Little Big

There are few as ephemeral and wonder summer delights as fresh corn on the cob. When it comes in season it is plentiful and cheap, and you can leave the grocery store or a farm stand with a dozen ears without straining your budget. You then have a choice: after shucking it in the microwave you can invite some friends over for dinner to share the wealth, or you can cook all the ears at once and get a few different recipes from your bounty.

I happened to have some ears left over after last week’s tutorial and decided to make the early summer version of late summer corn salad. Aside from the corn, which was briefly blanched in boiling water until tender, everything in this salad is fresh, including the basil, which came straight from the garden. I had Isobel pick it for me (I’m lucky it all didn’t end up in her mouth) and she helped me tear it into bits and sprinkle on top. If you were a very lucky person who happened to plant onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and corn in their garden, you could make this salad entirely out of your own produce. I think I have a new goal.

Although I wouldn’t let Isobel help with the chopping I did have her help make the honey mustard dressing. That girl wields a mean whisk. She also helped me pick out the tomatoes, but I eventually had to take that over when she started naming them and making friends. The dressing itself is dead easy to make, and if you have any left over it makes a great dipping sauce for chicken nuggets or even bits of fried or baked tofu. I don’t add any shallots to this dressing because the salad itself has enough allium-pep from the scallions. For a richer version, substitute mayonnaise for the olive oil.

FOR THE SALAD:

• 1 scallion, white and green parts, sliced
• cucumber, English, about a third of a really large one, half of a smaller one, halved and sliced
• 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 ear of corn, kernels separated from the cob
• 3-4 large leaves of basil, shredded

FOR THE DRESSING:

• 1 tbs olive oil, not extra virgin
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tbs Dijon mustard
• 1-2 tbs honey
• salt and pepper, to taste

-  Prepare all vegetables and toss well.

- Combine salad dressing ingredients and whisk well to combine. Taste to adjust seasoning and add more honey if desired.

- Drizzle honey mustard dressing on top of your salad and then toss feathery handfuls of torn basil on top.

Serves 1

Last week I had another conversation that revolved around my friend Jenn talking to me for an hour or so to distract me from my anxiety. She’s damn good at it, and during the talk we discussed our favorite methods of coping when life becomes overwhelming. My strategy is to focus on the concrete tasks ahead of us (and there are a lot) and when I’m not doing those things, to distract myself with an engaging, absorbing or soothing activity. If I were to let it, this anxiety about our hugely uncertain future and the current state of things would simply eat me alive.

I want to be a person who struggles with anxiety, not a ball of anxiety who sometimes functions as a person.

We all have our things that serve to soothe us in troubled times. Here are some of the things I like to do to distract myself from the at times sheer terror of existence:

- One of the most calming things I like to do in the kitchen is make a big pot of soup or chili. Just the exercise of putting all ingredients together is extremely soothing, but then you have the aroma and the actual belly-filling meal it provides. Lately I’ve realized that I fall back on the tendency to make risotto as well, because blanketing your problems with a hefty amount of butter and cheese softens just about any blow.

- There are times when I’m not looking for the distraction of chopping and I just need to get right to the soul-soothing activity of eating something rich and decadent and out of my normal scope. If these are the times that try humanity’s soul then only eating an entire wheel of brie will do. Most often I’ll bake it and top with with something sweet and dip crusty hunks of fresh, rustic bread straight into it – a lazy, yet still very satisfying, form of fondue.

- Thrifting is retail therapy I can actually afford, and I never return from a trip without some new idea or inspiration, so the stress-reducing benefits last even after I’ve left the store.

- Working on a project that absorbs my attention can be the best distraction of all because it both engages my mind and results in a finished product. That’s one of the reasons why I love blogging: I can spend much of my time focusing on Isobel and the day-to-day tasks around the house while still feeling like a productive, creative person who nurtures her own pursuits and passions. For Anthony the project is usually D&D related, though he has also busied himself with sword-making and creating his own card game.

- I’d like to say that I’ve been faithful to the elliptical and working out in general, but this is not entirely true. I’m working out as much as I can, but I’ve been having an unpleasant Crohn’s flare so my exercise has been intermittent. Occasionally I’ve been able to manage small family walks in picturesque places, and although I doubt I’ve been getting physical health benefits from this it does lower my stress and anxiety. Isobel loves going on walks. My friend Angela and her family have been going on regular bike rides in the evening, which I’d love to do some day.

- I’m an incurable escapist, and when I’m really feeling like the world is closing in I like to grab take-out, wrap myself up in blankets, and loose entire evenings in a good video game, movie, television series, or book. Fantasy of any form, is the best, and I will gladly solve a character’s fictional problems for a few hours just to enjoy not thinking about my own.

What about you? What do you do to distract yourself from anxiety, or to soothe your stress?