Slow & Simple Moments | 05.24

Roses, rain, gentle movement, embracing seasonality, simplicity, and beautiful moments of reflection.

In this series, I share some of the things I’ve been getting up to, places I’ve been, and other beautiful and special slow and simple moments from the past month.

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May has seen a sudden outburst of colour in the garden as the roses and peonies begin to flourish. Suddenly, it feels like we’re hurtling at full speed towards summer. This next week here is half-term, but it has crept up on me. One of my students said last week “but you’re always ready for the holidays!” When the days are longer, the evenings lighter, the sun is warm, and the garden is in full bloom, I somehow lose track time. Perhaps there’s something about simply living in these moments. I’m sure that many of you, like me, are happy for the year to progress at a gentle speed. In her recent post,

Emily Male

talked of living life gently, and this might be my new favourite word. Do read her beautiful post here:

Harnessing The Power Of Reflection

May 2024

As I write this, we’ve had 12 hours of continuous rain. The garden is looking a little bedraggled, the roses drooping downwards, heavy with sparkling raindrops. They look a little sad, yet we know that the rain is necessary in order for them to flourish in the months to come. Soon, the sun will shine once more and all the rain will be forgotten. When it rains, I wonder how many of you are also found to be saying “but the garden needs it”? We’ve all, I’m sure, walked both the peaks and the troughs in our own lives, the times when it seemed like the darkness and the rain would never end. Yet somehow the troughs are so often periods of unexpected growth. The rain waters our souls, and somehow makes us appreciate all the more, the glorious sunny peaks which rise before us.

Here are some of my slow and simple moments from May. I hope they might inspire and encourage you to seek out your own in the months to come.

Asparagus

I adore asparagus, but I don’t think I really appreciated it until we started to buy it only when it was in season and grown in the UK. Asparagus has a relatively short harvest, just a couple of months in mid-Spring, May to late-June. We no longer buy it unless it is grown and harvested in the UK, and this makes it all the more special. Somehow, the expectant waiting makes it taste even more delicious. People keep saying I should share more recipes, so I thought I would share this very simple dish which I think puts asparagus right at its heart.

Herbed Scrambled Egg with Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients (to serve 4 as a lunch or light supper dish):
A bunch of asparagus, preferably organic and grown in the UK (ours comes from Riverford)
8 large eggs
A splash of milk
A large knob of butter
A drizzle of olive oil
Bread, preferably sourdough, but any interesting bread which makes good toast
A selection of herbs
A small bunch of chives
Olive oil for drizzling
Salt and pepper

1. Bend the asparagus stalks gently so they break. You can feed the woody ends to your compost or save them in the freezer until you have enough to make soup. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast in the oven at 220°C for 15 minutes.

2. Break the eggs into a small saucepan, add a large knob of butter, a splash of milk, and season with salt and pepper. I favour slow scrambled eggs (perhaps a post of its own?), so stir gently over the lowest possible heat for 20 minutes.

3. Toast 1-2 slices of bread per person, then butter or drizzle with olive oil.

4. Chop a selection of herbs, preferably fresh from the garden, and most-likely, ready-washed by the rain. At the last minute, add the herbs to the scrambled egg and fold in gently.

5. Serve the herbed scrambled egg on top of the toast, and topped with the asparagus. Garnish with a good grind of black pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, and some snipped chives.

Practise Simplicity

I really enjoyed this note from

Jodi Wilson

, full of beautiful, and practical reminders of how we can infuse moments of simplicity in our own lives:

Flags

This month, we celebrated Mum’s 80th Birthday with a small gathering of family and friends:

Ever artistic, Mum designed and made these pretty flags to decorate the table. So simple, yet just perfect:

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I look forward to seeing which slow and simple moments June will bring. Why not let me know in the comments some of your special moments from the month of May.

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