I have been looking forward to today for a long time.  Not just looking forward to, but needing.  Craving.  My office hasn’t had a holiday since New Years, and although I took two days off in February, I spent both of them on a plane.  So today, on this beautiful spring day in Boston, I’m having a real day of vacation.  And it’s glorious just to have an entire day with no commitments.

So how am I spending my day?  Simply.  I went for a long run early this morning, before the heat built up.  I had a peach and raspberry smoothie, followed by one of these bars.  I walked to the market and bought a boatload of beets, and fresh feta cheese.  I killed (hopefully) every single mealybug on my poor lemon tree by wiping each leaf and stem down with rubbing alcohol, gave it a good dose of fertilizer, and left it happily in the sun.  I transplanted the tomatoes, and the thyme, and ended up with dirt all over my face, which made me strangely happy.  I can’t wait to show you pictures of our garden, or to eat the first green peas and fava beans.

I took a cool shower, did my laundry, cleaned up the last remnants of my party Saturday night.  Then I made this sandwich – with cranberry-nut bread, avocado, homemade edam cheese, peppered turkey, and pickled red onions.  There’s something wonderful and simple and summery about sandwiches.  I ate it sitting outside in the shade, with a glass of lemonade.  Now I’m reading cookbooks that have been sitting on my nightstand for weeks, bookmarking all the spring recipes that I’m getting more and more excited for.  For dinner I’m going to have roasted beets with feta and candied pecans, and a glass of white wine.  I’ll watch a little TV, maybe have a bowl of lemon ice cream, and go to sleep early.  And I will have spent today exactly as I wanted to.

P.s. It’s my birthday week (and yes, I celebrate it for a whole week, if not longer), so you can look forward to a few scrumptious recipes from all my various celebrations soon!

Turkey and Avocado Grilled Cheese

Serves 1.

• 2 slices whole wheat bread
• 3 TBS quick pickled red onions
• 1/2 avocado
• 2 TBS raw onion, finely diced
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 4 slices black pepper turkey
• 1 handful arugula
• 2 slices cheddar cheese
• 1 TBS butter

Mash avocado with raw onion and salt until creamy.  Spread on one slice of bread.  Top with pickled red onions, then arugula, then turkey, then cheese.  Top with other slice of bread.  Melt 1/2 of butter in frying pan over medium heat.  Add sandwich, with the cheese layer closest to the heat.  Spread remaining butter on exposed piece of bread.  Cook for 3-5 minutes, until you smell the butter toasting and the cheese begins to melt, then carefully flip, and cook for 3 minutes on the other side.  Serve warm with a glass of lemonade.

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Maine is a pretty cool place.  It’s cool because the other morning I was having tea on the dock, and a bald eagle flew ten feet in front of my face with another bird… in it’s talons.  It was enormous.  And awe inspiring.  Even though I’ll admit it made me feel a little bit shaky.  It’s also cool because I spent yesterday morning hiking up a ravine with rickety wooden ladders in Acadia and suddenly found myself looking out over a perfectly calm and sparkling bay.  And then four hours later I was sitting in the corner of an old wooden tavern, eating the best restaurant meal I’ve had in years.

It’s cool because when you look up at the sky at night it’s so thick with stars that it looks like someone brushed them on with a paintbrush.  And because every afternoon at four the sun falls on the hammock and I fall asleep listening to the grasshoppers chirp.  On foggy mornings packs of loons float silently along the shore, and on sunny ones kingfishers relentlessly dive by the dock.

It’s cool because Maine is where camp is, and when I went to visit this morning I received more hugs at once than I have in years, from both old friends and small children.  I watched a six year old’s face light up as she barreled toward me and latched around my waist, and while sitting on the deck a four year old I don’t even know climbed into my lap.  When Dalton told me he couldn’t remember when his birthday was, and I asked whether it was in the wintertime or the summertime, he told me “Oh, I know, it’s in moose-hunting season.”  And later, Robbie pulled a cheese stick from his lunchbox and announced to me, “It’s a cheese-stick.  It’s like a stick … but it’s cheese.”  You can learn a lot from five year olds.

And lastly, it’s cool because I can walk across the street and pick as many wild blueberries as I want.  As many times as I want.  And make as many different blueberry treats as I want.  For free.

