I have a damn cold. Damn! Came on yesterday afternoon, seemingly all of a sudden, but when I think back to how tired I felt on my walk on Monday morning, and how sore my throat and head were on Sunday afternoon...the writing was already on the wall. I was in denial and hoped it was "allergies." Oh well. 'Tis the season, of course, I'm lucky I've made it this far into the new school year without succumbing! Now I must cross my fingers that it doesn't bloom into a bronchial infection, that's what always nails me, and it's uuuuuugly. Well, I'll hope I don't go there. (And so will you, so I don't bore you or gross you out with the details, ha!)

So. Back to the realm of sensual pleasures! Here's one I've been treating myself to everyday for the last couple of weeks...pigeon pose. What the??? It's a yoga pose, a fabulously deep stretch for the hips and butt, and the one that most effectively nails my piriformis muscle, which for whatever the hell reason (tight hips? my gait? my posture? I'm working on figuring it out...) gets sore when I walk a lot. Literally, a pain in the ass. But this stretch, OMG, I just have to recommend it, as you know it can be heavenly to find the right stretch for a sore muscle. It fits in the realm of delicious, I think, that sounds totally odd but that's what it is, delicious...

...as is this little gem of a pretty, pale green soup. (Nice segue, huh? As I've said before, I cover it all here at the moderate epicurean...from soup to butts, in this case. Ouch!) A summer carryover, really, a cold cucumber-buttermilk concoction. (I have now, finally, used all the cukes from my CSA veggie share, woo hoo!) I don't know if it's the warm weather, or my head cold, or my sore piriformis (just kidding), but man this hit the spot today. Cool and creamy without being overly thick. Nice and light at about 130 calories per cup. I'm relatively new to appreciating the tanginess of plain yogurt, buttermilk, creme fraiche, etc. I actually crave it now. A small dab of sour cream can take many soups from simple to sublime. A few bites of plain yogurt can be the perfect mid-afternoon snack. This buttermilk baby is divine. And good for the bones to boot! (Recipe posted in comments, below.)