A Slow Summer Day at Home After 50

Summer mornings feel a little more forgiving. I like to move early before the heat settles in and the day starts asking for more. Performer Pilates helps me arrive back home feeling grounded. And this little munchkin and her siblings always pull me fully into the moment. The garden moves at its own pace. I water the seedlings and various plants before the heat gets too high. And I give them a good drink so they stay saturated through the hot day ahead. Even the doormat reminds me that some things just need more time and air. So, I do what I can and let the sunshine do the rest. When the day feels like this, I try to work with it. Windows open, bed stripped, linen’s ready for the line. There’s something quietly comforting about letting sunshine and air take care of things. It feels like an old habit worth keeping. After a refreshing shower, I slow things right down. a warm cup of tea, a quiet moment, and a soft place to land. Maple always joins me and usually hopes to share a little of whatever I’m having. It’s in these small pauses that I like to set my intentions for the day. Nothing complicated, just a few thoughts, a little gratitude, and space to notice how I want the day to feel. After journaling, I’m drawn back into the garden. The apricot tree has truly outdone itself this year. There’s more than I can use, which feels like a gift meant to be shared. Friends, family, the birds, everyone gets a little. I keep a few aside to make apricot juice today using just what feels right. We’ve gotten so many apricots this year and I still have jam from prior years that we haven’t finished. So, I’ve tried drying them and I over dried them. They’re okay. Um, and they were a bit tangy. So, I don’t really want to try drying them again um for a little bit less time, I guess. Uh what I’m thinking of doing is actually searching a recipe for apricot juice. Growing up in Italy, um they used to have apricot juice, peach juice, um regular available at the supermarket. And I’m thinking that I might try and do that cuz we’re not going to be able to eat all these. The recipe says use six to eight apricots and two cups of water and boil them with a little bit of lemon. The lemon makes it last longer. I thought I might try that. 6 to 8 isn’t a lot, so I thought I might do twice the quantity, maybe even more than that.  I might make I know it’s more than three the quantity, but some of them are really small compared to others that are big. So I’m thinking the recipe might have called for bigger apricots. and then I might put six cups of water in it instead of um two. So anyway, I’ll do this and I’ll catch you up later. So I ended up cutting more. I ended up cutting about eight cups. So I would say that this would need eight cups of water. So equal and equal. But then it says that you blend it and uh you can squeeze it through a sie. I have one of those molyneu moly that anyway Italians know what that is. It’s um for tomatoes and um you can take the fiber out of it and make it a little bit more delicate. Cooking the apricots actually makes it more delicate um for the stomach and it also lasts a few days longer in the fridge. Um so yeah. So, I put it in the pot. Says lemon juice. Oh, preservative. That’s it. Acts as a preservative. And if you want, you can add some honey to it to make it a little bit sweeter. I’m going to wait to do that until it’s fully cooked and blended. And I can tell cuz I don’t mind them being a little bit more less sweet. Let’s put it that way. And it says to bring it to a gentle simmer. So, I’ll do that. And these I’m going to have to put in the fridge until I can think of something else to make with them. So bring them to a gentle simmer and then cook them for 15 minutes or 10 to 15 minutes. While the apricots are cooling, I decide to keep working with the weather. After seeing how well the front door mat came up, it felt like the right time to do this, too. This rug has had a few little accidents over the years. Pets will do that. It’s always surprising how easily something like this comes clean. And knowing that the sun will dry it and freshen it naturally feels like giving it a new lease on life. Sorry. Once the apricots had cooled, it was time to pass them through the mulina, removing the fiber first and then through a fine sie. in to catch the last of the pulp. What’s left is a beautifully smooth, delicate fruit juice. Because the fruit has been cooked, it keeps well in the fridge for over a week, and it’s been so delicious, we’re already almost through it. I gave a bottle to a friend in exchange for apricot conserve, and the rest we’ve been enjoying at home. There are still more apricots left, so I’ll make another batch, and I might even try canning some for winter. Nothing is wasted either. The leftover pulp is tucked away in the freezer, ready to become cakes and baking later in the year. The sun has dried the shades and it’s time to make the bed with those deliciously fresh linens. I already know how good it’s going to feel to sleep into bed tonight and snuggle under them. There’s something so comforting about the scent of freshly washed linen. It’s the kind of quiet pleasure I really look forward to at the end of a busy but so refreshing day like today. I have chicken breast. that I thought I’d turn into chicken picata for tonight’s dinner and then the other half I’ll turn into chicken breast. The first step is pretty much the same. So I thought I’d get started with the chicken cuta first, little bit of oil and some butter. Nothing complicated, just simple ingredients and familiar flavors. We’ll leave the recipe in the description box below if you’d like to make it, too. It feels nice to end the day cooking something a little different without any pressure. Just dinner made at home. This is going to be turning just um I’m just going to dunk it in egg and breadrumbs. And I always keep my breadrumbs uh all ready to go. It’s already got the spices and chili that I like. And it’s already crumbmed. There’s no cheese in this so that if ever uh my future son-in-law is over for dinner and we’re making chicken snitle, then I don’t have to worry that I put cheese in it. So, it’s ready to go. So, it’s got actually in this one, I added some fresh dried parsley for my own garden, which makes me feel really proud. that sauce going over the chicken. Just watch. Yeah. Heat. Chicken ski is still ready for tomorrow. Just to cover it up. Beautiful. Okay, the liquid has thickened. It’s nice and glossy. Ready for dinner tonight. Why is that? And just like that, the day winds down. Days like this remind me how much comfort there is in the ordinary. Thank you for being here and sharing it with me. See you next time. Bye. Can’t taste the whiskuit.