Mmmm…I just love summer. The energies run big, bright, and colorful! My fire rhythm can find herself burnt out easily though if I commit to do-ing too much instead of just be-ing. Taking quiet time is imperative for my system, especially during the vibrant summer months. A recent Saturday night was a be-ing night for me and I cannot think of a better way to celebrate a cool, quiet, rainy summer night than by working in the kitchen with fresh fruit.

Food is incredibly sensual, isn't it? The invitation arrives and we have to give ourselves permission to really, truly experience it! Fresh fruit and vegetables this time of the year are truly blessed gifts indeed and I give myself freely, fully to the sensory-filled experience of the harvest. This is also one of my favorite aspects of traveling and brings to mind a recent opportunity while in Jamaica this past spring.

My business partner and I facilitate women's retreats in a beautiful town off the beaten path called Treasure Beach. A treasure it is! Each night we fell asleep under the gentle caress of Caribbean salt air, the rhythmic drone of the sea right outside of our door, and the thud of ripened mangoes falling from the trees…a few times falling right on the roof of our cottage! So each morning the group of us women would excitedly scour the yard at our B&B, gathering the night’s treasures, and run into the ocean. Mangoes in-hand, we began to peel the leathery skin, exposing the sweet, golden flesh of the fruit, allowing the juices to fully encase our fingers. The entire fruit is then dipped in the salt water…oh, the exquisite taste!  There are no words beyond this point so I will leave it to your imagination...

Fast forward a few months and here I find myself back home in rural Western New York, sitting deep in summer energies, and I scour my own region for what is available. Early summer provides strawberries and rhubarb while late summer peaches and blueberries...and now apple season is just around the corner. One of my favorite ways to celebrate these timeless fruits is by making pies and tarts. I do have to say, they are quite magnificent! So magnificent in fact, how could I not share? You are welcome to visit this page for the recipe.

Another simple favorite of mine is what I am enjoying at this very moment while preparing this piece: cold cucumber and dill salad.  A true garden treat which is clean, tart, and cannot be duplicated during the cold winter months. And tomatoes? Oh, perhaps someday I will compose an ode to fresh garden tomatoes. Actually, Pablo Neruda has already created a masterpiece around that very subject so perhaps I'll ask my lover to whisper Neruda's words in my ear whilst he and I lay under a great shady tree. I will allow the words to fill my mind while I bite into the sun-warmed fruit, inviting taste buds to surrender into the ecstasy of taste.

I encourage you to take your time making dishes and sharing the colorful treasures from the land. Savor the flavors. Breathe in the essence and feel the energy of them before consumption. Honor your local fruits, gardens, and local farm markets. You will taste the difference.

And, if you happen to be looking for an inspirational resource, one of the best references I have found for the sensual celebration of food (fruit and otherwise) come in the form of a book written by Isabel Allende aptly named Aphrodite. It is a delicious collection of stories, recipes, and anecdotes leading the voyeur-reader into a world of pleasure, imagination, and of connecting with the creative, juicy spirit we are so rightly able to claim fully while embodied!