"This Summer I will do fun things all the time. I will have popsicles that will be green. I will go to a very fun park. I will also rest in the big golden sun. I will love to go swimming all the time. I will sing very fun songs like Science Is Real. I can't wait tell Summer."

1. Place chopped dates in the food processor and process until they start to stick together and form a ball. Remove the ball of dates and place in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Put remaining ingredients into the food processor and process until nuts are finely chopped. Add the dates and process again until the mixture is starting to clump and stick together. Remove from the food processor and press it together firmly with your hands to form one big ball. Break off pieces and roll into about 7 1-inch balls. Keep in a covered container in the fridge.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 4 scallions, thinly chopped and white and green parts separated
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 oz shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup edamame
• 8 oz firm tofu, cut into small cubes
• 4 oz soba noodles
• 2 heads of bok choy, chopped
• 1/2 cup white miso
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• Shichimi togarashi (or cayenne), to taste (optional)

1. In a medium pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add ginger, scallion whites, and garlic and cook about 2 minutes. Add sweet potato and toss to coat. Add 6 cups of water, edamame, and tofu and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until sweet potatoes are tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cook the soba noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
3. Add bok choy to soup and cook about 2 minutes. Stir in cooked noodles.
4. Remove 1 cup of soup broth and whisk with miso until smooth. Make sure that soup is no longer boiling and add the miso to the pot. Add lime juice and season with salt and shichimi togarashi (or cayenne), if using. Serve topped with scallion greens.

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper (or lightly oil the pan). Combine all dry ingredients (oats, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt) in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. Put all wet ingredients (milk, banana, vanilla, nut butter, lemon zest, and yogurt) in a blender and blend until smooth.
3. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir to combine. Fold in blueberries. Pour batter into the prepared pan, then bake for about 40 minutes or until golden brown and firm. Let cool before cutting into 9 bars.

• Truffled cashew cheese (see recipe link, below)
• Braised tempeh (see recipe, below)
• Duxelles (see recipe, below)
• Mushroom gravy for serving (this is my favorite recipe. It can be easily "vegan-ized" by replacing the butter with Earth Balance)
• 1 package of puff pastry, thawed (note: Pepperidge Farm® brand isn't very "natural" but it is, surprisingly, vegan. If you can find something without junk in it, that would be best!)

1. Prepare the truffled cashew cheese, braised tempeh, and duxelles per recipes and instructions below.
2. Preheat oven to 425° F. Place the puff pastry sheets (one at a time) on a floured surface and roll out to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut the pastry, using a pizza cutter or large knife, into strips that are large enough to cover 2 slices of tempeh on all sides.
3. Spread cashew cheese on each of the strips. Spoon duxelles on the middle of each strip and top with two slices of tempeh then more duxelles. Fold the ends of the pastry strip over the tempeh and duxelles and press all seems together to seal the packet. Place seam-side down on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
4. Brush or mist each packet with olive oil and bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve topped with mushroom gravy.

• 1 package of tempeh
• Olive oil
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon grainy or Dijon mustard
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• Several sprigs of fresh thyme
• A few lemon slices
• Fresh cracked pepper and sea salt

1. To braise the tempeh, spray a large skillet with olive oil and heat over medium heat. Slice the tempeh brick in half and then slice long-way into about 4 thin pieces. Lightly brown the tempeh on both sides in the pre-heated skillet.
2. Stir the mustard into the broth and pour over the tempeh (in the skillet). Add thyme, lemon slices, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on medium-low until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Remove the tempeh from the pan and set aside.

• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons of Earth Balance margarine
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups finely chopped mushrooms (cremini, shiitake, white mushrooms, or a mix)
• 1/4 cup Madeira wine
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
• Fresh cracked pepper and sea salt

1. Melt the Earth Balance in a skillet on medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for 2 minutes then add the garlic and mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes then add the wine and cook until almost evaporated. Stir in the parsley and thyme and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove from heat.

