what a summer!

Several of you have asked, "what on earth I've been up to", since-- clearly-- I haven't been blogging.  Here's the answer, in pictures.

First, the kiddos went to sleep away camp. To say they had a ball would be an understatement.

And, while they were off at camp, my husband and I tackled a few Northeastern peaks, in anticipation of a family hiking trip in the Swiss Alps, that we'd excitedly planned all year.

Slight change in plans when our little one broke his leg on a backpacking trip at camp… but we still went on a family adventure, taking trains all over Italy and Switzerland. Different trip than we'd planned, but totally amazing, nonetheless. A trip so special, none of us will soon forget it.  

Then, since a summer isn't complete without a few weeks spent out West, in the mountains, we flew straight on through from Zurich, Switzerland to Sun Valley, Idaho, where we've been enjoying the company of Meme and Papa, my parents, who get to live out here.

All of this free time and travel means that I can count what I've cooked this summer on two-- no, maybe one-- hand. We ate out a lot, and when home, I fell into a delicious rhythm of just a few go-to meals: 

Several iterations of Bouillabaise...

fish tacos...

big batches of Green Gazpacho...

and a summer salad of heirloom tomatoes, fresh corn, grilled chicken (tofu for my vegetarian son), chunks of avocado, roasted garlic cloves and topped with mango salsa that everyone loves and I keep making again and again.

We've also enjoyed our fare share of s'mores

and fruit crisps.

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know my mantra is "cook once, eat at least twice". So, I've gotten in the habit of making big batches of the fruit crisp topping and storing it in the fridge for the next time I've got ripe fruit. Handy. Since one should always have a fruit crisp at the ready.

Before leaving on these travels, I did restock our freezer with a few Greens and Cheese Pies, because I wanted to be assured that when we do (eventually) roll home, a nourishing, delicious meal will be waiting for us. And that's just the start of my plan to enter this school year with a stash of meals in the freezer, and the "bonus hours" that result from cooking ahead. So, stick around the blog if you're like me and want the focus this Fall to be on stocking our freezers with goodness, and taking great care of ourselves.