Do you have big Memorial Day plans? Not me, thank goodness. May has been a crazy-busy (fun!) bacchanal and I'm looking forward to a quiet, healthy reprieve. I took a long bike ride yesterday, and followed by the grilled fish and pile of vegetables I prepared last night, it put me in the right mood for a long weekend of dialing things back a bit, taking a deep breath, ahhh... No restaurants, parties, birthdays, travel, illness, entertaining - nothin'. Just a good book, my deck, exercise, flower planting, light meals, perhaps a movie, and a few good nights of sleep. Dang but that sounds nice! (I may very well not pull it off, but at least I'm going to try!)

Tonight I'm back to the wild-caught Key West shrimp I found at Whole Foods. Since it's just John and me, I'm going to boil them in their shells for a little peel-n-eat action. Served alongside a saute of tomatoes, okra, onions, and a little bacon, I'm going for a Southern-ish feel. Southern light, that is - no fry, no biscuits, no pie. Just plenty of yum!

Moderate it: check out this neat article in Health Magazine - beautiful, quick meal ideas based on farmer's market produce. They bill it as a "diet," but I'd call it an outline for healthy, delicious, every-day eating. Nice!

Fava beans. Love them. Hardly ever see them in stores 'round these parts, but scored some today at Lakewinds Natural Foods (lovely, lovely store) in Chanhassen. They're a major pain to deal with (shell, blanch, peel, then cook), but so worth it in the end - bright green, tender, nutty, sweet. Just...yum. Check out this great NPR story on the bitter-sweet beauty of favas, along with a gorgeous menu and recipes... Love to know that not only are they delicious, they're fabulously nutritious.

I should clarify that I haven't actually cooked them yet - it'll have to be later this weekend. Tonight, we just had pan-fried tilapia alongside tomatoes and okra sauteed with bacon, my new favorite vegetable dish (as I keep saying, sorry). Can't. Get. Enough. Although a pan full of sauteed heavenly morels and favas could put me over the top (morels and freshly-shelled peas were the kill, but morels and favas, oh my...).

Stay dry! Stay warm! (Yep, it's cold and wet again. Will probably even snow. Again. Yep. Grrrr...)

I'll confess, there were some pretty big whoops around the TV last night when the New York Giants pulled off their upset Super Bowl victory. John's from NYC, so you know, a no-brainer for him... My stepdaughter and I were just a teensy bit swayed by the Tom Brady Cuteness factor, but I was glad for such an exciting game and to see John and Nathan so jazzed. Homemade pizza and a win, sheesh, the Super Bowl was actually fun this year, I can't remember the last time I thought that! (As in, never?)

Tonight, it's all quiet again; in fact I dined solo, so (naturally) took the opportunity to whip up a few of my favorite tasties - particularly those that no one else in the fam particularly enjoys...

I've been flipping through a gorgeous new cookbook, The Gift of Southern Cooking, by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock, so was inspired to whip up some grits (I often make grits/polenta when I'm cooking just for myself) to enjoy alongside a simple saute of okra, tomatoes, onion, and a bit of bacon (recipe posted in comments, below). Deeeelicious. Keep this dish in mind this summer, when there are both just-picked okra and perfectly ripe tomatoes at the farmer's market. Fresh sweet corn would be a delicious addition. Or perhaps that's gilding the lily - you decide. The dish is completely successful in the winter as well - just choose grape cherry tomatoes (sweet even in the winter), and unblemished, plump okra (skip if they're shriveled).

This Yankee lurves me some okra. And grits. And cracklins, biscuits, fried chicken, braised greens, pork in every iteration, black-eyed peas, sweet iced tea, and most likely crayfish, too, if I had access. Yeeeeehaw!