A year ago, I wrote a post lamenting that I was having difficulty forcing myself to cook (and eat) a meal. I tried this and that…playing music, making the meal tasty and beautiful, setting a nice table, even buying fresh flowers to make dining alone seem somehow more palatable. I’m here to tell you I have failed…magnificently. And I couldn’t be happier!

Honestly, I pretty much hate cooking anymore, especially when it’s just for me. I try to eat foods that are good for me…doesn’t always happen, but I try. This time of year is my absolute favorite because the summer taste treat that I adore…ADORE…is starting to hit the produce section. Corn! We’re past that spring-corn-that-tastes-more-like-pig-fodder stage and heading into that glorious, albeit far too brief, time of succulent spears of gold that burst with flavor with each toothy bite! Yesssssss…with butter, REAL butter. And sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Oh, my….the gods swoon at the mere mention of these heavenly morsels! Oh, yes….I LOVE corn-on-the-cob (and fresh garden tomatoes…oh, and watermelon!) more than anything in the world! And the best thing? The very, VERY best thing? I cooked it and ate it over the kitchen sink as I watched the evening stroll of the resident deer coming down off the mountain behind my house. I let the juice and butter drip down my chin with abandon as I listened to the crickets and the big window fan upstairs that I brought from my mother’s house when she died. I grew up listening to that fan every day. It is the essence of summer to me. I stood there and let myself totally enjoy the moment…barefoot, tank top, cutoffs. Oh, my gosh…..life is so sweet and good…and so simple!

Photo credit: janeheller.com