The Rules of Summer Eating...

We are in the hellish throes of summer here in Texas. But I refuse to let it get me down. This is a great time of year for eating...fresh ingredients prepared simply. It's really the quintessential example of the Life Should Be Beautiful philosophy. Inspired by a recent article in Bon Appetit, here are the rules of summertime eating that we'll be following from now until mid-September.

• Be lazy. Summertime ingredients don't need much manipulation to be delicious. A ripe tomato slice needs just a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt to be sublime.
  And don't cook that corn. Cut it off the cob and toss with cherry tomatoes, lime juice, cilantro, olive oil, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with a little queso fresco. And dig in. Sounds like dinner to me.
• If you planted it and harvested it, it's going to taste better than if you'd bought it. Maybe it's a tomato, a pepper or some herbs. And if YOU didn't grow it, go buy it at a farmers market and get to know the farmer/family who did.
• Here are some classic summer combinations to celebrate: melon with a little salt (or prosciutto or feta...), ginger in lemonade, minced jalapeno and the juice of a lime on coleslaw or roasted corn.
• And when in doubt, eat a tomato sandwich. Toasted bread, a dollop of mayo, a few slices of tomato, salt and pepper. Open-faced. Now THAT'S summer.