I’m sitting on our newly-laid charcoal stone patio in dappled shade, admiring my kid-at-heart husband and my Mary Poppins-esque mother-in-law (aka ‘Nana’). They’re helping our little one build what feels like a life-sized white styrofoam airplane kit that Nana surprised us with.
As the 3-foot glider comes together, fire flame stickers and all, my son quickly nose-dives it right into the freshly cut lawn causing the wings to drop off. We all let out big laughs and proceed to put the plane back together again. My husband and son share the same boisterous contagious laugh, the kind that makes it impossible not to grin from ear to ear. And Nana is one of the most gracious and genuinely kind people I know; we’re so lucky to have her in our lives.
Small precious family moments like these have made this one of my all-time favorite summers. My son is at that amazing age where his words are spilling out like waterfalls and his energy level is what I like to call ‘super-mode’. His most frequently used phrases are “Let’s do it!”, “Cmon!”, “Watch this!”, and “Did you see that?!”, which help illustrate his super fun-loving spirit. Everyday he wants to do more, learn more, play more. And he wants us to be a part of it all, which is probably the most endearing quality of this age.
We don’t have big vacations planned this summer; instead, we’ve been basking in the glory of the yard we updated with my son’s interest at heart. It wasn’t a complex update; we added a fifty-foot lawn, a simple patio, and relocated our existing plants to create a border. But the number of summer evenings we have played in it as a family have already made it the best money we ever spent. It’s because of our updated yard that my son realized his love for sprinklers, that we remembered how good shaded grass feels on bare-feet, and that easy outside dinners have become the norm.
I love to be in the kitchen and can spend countless hours cooking. But when my family is playing outside, I want to be outside. So I’ve been preparing a lot of meals that involve little cooking and mostly assembling. These meals are also fantastic for impromptu potlucks and BBQ’s; they can be ready in a snap.
This quinoa dish is mostly inspired by the sugary-sweet nectarines my son has devoured this summer. A few weeks ago we took him on his first ferry boat ride. Upon arrival at the San Francisco ferry building, he asked for a snack so we bought four gorgeous nectarines from a local farm-fresh vendor. He ate ALL four before we returned home. Now he wakes up each morning, climbs into our bed, and says ‘Mommy…I want nectarine please’. It used to be a banana every morning, but now nectarines rule.
You can make this dish your own by throwing in any summer fruit you like; make it all stone-fruit, all-berry, or any combination. I was delighted to see fresh figs at the farmers’ market again so I threw those in too. The most important thing is that you start with ripe juicy fruit that you already pine for on its own.
Hope you enjoy and wishing you many amazing summer memories ahead! These days are a healthy reminder to never underestimate the value of doing simple things with the ones you love.
- 1 cup of quinoa, rinsed
- 1 nectarine (white or yellow), thinly sliced (or chopped)
- 1 plum or pluot, thinly sliced (or chopped)
- 1 cup cherries (pitted & halved)
- 3 figs, thinly slice
- 1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
- ¼ cup of mint leaves, chopped (plus extra for garnish)
- Queso fresco
- Place rinsed quinoa and 2 cups of water in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Fluff quinoa with a fork, place in a medium bowl, and and let cool.
- Once cooled, mix in sliced nectarines, plums, cherries, figs, spinach, and mint leaves.
- Crumble queso fresco and gently toss into quinoa.
- Garnish with more fresh mint and serve.
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