Although it’s almost the end of the blueberry season and I haven’t made any scrumptious blueberry baked goods, I’m sticking to my healthy promise and using my first batch of blueberries in a savory recipe – blueberry guacamole.  Actually, it’s really good for you – just think about the incredible amount of antioxidants in blueberries, the heart-healthy fat in avocados, and the metabolism raising properties of the capsaicin in jalapenos.

If you’re looking for a fresh twist on your classic mexican dip, try this recipe – it’s well-balanced, sweet, creamy, and spicy.  To make it a meal I put a few tablespoons in a tortilla with smoked turkey and goat cheese, and it was given a firm stamp of approval by all family members involved in taste-testing.

Blueberry Guacamole and Turkey Wrap

Inspired by Manifest Vegan and SELF

For guacamole (makes 3 cups):

• 1 large avocado
• 1/2 medium onion, very finely diced
• 2 c. fresh wild blueberries
• 2 TBS fresh lime juice
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
• kosher salt

For wraps (makes 1):

• 1/4 cup blueberry guacamole
• 1 flour tortilla
• 2 oz. sliced, smoked turkey
• 1 oz. (approx. 1 TBS) goat cheese

1. Slice avocado in half lengthwise, working in a circle around pit, and pull halves apart.  Remove pit and discard.  Scrape avocado flesh into a medium bowl and mash with lime juice.  Stir in very finely chopped onion and jalapeno, and blueberries.  If you can’t get small wild blueberries, you may want to puree or mash half of the larger berries before mixing in.  Season to taste with kosher salt.
2. Place a tortilla open on counter.  Spread with a thin layer of goat cheese, top with turkey slices, and spread guacamole over center of turkey.  Roll up and enjoy!

NutritionalAnalysis (Nutrtition estimated using SparkPeople’s recipe calculator):

Nutrition: Guacamole: 80.7 calories, 4.5 g fat, 3.5 g fiber, and 1.0 g protein per half cup serving.  Sandwich: 333 calories, 12.7 g fat, 3.6 g fiber, 19.7 g protein in 1 sandwich.

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And I almost never feel that way about anything I’ve made.  Good, often.  Really good, sometimes.  Perfect?  Infrequently.

I’m not gonna take much credit for it though* – the ingredients were perfect.  Sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, parmesan, basil, goat cheese, and fettucine?  Not my creations.  But I will be happy to use them anytime they decide to grace my kitchen.

I’m not feeling up for words today, so that’s all I’ve got.  I’m leaving you with these pictures, the recipes, and the suggestion that you try this the next time you’re craving something both bright and comforting.

*I take it back – I’m taking credit for the meatball part.  These were my creation and I’m proud.

Sun-Dried Tomato Turkey Meatballs with Sun-Dried Tomato and Goat Cheese Pesto Sauce

Sun-dried tomato turkey meatballs: (original/personal recipe, makes 15 large meatballs)

• 1 1/4 lbs lean ground turkey
• 1/2 c. bread crumbs
• 1/3 c. chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/3 c. chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 c. grated fresh parmesan
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 3 TBS milk

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.  Grease a baking tray with cooking spray.
2. In large bowl, mix bread crumbs, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley, parmesan, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes and salt, until well combined.  Crack egg into bowl and beat lightly in it’s own well, then mix with rest of ingredients.  Add milk and mix to incorporate.
3. Add the ground turkey and combine with bread crumb mixture using your hands.  Don’t overwork with your hands.  When combined, form into medium balls and place close together on the baking tray.
4. Bake for 26 minutes, using tongs to flip/rotate halfway through.

Sun-dried tomato pesto with goat cheese and fettucine: (recipe inspired by Perry’s Plate)

• 1 lb. box of fettucine
• 1/2 c. oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/4 c. pine nuts
• 3 oz parmesan, cubed
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1/2 c. basil, loosely packed
• 3 oz. goat cheese

1. Bring large pot of salted water to boil.  Cook fettucine according to package directions.
2. In a food processor, combine sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, and garlic.  Pulse until coarse.  Add basil, as well as 3-4 TBS olive oil reserved from sun-dried tomato jar (or regular olive oil).  Continue to pulse.  Taste, and adjust ingredient ratios until flavor and texture are as desired.
3. When pasta is done, drain, and immediately add goat cheese and 1/2 sun-dried tomato pesto to pot.  Stir to form thick sauce.  Garnish with fresh basil, and serve with sun-dried tomato turkey meatballs.

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