Goodbye, Summer...

I’m flipping out excited. After a bad history with faithless laptops, I finally decided I needed something more serious. Something sleek and reliable, something that didn’t have viruses, something I could really trust. Enter: MACBOOKPRO!!! Yeah, I got the iPhone, I’m an app-aholic, and now this. Whatever.

I justified this purchase in several ways.

• My current computer is a piece of sh*t. Literally, my friends mock it. It can barely open Word let alone a YouTube video. I require a machine that works. Because of the issue of my current model barely working, I’ve taken over my fiancé’s machine as often as he will tolerate. He has returned to school, so this is no longer possible.
• I am applying to grad school (again.) I need a workhorse of a machine for applications and essays.
• Hopefully grad school—if I get in, I need a working machine, duh! (This is the major one)
• Netflix—is that shallow? Sorry.
• Wedding planning (ditto to above)
• Photograph storage and sorting
• Music storage
• Being part of normal society

So why is all of this relevant here? Because I now have a real, true, working computer, and I plan to blog a lot more.

Until I can really sit down and get the new machine up to date with all my recent food endeavors, I leave you with a shot of a recent meal made. We visited with some friends on the lake in Meredith, NH and had a fantastically wonderful surf and turf meal. It was a lovely way to spend Labor Day weekend, and the ideal meal to say farewell to summer.

Lobster, grilled eggplant and corn!

The spread

The Gents

The girls, enjoying Arabella and Mike's amazing Stoli Doli

Blast from the past! Summer Lobster Dinner

Last summer after I moved from CT to MA, I only worked part-time for the month of August. This meant I had a lot of time to play on my hands, and that playing took place mainly in the kitchen. I have to admit, I kind of loved pretending to be a housewife for the month, enjoying preparing meals at a leisurely pace. This particular meal was a locavore's delight (at least as far as the produce was concerned.) The herbs (chives and basil) came from Devin's parents' garden. The potatoes, tomatoes and corn came from Ward's Berry Farm, where I also handpicked the blueberries for the pie (nerd alert!) The peaches in the pie came from our backyard at the time. Nothing says summer to me like lobster, white wine, corn on the cob and pie. Sigh.

August, 2009, Mansfield, MA

Menu:

• Steamed lobster with drawn butter (my favorite way to steam is in salted water with peppercorns and white wine)
• Chardonnay
• Fresh, local corn with butter
• Roasted fingerling potatoes with garlic oil and chives
• Heirloom tomato salad with olive oil, cracked pepper, fleur de sel and chopped basil
• Blueberry-peach pie