What a beautiful summer morning.  I woke to the warm sunlight, soft breezes and the sweet sounds of song birds as they bustled about their day.  Even though the air temperature was a comfortable 75 degrees at 7:00 AM, I could sense the hazy heat that would soon blanket my quiet country home.  There is something mesmerizing about that heat.  It’s like it sucks you into a semi-dream state that melts any stress or worries along with it.



My garden is teaming right now with brilliant bursts of red Monarda, yellow Day Lillies, and Purple Hostas.  







My tomato plants are starting to sag against their stakes with round green fruit, and my strawberries are shifting from petite white flowers into pointy green berries.

Fridays are the day that I assess the remaining fresh produce left in my fridge or on my counter to see what I must use or toss before shopping again at the farm and farmer’s market over the weekend.  In this week’s assessment, I found some bananas and raspberries that I had to use, or lose the next day. 



So, I poured some salted water into a copper pot, brought it to a boil, and then added the oats.  Once the mixture came to a simmer, I added the raspberries and some milk to the hot liquid and allowed the flavors to combine.  Now, I were not trying to watch my weight, here is where I would add the butter, but since I am trying to watch what I eat ( I know, boo/hiss), I left it with non-fat milk and raspberries.  When the oats finished cooking, I sliced up some bananas and swirled in some lingonberry jam.  For those of you that are unfamiliar with the luscious lingonberry – it is a native to the Scandinavian countries.  I like to buy a lingonberry jam that comes from Denmark called Scandinavian Delights.  It is not sweet, like American jams, but tart and bursting with the flavor and essence of the fruit.



And now, as the dogs and I sit out on the back deck, and I complete my brief blogging reprieve, I shall return to work while I enjoy my breakfast. . . or is it more like Lunch at this point?