Summer will still be with us for another few weeks but fall seems to arrive in spirit a little earlier than in date. My kids are back in school and I'm doing my best to stay organized and remember who needs to be where and when. It is still 95 degrees outside but I can see that the leaves are already turning yellow. When I run early in the morning, I can hear that the morning breeze sounds different too. More rustley and whooshy than quiet.

I did a lot of control freaky pre-planning for summer this year. I had schedules and charts and lists. The kinds of things that I usually stash away and forget about shortly after creating them. You know what, though? It made a HUGE difference! We were able to do more and experience more of what makes summer so awesome. I learned a lot this summer, too, and I thought I'd share a few of those lessons with you before I launch into pumpkins and such for fall.

In no particular order, here is what I now know to be true.

Summer's Lessons

1. I hate the gym. I'm sorry to say it, but I do. I've had gym memberships my entire adult life. Since I was 16, actually. Lately, though, I've found myself dreading going inside. I sit in my car in the parking lot and stall by reading email on my phone or listening to my iPod. It isn't the working out that I hate. It is the whole gym experience- cardio machines, the ridiculous line for spin class, people standing around talking loudly over me, texting, and otherwise annoying every cell in my body. For me, a morning run outside in nature or a workout with my bootcamp/tri training friends is so, so, SO much better.

2. Running and yoga go great together and not just for the one-makes-things-tight-and-one-stretches-them-out reason. When I'm running my brain is working. Ideas pop in and problems are crunched. This is good stuff in moderation but, just like swimming in the ocean, getting stuck in the churn can be overwhelming. Yoga shuts all that spinning down. It makes things quiet and gives my brain (and the rest of me) a chill pill. It is the flat water beyond the surf. Love.

3. At the right time of day our summer landscape is absolutely stunning. I used to think that everything was brown and dead in the heat of summer. Outside around here was not the lush green of late winter but a setting to be approached with forbearance and lots of sunscreen and ice water. This summer I discovered that there is an old almond orchard along the bike trail near my house. In the magic light at sunrise it is take-my-breath-away beautiful. Running or cycling to that special spot has become almost like a morning meditation or prayer of gratitude for me.

4. Homemade no-kneed bread with cinnamon and raisins is easy to make and delicious. We go through a lot of cinnamon raisin bread in our house. I've been wanting to find a good recipe so that we can have a fresh version of the store-bought one that we've been eating. I finally pulled out my copy of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (that I've had for a few years) and tried a few recipes. My favorite is the oatmeal bread with a cup of raisins and a sprinkling of cinnamon rolled in before baking. The book says that the no-kneed method creates a "custard crumb" in the bread and I understood what that meant after trying the recipes. Breakfast awesomeness.

5. Picnics are even better when they are at unexpected times of the day. We have a lot of picnics and, since they are sometimes spur-of-the-moment, I keep a picnic blanket in my car at all times. My favorite picnic of the summer was at dinner time. We packed up our food and headed out to the lake to eat, play, and watch the sun set. Best picnic ever. Thank you to Melissa of Adventure Tykes for inspiring this idea and for leading my discovery of these containers (also available in orange, pink, and blue)!

6. Homemade "Magic Shell" is really easy to make and tastes like summer perfection on top of banana soft serve. To make "Magic Shell" (makes 2 generous, chocolate-lover servings): put 1/4 cup chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (a little scant) into a microwavable container and microwave 10-30 seconds at a time, stirring often, until the chocolate is melted.

7. Embracing the best things about each season makes me (and my family) happy. This is where my control-freaky planning comes in. I spent some time in the spring thinking about what I wanted to do this summer. I created a summer manifesto and brainstormed a big list of outings, projects, and goals for the season. It was more like a menu than a to-do list and these things made it easier for us to get out of the house and enjoy the best parts of summer. Camping, swimming, bowling, berry picking, beach days, picnics- we did a lot of fun things!

How was your summer?

We had a great time tent camping in Big Sur, California at the end of June. Here are a few images from our trip!

Getting ready...


All set up at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park: