Don’t let summer go just yet. Or, if you have to, remind yourself that the taste of it can be had quite easily. If I’m making this on a school day…I wrap the ribs the night before and make the sauce*(and I make a lot because it keeps and works on tofu, shrimp, chicken)…

As I write this, the grass is green (even in my own yard), but the light has shifted. I know we’ll be back to drop-offs and homework and way too many pieces of paper piling up on the counter waiting for my signature or I’ll accidentally send multiplication flashcards to the mortgage company and pack my book edits into my 1st grader’s backpack…But. Right now. There are late summer smiles, t-shirts, tie-dyed shirts drying (and staining) the porch, a half-written story on the porch, a single yellow tomato the chipmunk that resembles Leonard Nemoy didn’t eat, and ribs. Or tofu. Either. Or both.

*If, say, the 6-year-old decides to color his legs “to match my new t-shirt” and I find out right at bedtime and I thus forget to make the sauce, the next day I shove the ribs in the oven and I run around like the neighbor’s gerbil, using the microwave to heat up all the ingredients, stirring as I go, for about 3 minutes. Note: this sauce is foolproof and perfect for 9-year-old or 11-year-old making.