summer smiles....

Awww summertime.... I love summer.....love to soak up the sun.....and enjoy the fruits of my husband's labor.....like the tomatoes and peppers that are currently residing around our pool.....We also have a few strawberries....enough to check each day and see if something is ripe....and pop it in your mouth....for that quick burst of tart flavor....life is good in the summertime.... We were invited to a friend's house for leftover BBQ last night. This gentleman has a commercial kitchen in his back yard....and while he does not enjoy it like he used too....(I think he is tired.....and ready to pass that mantle on to someone else....like my daughter's husband and my husband) .....he still cooks as if 20 or more people will be there for dinner... He is in his 70's and there are very distinct roles for men and women in his world.... He is also retired military...they tend to be very opinionated...oh yes they do.....but it is always interesting to listen to his stories of the different countries he was posted in and the food he ate....because that is the the common bond between us....food....we always talk food....what we are cooking....what we are eating.....what we want to cook.....it is all good..... and entertaining..... People expect him to cook for them....they call him up all the time and ask what he is cooking for dinner......and while he is flattered by the attention....he is also tired of it..... He and his wife enjoy coming to our house for dinner....we are probably the only ones, outside of his children, who ever invite them over for dinner....it is restful for them to come to our house and eat food that they have not had to prepare....and it is a pleasure to cook for them.....and in the summer time .....it is all about small pleasures like that....good food and family and friends to enjoy it with....