But, oh it feels so good to cook again. To have the day to think about it, to take my time deciding and to slowly move through the kitchen. It's been too warm to do anything but move slowly.

That's the difference between school-year and summer cooking. I feel hamstrung in the winter. I still haven't really figured out how to do it. It wears me out to make the grocery list. It wears me out to do the shopping. Hardest of all is deciding what to do and then doing it, every flipping night. I just feel too beat when I get home in the evenings to have much enjoyment in the process. Winters seem to be more about feeding than cooking and eating. I hate that. There's some good food to be made in the winter. Clearly I still have some "feeding my family" things to figure out.

But summer. Another weight is off me and cooking is fun again. I've been absolutely craving chicken salad lately. I'm trying it in all its forms. Roasted with big chunks of chicken. Waldorf-y with walnuts and grapes. Plain old deli-case minced, with tiny bits of celery. This one I made last night is one of my favorites. It's a curried chicken salad from a Sara Foster cookbook. Foster's Market, I think. I never look at the recipe anymore, so I don't remember where it came from. The key to me is the curry/honey/mayonnaise dressing. That and the toasted coconut. And currants. If those things are there (well, and the chicken, of course), I throw in whatever else I may have. Sometimes apples. Last night it was red pepper. The toasted coconut is the thing, though. Adds the perfect texture.

It got up to 102 degrees here yesterday, so we had this with chilled asparagus and a drizzle of balsalmic glaze. Perfect chilled supper for such a hot night. I should have made a double batch.

And check this out. See how hazy? I know, the picture doesn't do it justice, but I had to try to capture it. Wildfires are burning to the south of us, and the wind shifted (breaking the heat, thank goodness) bringing the smoke our way. Woodsy smelling smoke blanketed the town. Gone today, cooler weather on tap, and I'm still not done with chicken salad.