“Joy is being willing for things to be as they are.” 

Charlotte Joko Beck, "Nothing Special"

Almond milk summer pudding

It has been a particularly hot summer, with temperatures rising quite above the seasonal average and my level of tolerance, which was put to the test for several days.

Don't get me wrong. I love summer:
popsicles and flip-flops
ice tea and orzata
flowery dresses and pinkie armbands

blackberries harvesting in the woods

lavander and watermelon
a path through the pine grove and...
the beach...

Unluckily, this is not the scenery that we find ourselves in most of the time.

We have the details, not the whole pictures - we do drink ice tea and orzata ( a traditional italian summer drink made with almond syrup), we do eat watermelon and blackberries, but the pine grove, the woods and the beach are not always close at hand, and instead we have heat waves, damp weather and weepy children...

and we find ourselves complaining, 
or daydreaming about cosy autumn days...
at least this is my case, to be honest with you.

But still, still.
There's something about summer I really enjoy.
Regardless the weather, regardless hot temperatures.
Regardless the kids' tantrums you have to face.

It is that moment in the early afternoon, those hours when everything seems to stop under the siege of the sun and surrender to the fierce peak of its beaming light.  

That moment when you have an idle chat around a table, sipping an espresso

Or a nap in the dim-light of a darkened room.

The time you have a rest under the shade of a tree.

Or the time you spend with your child, lulling her to sleep.

Those kinds of moments are still magical to me, and I perfectly agree with Henry James, as he says:

“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two

most beautiful words in the English language.”

To sweeten your summer afternoon you can have a refreshing dessert for merenda (afternoon snack) and try this almond milk pudding: it is so easy to make that you can have the children help you out in almost every step of the process. 

I've found the recipe in Elle à Table – May/June 2013 issue, and I was immediately drawn to it. I guess it is the almond milk, one of my favourite ingredients...hope you will enjoy this merenda too!

"All happens as if there is a mysterious power that creates and moves everything. Realise that you are not the mover, only the observer, and you will be at peace."

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj,  "I Am That"

Zucchini and smoked tofu soba noodles

I do apologize for this long hiatus, but sometimes life and blogging can't proceed at the same rhythm. 

Writing a blog and updating it frequently requires more time than you can imagine, and there are moments when you simply have to focus on your day to day routines, listen to your inner thoughts, inspirations and fears, or you just have to be one hundred per cent present for yourself and for the people you love.

I have spent the last months devoting myself to each task I had to undertake, just being there, as some buddhist monks suggest doing. 'Devoting' to the present moment, as it is, means you are just there for whatever happens to you, be it good or bad, hilariously funny or gloomily sad.

Though not easy at all to do - anyone would be happy to avoid bad times or skip unpleasant circumstances - this practice roots you in the present and allows you to feel more inner freedom compared to the ever-organizing fretful mind state that runs our life.

Being such a 'slow' blogger, I have long considered the idea of interrupting my blog activity, leaving you with this last post, but somehow I wished to experiment and share new recipes, ideas, and pictures.

Because this is a practice, too.

The practice of letting ideas and images come to you, through inspiration, and the practice of giving shape to those images and
ideas, through daily work.

The practice of making mistakes. The practice of learning.
The practice of just being happy for how it tastes in your mouth.

You need time and patience, but in the end, even considering it took me almost three months to develop this entry for the blog (trying out the recipe + shooting images + editing + writing) I am quite proud of the final result, and even more proud of myself for the process, for letting the time freely flow between one step and the other. 

As for the recipe, I could tell you that eating soba noodles is not a habit here at home, but since I have always been a great fan of japanese cooking, I just thought I could still make some noodles as an exotic alternative to our more traditional spaghetti. 

Aren't they close relatives?

I added smoked tofu to counter balance the sweet flavour of the vegetables in this recipes - zucchini and spring onions - sesame seeds for a nutty note and herbs - coriander or parsley (according to taste)- for a refreshing hint of flavour.

I have made this dish several times, slightly changing the ratio of these ingredients, but I think that in the future I will stick to the recipe you find here below.

From now on I will be writing - hopefully - on a more regular basis - but if not, please remember that behind this blog there's a quite ordinary human being, a woman, a mother and a wife, who knows life is ringing its bells and listening to them sometimes means to quit what we are up to, in order not to miss our appointment with life itself... right now.