living life al fresco

with summer soon a distant memory, it's time to enjoy the last bits and pieces of these lazy days and i have a fantastic way to do just that. like your mom said, "go outside and play". the other day, my husband and i spent pretty much dawn to well past dusk out of doors and had the best day ever! morning found us at the local farmers market occupying ourselves with poking and prodding produce as if we knew what we were doing. building our salad as we made our way through the stalls, we stopped to feast on fresh-off-the-griddle crepes (sweet=me, savory=peter), easing ourselves into the day. dropping off our findings and taking 20 to make a tag-team classic gazpacho, we leapt into our swimsuits and out the door (a necessity due to the tremendous heat wave l.a. was experiencing) where we headed to the beach to chill out. the ocean water was a welcome relief to the blistering sun that day, making waves perfect for somersaults and my favorite feet first and up over the swells stunt.

back to the house as the sun set, peter grilled not only chicken, but baguette and peach halves. voila! a quick, easy dinner, minimal clean up and an outdoor movie made for the perfect ending to a perfect day.

xo,
gaye.

our farmers market chicken paillard

ingredients below are without measurement and depend solely on your mood and the amount of people you're serving. remember, fresh is best.

whatever-strikes-your-fancy types of lettuces tossed together with...
as many different colors of bell peppers, carrots and grapes you can find.
radishes
chives
dried cranberries
pan-roasted pine nuts with a little salt tossed in while they toast
goat cheese

put all of the above in a large salad bowl. toss with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. add sliced or diced grilled chicken breasts. serve with gazpacho and grilled baguette followed by dessert of grilled peach half and the best vanilla ice cream you can find, drizzled with balsamic reduction.