My wonderful nephews George & Caleb

Caleb, George and my son Morgan

To me it’s children who make summer. Otherwise, you just have time passing by. But with children, there’s surfing, swimming, kayaking, biking, yoga in the park, picnics at the beach, aloe on the sunburn, shoulder rides, and a whole lot of salty hugs.

Of course, there’s another thing that makes the season: ripe, juicy peaches.

Since we have an abbondanza of peaches this summer, plus a decided personal need to keep the internal flora as bright and vibrant as summer’s all-surrounding flora, I’ve been making a lot of gently fermented cashew cream to accompany the peaches. It’s this perfect pairing that makes a meal sing – creamy and juicy, thick and light, sweet and tart, sour and fruity. It’s freedom and soaring joy without breaking Ayurveda’s rule of not mixing dairy and fruit (as most commercial yogurts do).

Like Romeo and Juliet, Penelope and Odysseus, Tristan und Isolde, it’s a union of souls.

Cashew Cream
Serves 4

1 c raw cashews, soaked for 4-6 hours
the juice of half a lemon
1/2 t vanilla
pinch pink salt
dash of cardamom
1/4 c water
1 probiotic capsule

Rinse and drain the cashews. Discard any that have gone brown, black or grey.  Pour them into an electric blender and add everything except the probiotic. Blend until creamy, adding more or less water to get the consistency you want. Open the probiotic capsule and pulse the blender to mix lightly but thoroughly.

Taste, then spoon into a glass container. Cover with a plate and set in a warm, dark place for 2-3 hours. Taste again. It is done once it begins to taste sour.

This is gorgeous as a summer snack or dessert served with fresh fruit, torn mint leaves and an extra squeeze of fresh lemon. It is also healthy, hearty and sunny enough for breakfast where you might add fruit, flaxseeds, pepitas, soaked pistachios, a drizzle of honey or a spoonful of chyavanprash.

Store in the refrigerator – but as with everything Ayurvedic, serve at room temperature.

Did you see my last post with the Banyan Botanical Daily Routine Kit giveaway? It was so hard to have to pick only one person to receive it that Banyan doubled the generosity and sent Kits to two readers ~ and then gave me a code for 10% off for everyone else who still wants one of their own. They are extending that offer to August 5. Here’s the Kit, and here’s the code: PLUMB10.

As if that wasn’t already an abundance bonanza (abbondanza), my blessed friend Tambra Wayne responded to that post by offering one of her artistic, feminine, perfect for summer, Eight Limbs Tees.

Tambra’s new company OM Matters is centered on Compassion, which is everything this blog stands for. So we teamed up for some summer play: Post your photos of food-alovestory recipes to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with #myfoodlovestory so I can see it and play it forward.  On August 10th, Tambra will randomly pick. As I’d rather just send one to everyone. Call it summer love. 

I invite you to share the love: and let us know how summer is loving you.

Thank you. Love you. Namaste!

My wonderful niece Elsa