Thursday, August 1, 2013

Another Sporty Day




Whenever I work two days in a row, I awaken the next day feeling like a giant sloth drooping from her branch, avoiding every useful activity – almost too dazed to even nibble on the tender leaves of her tree.   It usually takes me until at least noon to emerge from the fog, and then my primary goal seems to be taking a nap. 

Such was the case yesterday.  I had planned (foolishly) to do lots of things, but the only crucial one was making a salad to take to The Twins’ for a fun evening of croquet! The afternoon was well advanced by the time I managed to summon the wherewithal to cycle to the store for ingredients.  When I got home, I felt a tiny bit energized and put on some bluegrass gospel music CD’s to cheer myself up.  That was very effective.  There is something about bluegrass music that is so happy-making!  Just like Bach! I finally became enthusiastic about my salad.  I had asked Rebecca for a pasta salad suggestion and she sent me several recipes, one of which had roasted lemon. That sounded tantalizing!  The recipe wasn’t a pasta salad, but I turned it into one, added roasted beets and a bunch of other vegetables.  It turned out to be extremely pretty and quite yummy!

Laughlin pears (almost)


Fruits of the Laughlin Acres

After dinner, we had tea in the Laughlin Acres, and a lovely game of croquet.   There are certain games that I never, ever win  - poker, gin, Monopoly are among them – and also croquet.  I used to play with my parents and brother, and later with my cousins, and usually would be on about wicket number two when the game ended. So I expected to come in last, and in this, I was not disappointed.  However, despite being behind at every point in the game, I didn’t come in waaaay last.  I was only a tiny bit last.  This was very gratifying.  I almost felt as though I had won.  

Elegant Tea Service, including special Good Friday tea cozy

6 comments:

I. F. said...

It was sooo delicious, and every bit as good the next day for lunch. The good thing about croquet is that almost everyone loses, so at least one isn't alone.

Marta said...

Salad looks really yummy!
I haven't played croquet in years. I think we have a set somewhere, probably next to the bocce ball.

Tootsie said...

That salad looks amazing, now I am craving roasted beets.

Dan and Julie in San Diego said...

Any chance you might post how you made the salad? Looks almost too pretty to eat.
Julie in San Diego

joannamauselina said...

Here is a link to the original salad recipe:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jul/27/salad-recipes-yotam-ottolenghi

It was the tomato lemon one. I added pasta, roasted beets, and anything else you see in the picture. The dressing in the recipe and the roasted lemons were the things that made it so tasty.

Laura said...

Yum! Croquet is so much fun. I almost forgot about the game. We played it as children in our neighborhood park.