Saying good bye to summer with my spatula.....

Here we are.....face-to-face with the last week of August.
Yes, friends, next Friday is the very last Friday of August.
But we still have today....and...it's still August and it's FRIDAY!!!

SUMMER DON'T GO!!!!

Although the calendar does not say that summer is over, in the hearts and minds of all Americans.....it is over.  O-V-E-R.  OVER!  OOOOOOVVVVVVVEEEEERRRRR!  
 Finito....
We've been conditioned from the time we were little tots that summer consists of June, July and August.
June you get out of school and August marks the end of  the lazy life you have come to know....we're heading back to school.
Now, if you are like me and work in academia, your internal calendar has always been like this.
The end of August means the beginning of mania....it's the place where our worlds collide.  We are trying to eek out the last drops of summer but the demands of gearing up for another school year is exhausting......making it hard to really enjoy the last lazy days of summer. 
Here is Judiland, it's a historic end-of-summer.  It marks the first time in 22 years when I haven't been getting at least one child ready to head off to school.   On one hand, I am happy for the reprieve....getting kids ready to go to school while also trying to get myself snuggled into another academic year was always pretty daunting.  On the other hand, it also means that our four years of empty nesting has come...temporarily, I suppose....to a close.
Add to that it's also the first summer in ions when we did not make our regular family trek to the beach and life feels a little topsy turvy.
Being that hindsight is 20-20---I now know that having these two things happen in the same season can have some negative effects on the psyche.   And, my energy level. 
Getting used to the comings and goings (and everything else) of a 22 year old new college grad can wear on even the most youthful of 54 year old mothers.   Add that to getting  used to dealing with the new college grad's father who has been having some issues with the comings and goings.....well, there are moments when I have a headache the size of  the state of Texas.  
So, last night, as I sipped my Thursday night martini, gazing at the August moon and feeling the warm summer night against my face, I decided that I needed a little therapy.....of the kitchen variety.   Some of my best thoughts come to me after a few sips of gin.....
So, I laid out my plan.......I am going to usher out August by spending some extra time this weekend and early next week in the kitchen whipping up some recipes that I have been wanting to try that scream SUMMER.......  
I know exactly how to self-sooth!  
And, I knew exactly which recipes I was going to tackle!
After my second martini, I was convinced you all wanted to do the same....
The second martini always makes me smarter.......

Two of those wanna-try recipes come from one of my favorite foodie blogs that I found recently....Food 52
They sound amazing and yummy and summery......don't they???

 Fresh Corn Cakes with Crab and Tomato Salad

Summer Tomato Tartines with Garlic Confit

And, of course, I always want to try something that comes from Proud Italian Cook's kitchen...
I have been thinking about this recipe since the day she posted it earlier in the month!!!
 
Grilled Kale Salad

And, here's another blog that I found my way to recently..Two Peas & Their Pod....and  I fell in love with the idea of this recipe....
Grilled Peach, Brie & Basil Sandwich
(I am not sure if Carmen would be up for this combo so I might just have to consider this a girls' night with a bottle of a crisp white wine dinner)


I can't think of a better way to savour these last days of  August than sipping some  lovely white wine and trying out some new recipes in my kitchen.......