It’s good to give our kitchens a well deserved rest, after all it is the main stay, the work horse if you will, of our homes and if you push them too far they just might go on strike.  So let the ovens cool down, store away all those dishes and pans, and… escape.

This petulant chef also doesn’t mind a night out now and then, dinner with friends is a great source of inspiration… the food, the conversation are all  inspiring for the next night when fires in the kitchen are stoked once again.

It’s also an opportunity to shower, brush one’s hair, perhaps even curl it and put on a dress and some lipstick (oft neglected duties at the lake).  It became a topic that evening as I had to expound on the virtues of the “Sundress” to the uninformed… what it was and why it is so beloved.  I think it feels wickedly decadent to walk around in a sundress.  The sundress is undeniably feminine and almost as though one is walking around in public in a slip. Maybe it’s the “easy” factor that I love, one piece of clothing and you’re dressed?  In any event, I wrote a little poem about it and I hope it will suffice in place of a recipe today…

Edouard Boubat, “Collioure, 1954”

The Sundress

Nestled together side by side
Lined up in freshly pressed rows
Standing back to back, upright
With perfect posture they stow

Sturdy cotton and gathered hem
Flirty ruffles, neat stitching and
Gathered bright bunches all
Dulcet cloth, ties, knotted bands

Tiny straps, perhaps strapless
Delicate silk all softly draped
Tender tiny tucks and nips
Delicious bows tied at nape

Sprightly colors all wink as
They whisper and swish
Full of giddy laughter they flirt
Away gloom, rain and mist

Serenely skirt and brush past
With soft wispy cushion they
Plump full, recline, pause to chat
On a sultry summer’s day.
Barbara Bamber,
July, 2011