Nothing tantalizes the palate like a summer pineapple oozing with juicy goodness. Sliced, muddled, chopped, blended, stirred or sinking your teeth directly into the soft, fleshy sweetness…this nectar of the gods never fails to disappoint. We’ve been blending it lately in our nest.

A touch of jalapeño sugar, mint, lime, Cointreau and a decent splash of tequila of your choice make for a fun night. Papa Bear single-handedly creates the best happy juice. Instantly I melt into a calm and lucid state, comfortably at ease…ahh myself again. Enjoying fresh ingredients in concoctions is certainly happy-making for us, even the boys enjoy creating their “tutti fruiti” as they call their blended fruit drink sans the “happy” ingredient.

Does a frosty piña make you happy? What do you do to beat the heat? I’m also working on harmonious combinations of amuse-bouche since it’s that time again when middle bear’s lunch returns to the nest untouched or worse mangled with nothing really consumed. I’m baffled with the thought of school lunches…when will this thinking of processed foods or unconscious and toxin treated foods prepared in highly refined seed oils be on its way out? How effortless would it be to blend fruit and vegetable shakes with super foods for a shot before the recess stampede—brain power that will last for their return into the classroom. Or little amuse-bouche, petite yet intense bursts of flavors…that’s my thinking for this years lunch. Let’s reconnect with our food. Chin chin to seeking and savoring new experiences with clean and bright foods…cheers to hoping for ever-after.