Savoring Simplicity
Happy autumn, dear friends.
August always seems like a crescendo. In wave-like movement, it takes us from the lull of summer up to a heightened frenzy. After all, isn’t back to school the best time of the year? Then after the excitement comes the joyous welcome of autumn which is September. And like a wave crashing down, the air crisps at night and we feel a sigh of relief, and we receive permission to rest.
This past weekend we spent a glorious time at our lake house, The Cozy Cottage. Relaxation comes when we can silence the to-do lists in our mind and turn up the sound of our inner selves. In truth I am one that thrives on quiet and on beauty surrounding me.
While you may be reading this thinking, why the heck is this on a vintage site? Hear me out. I believe in the art of slow living. Of working with your hands. Of noticing the beauty in your surroundings. But more I believe in etching out beauty wherever possible in the every day. Like the victorians did. I believe in slow living which we hone from the pioneer era, the colonial period, where things were simple but well made and in that, beautiful.
Saturday I stopped. I slowed down and made shortcakes. To some that may sound like the opposite of slowing down and instead may feel like a chore to be checked off. However this time was special to me. I had the deck doors on our cottage flung open wide. I could hear my children laughing in the water. The lake breeze came gusting in. The sun shone as I sat at my big farm sink and peeled peaches. Their ripeness gushed through my fingers, and their juice ran to my elbows. A warm scented candle flickered as my kitchen mate. I continued with peeling.
When the peaches were peeled I pulled out my wooden cutting board and my worn Old Hickory knife. I sliced the peaches into thick, sun colored wedges. I piled them in my saucepan and sprinkled sugar with abandon. I heated them while I mixed the shortcake. I used an old childhood friend, Jiffy mix. At the lake, supplies are limited, so I used what I could find at the local grocer. I mixed and stirred by hand, reminding me of my professional max something-something stand mixer and home. But here I found myself humming as I stirred.
I thought of my grandmothers, making desserts for their families 70 years ago. I thought of my great-grandmother and on. And I stirred on. I loaded my tiny cookie sheet with 4 shortcakes to bake in the toaster oven. We designed our cottage without an oven purposefully, but the toaster oven has served us well.
Sunday we had family over. We savored stewed peaches and light shortcakes. It was a simple, peasant type of dish, but one that fit in so beautifully with the life of our cottage. Simple. Meaningful. Beautiful. And perfect.