As I Recall

So here's the deal - it's Labor Day weekend. The official end of summer. Kaput. Fine. Done.

Labor Day is so bittersweet for me. Here in Charlotte, I'll have another month of warm weather, and then two months of fall weather, and a very short winter - 3 months tops - with no snow or wind chill, or any need for winter clothes. It's not goodbye to summer for me - I'm still pumping the phat summer beats (mainly, Lupe, Lil Wayne, and Kanye). It is what it is.

I went up to Gaston, NC with some friends to visit some other friends. They work at a charter school in the middle of nowhere - thankfully, they live on a lake. Real lake, a very large lake, a lake you can dive into off of the boat, or a lake where the back yard drops into their cove. Their boat is in the dock lift nightly. They have porches, decks, and hideous wall hangings that scream "Florida 1992." (They rent - it's the owner's taste.) We had a large crowd, which meant a lot of barbecue. I felt pretty useless all weekend. Literally, I think I would put most everyone into an ill state if they ate any barbecue prepared by yours truly. I guess it's for the best.

I came home today with the intent to go grocery shopping, but I'm spent. So I'm planning my meals for the next few weeks. I don't have time to go to the store 3 times a week like I use to. In fact, I hardly have time to eat now. So sad, I know.

I'm finding myself very uninspired now. The weather is still warm, but the farmer's market is beginning to look bare. It's too warm for soup, it's too nice to settle for pasta. So what do you eat at this time of year? I've been thinking falafel, pilafs, noodles and cheese, and other things that are "light."

So please, friends who never post, inspire me. And I promise, if I get a good response, you'll see an amazing recipe for black eye peas.