Tomato Salad on its front web page over the weekend. There are just a few things I will click to play on the Times site and they include: 1) anything Wedding; 2) that old, fashion guru on a bike Bill Cunningham; and 3) all things Minimalist. This watermelon salad, Bittman said, was an oldie but well worth a redo since it echoes the flavors and colors of Turkey. I was planning on making a special delivery dinner to friends who had just moved into town, so I watched the podcast and went shopping. Here is what you will need for this simple and refreshing dish:

• 1 small seedless watermelon
• 1 package of grape tomatoes
• parsley
• scallions
• blue cheese

I love using my melon baller, it beats trying to slice a finger while sliding a knife through a juicy melon. So you scoop out the watermelon sans seeds, halve the tomatoes, clean and chop the parsley and scallions and then make a very simple vinaigrette. 2 T red or white wine vinegar mixed in a glass bowl with 3-4 T Evoo and freshly ground salt (just scored some pink Himalayan) and pepper. Mix everything together and sprinkle on the cheese. If blue cheese is too strong for your family, substitute goat cheese. Picnic anyone?Now everyone knows moving is right up there among the BIG stressors in life, and when you are moving with two small children then you have Stress to the 3rd power (move +  2 kids= 3). This particular Mom is a top-notch neonatal ICU nurse, so she can make moving two babies look easy. When we were packing up nearly 30 years of marriage to move south, and move the Rocker into college, I was also putting steroid drops into my eyes every hour. A West Nile virus carrying mosquito had the audacity to bite me, and that bout of encephalitis nearly took my sight.

That was Stress to the 4th power (move + last child leaving home + nearly dying and only losing partial peripheral vision thanks to one lousy mosquito = 4).  I’m beginning to understand why my 87 year old MIL wants to stay in her house. Here is my moving mantra – “Bloom where you’re planted.”