Here’s a July bookmark for your cookbooks or your beach reads…click on it, and you’ll get it on a PDF that you can print out on card stock.  Happy July!  And speaking of ambrosia under a tree . . .

I think you can revise that quote to say, “Bread and butter is ambrosia eaten under twinkle lights.” Twinkle lights in the garden are probably more important than the food! A little magic is a good thing!  This was last night, we had a 4th of July party in the backyard.

The menu was basic and all American; steak and salmon from the grill and my favorite Spareribs and Juice (pineapple juice! …make ahead and delicious, p. 101 Vineyard Seasons); that sparerib juice went so well cuddled next to the cold rice salad I already told you about (scroll down if you want that recipe); we had a huge green salad from the garden with orange balsamic dressing; and then, the coup de grace, my dad’s garlic bread (he melts butter and throws in lots of thinly sliced garlic — not minced or crushed, heaven forbid, that would break his garlic bread rules — he brushes it on slices of French bread, making sure to get garlic on each piece and broils it until brown and toasty, just on the buttered side–piles it in a basket lined with a dish towel which he wraps around the bread to keep it warm). For dessert we had raspberries, strawberries and blueberries in lots of syrup with whipped cream; all red, white, and blue… under the twinkle lights and the stars . . . normal food, but ambrosia under a tree, under the twinkle lights. Where’s a better place for a picnic than your own back yard…no crowds, no traffic, laughing til midnight, and bed right at the top of the stairs.  Sing with me: But uh-oh, those summer nights, uh-wella-wella-huh! Tell me more, tell me more, like does he have a car . . .