Summer Time Salmon

"Summer time, and the living is easy. Fish are jumping and the cotton is high."

Well, I can't vouch for the height of the cotton, but the fish are certainly jumping onto our plates this summer and we are feeling pretty rich.

Leftover planked salmon is not exactly a penance, but a little variety wouldn't hurt, either; I thought of making a sauce for the cold fish and warm asparagus but didn't want anything heavy.

When I think like that, Cookiecrumb usually comes to mind - she's very creative about lightening up foods. With her as my mental muse, I spooned about a tablespoon of Greek yogurt mixed with about a teaspoon of lemon juice and minced fresh dill from my garden over the fish. Instant sauce, instant success, and we very nearly rose up singing.

She's a Dilly!

Our friend Sari is a dilly! That's an antiquated expression meaning that she's cool. Even though we are old enough to be her parents, she treats us like equals and even accompanied us to Paris with every indication that she actually enjoyed palling around with a couple of fogies.

She has all kinds of stellar qualities such as snapping intelligence, humor, deep kindness and humanity - and she makes great scrambled eggs. On a recent Sunday, we invited her to brunch; we provided the bacon and toast but we asked her to cook the eggs.

She puts a dollop of milk or cream into the eggs, then beats them with a fork until they are homogeneous, adding just a touch of dill weed to the mixture. She has the patience to cook the eggs in a generously buttered pan on very, very low heat and keeps vigorously stirring them all the time they are cooking. The result is pillow-soft, dainty curds that melt richly on the tongue, leaving that hint of dill behind. Served with a piece of Acme Pain au Levain, they make a dilly brunch.