My dear abandoned readers:
A lot has happened since the last time I posted anything (almost three months ago!).
I became an official aunt ( I have plenty unofficial nephews and nieces, but this one is my brother's daughter, which makes me a legal aunt!), I turned 31 (I can no longer check the 25-30 box, now I am in the 30-31), my dad turned 65 (which is how old I remember my grandparents being when I was a little girl), and our landlord raised our rent to a grand total that makes living in this wonderful city a very big challenge (according to a report released by the national low income housing coalition, San Francisco is now officially  the most expensive place in the country to rent housing. Having lived here on and off for over ten years, this doesn't surprise me at all).

 

                                                

On my birthday, as I enjoyed some tasty snacks and libations, surrounded by loving friends and beautiful flowers that they all had brought me, my friend E called me on the lack of blog posts.
  She's a fiery little thing (which I am sure is partly due to her wonderful, explosive mix: half Filipino, half Mexican), but at the same time she's sweet as a peach at it's peak, and in her high pitch voice she just said it: you haven't written since June! Just write a small post, about anything, about your birthday! Do it tonight after we leave! Do it right now!

                                         

As my eyes filled with tears that I was careful to hold back, she apologized for making me feel sad, it wasn't her intention. There was no need for her apology. She was right! And that is exactly what made me sad. I needed to be called on it, to be held accountable for my lack of presence in my own blog.

  But here is the thing about writing (and about a lot of other things in life) the more you do it, the more you do it.  And, just as much (or I guess I should say just as little), the less you do it, the less you do it...
  Practice makes perfect, and lack of practice makes us forget that we were ever even remotely good at something.

 

                                           

  It starts slowly, with a minor change in schedule (which for me usually amounts to a vacation, having to work a 6 day week, or working doubles for a while), and then when trying to catch up with the things that were put off due to the change (the pile of laundry in the hamper, the floors that need to be swept, the menu that needs a seasonal update at the restaurant....) I get caught up on the long, never ending list of to do's and I find that writing becomes one of the things that I add to the list every day, without ever crossing it off.

                                               

  Then before I know it, a new routine has creeped into my life, in which writing is not even a part of it (now it's not even on the list, which makes me feel a little less guilty about not crossing it off) and although I still yearn for it, my brain no longer thinks in blog posts, or essays, or book excerpts , it now thinks in regular thoughts, the way I imagine non writer's brains must think all of the time.

  I find that mostly, the reason why I put it off, is because of how much time it takes me.  And when lack of time presents itself as a challenge in my personal life, and I have to put things on the scale and weigh my priorities, my yoga practice always comes first, and (this may come as a surprise to you :)), cooking (and eating) comes second.

                                    

  Therefore, even though I have not found the time to write about it, I have still been cooking delicious and nutritious meals.
 So to make it up to you for the lack of posts in these past three months I plan on backtracking and sharing  my favorite meals of this past summer, before the first day of Autumn.

 I hope that you will all find at least a couple of recipes that you can still enjoy before we transition into pumpkins and cranberries!