Egg Salad with Stone Ground Mustard and Pickled Celery

With school coming to end a
month and a half ago, I wasn't quite sure I was ready for summer to
begin.  To be quite honest, I wasn't sure I was ready to have my kiddies
home all day long.  I worried about them being with each other so much
that they'd begin to get on each other’s nerves and that eventually we'd all
begin to get on each other’s nerves.  And while there are moments I want
to stuff cotton balls in my ears (and my kids may want to stuff cotton balls in
theirs), I am loving the more relaxed, but still seemingly busy days.  I
love that when I come home from running in the morning, it's not a mad rush to
make lunches, make sure my kids are fed and have my boys out the door for
school.  I love that our days are filled with slow breakfasts, swimming, lunches by the
pool, and jumping on the tramp with a sprinkler underneath and very large squirt of
dish soap (or two or three) to make the tramp bubbly and very slippery.  I love that my
little garden is growing.  I love that every time we look at our zucchini
plant, all of us are constantly amazed at just how fast a zucchini can
grow.  I love all the delicious summer produce that is available and all
the road side stands selling local produce.  Just last night, Todd and I
were talking about how school starts in just a little over a month.  I felt
my heart sink thinking about sending my kiddies back to school.  I'm not
quite ready and so for now, we are going to enjoy the rest of what summer has
to offer and drink lots of strawberry lemonade.







(While I thought I'd have all
the time in the world to take pictures of all the delicious food that the
summer has to offer and then blog about it, it just hasn't happened.  My
days seem to be busier and our nights later (I can't seem to get my kids in bed
before 9:30 or later).  So for now, you will be seeing the food my family
and I eat through the eyes of me and my iPhone.) 

Strawberry Lemonade







1 cup water



3/4 cup pure cane sugar



2 tablespoons agave nectar



1 cup lemon juice, freshly
squeezed (about 6 lemons)



1 cup chopped strawberries



1 cup water



2 tablespoons agave nectar



4 cups chilled water



 



In a small saucepan, combine 1
cup of water and sugar.  Heat over medium-high heat until the sugar has
dissolved.  Remove from heat and stir in the agave nectar.  Let cool.







Meanwhile, puree 1 cup chopped
strawberries with 1 cup of water and 2 tablespoons agave nectar.  Pour
through a fine mesh sieve; set aside.







Once the simple syrup has
cooled, add to a pitcher along with fresh squeezed lemon juice, strawberry
puree and chilled water.  Stir to combine.  Refrigerate and serve
cold with ice (pebbled ice is the best).







-To make strawberry basil
lemonade, add a couple of sprigs of basil to the simple syrup while
cooling.  I let my simple syrup sit overnight in the refrigerator before
making the lemonade so that the basil flavor would be more pronounced.  It
was very delicious! 







Recipe slightly adapted
from The Faux
Martha