It’s Leo season. Leo the Lion, mighty hunter of the arid plains. We’ve all seen the episode of Nature. The one where Leo tackles a gazelle and tears it to shreds on camera, in slow motion, the victim’s little cloven feet snapping like match sticks in the predator cat’s mighty jaw. The cat licks its chops with a huge salivating tongue, looking out onto the Serengeti with the confidence of an undisputed king at home. Home.

Whenever we see a lion in real life, it’s in a zoo, and the lion in its tiny enclosure is almost always sleeping. We all think of the cruelty of taking wild animals from their natural habitat, plopping them right in the middle of Cleveland, where there is nothing to do but sleep, pose for photos, and get fed already dead animals by people in khaki uniforms. Such a poor life. Or is it?

I recently took my young niece and nephew to the Cleveland Zoo and encountered this very thing, would you know it? There they were, two lions, sleeping in the sunshine on large man-made rock formations of poured concrete. Why are they always sleeping, I am asked? Well, perhaps this handy little plaque with the map of Africa on it could help us understand. It turns out, lions sleep sixteen to twenty hours a day, WHEN THEY ARE IN THE WILD! Well, that’s a relief. Like a lot of people we know, lions can sleep anywhere. Imagine that. We sleep twenty hours a day, and only get up to use the reserved energy to kill a few deer and eat them, then go back to sleep. What a lack of ambition! Talk about not being afraid to miss important things. Birthdays, anniversaries, New Year’s Eve, world travel, these things mean nothing to a lion. These creatures spend MOST of their lives completely asleep.

I suppose it is just a coincidence that the constellation in the sky at this particular time of year resembled a lion and ancient astronomers called that constellation Leo, after the Lion, because it seems to me to be the prime time of year to be sleeping or at least, being lazy. Over are the glorious days of first summer, when everyone is excited to be out, graduations, parties, and picnics, and letting the kids stay up late. This all culminates in the 4th of July with hot dogs, fireworks, you know that story. We haven’t entered the dog days of summer, the ones where school starts, and we get back to reality whatever that is, and prepare for fall. So, here we are in middle summer, another shiny afternoon pool side, it’s gonna be in the 90s again tomorrow, and when will this end? July is the February of summer. Is it Halloween yet?

So here we are, back in San Francisco, where the thick blanket of cooling fog comes in from the ocean, and we enjoy the coolest summertime temperatures in the country. It’s great weather for cooking things.

In background, a cauldron of Hebrew Nationals, and in the center, baked beans covered in uhh, bacon. Then-

Devils food cake, filled and topped with chocolate mousse.

I made these things for the 4th, the big 250. We must be doin somethin right!?! It was an infamous 4th for our fair city. They decided to set the fireworks off from the Golden Gate Bridge to mark the special anniversary, which would have been wonderful had Karl the Fog not also gotten an invitation and shrouded the whole thing in impressionist mist. No fireworks, only the shadow of fireworks. Add to this, crazy wayward Waymos and one toilet for every twenty thousand spectators, and well, you got yourself a 4th of July you’re not soon to forget. I’m glad I stayed at home and watched fireworks on TV, from the Brooklyn Bridge. The one in New York.

That being settled, we settled in to the middle summer. I was on a chocolate kick, which you’d think the Devil’s Food would have satisfied, but it only put me in the mood for more.

The only good thing to do with bananas-make banana bread. A great thing to do with bananas-make a marble bread with half chocolate and half banana walnut. A wonderful treat, and the first time I remember ever making something marble. You pour one batter in half the pan, the other in the other, and swirl it with a skewer making that pattern. It’s fun.

This week-a trio of meals with height of summer produce, fresh from the Farmer’s Market. On Sunday, risotto, starting with onions, leeks, and green bell pepper, cooked down to soft and savory. Then, the Arborio rice, alternatively with home made chicken stock, adding fresh chopped zuccini and tomatoes, and finished with Pecorino Romano cheese, shredded basil, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Does it get better? Yes

Tuesday night- a fresh head of cabbage, leaves separated and blanched. A tomato sauce, made with garlic and plenty of sweet paprika. Leftover risotto dolloped in the center of the cabbage leaves, rolled up nice and tight, smothered in tomato sauce, covered in cooked bacon and sprinkled with cheese.

Heavenly.

Wednesday- a whole chicken, quartered, browned in olive oil, then simmered in red onions, garlic, and fresh tomatoes. Served with mashed potatoes. Even better than heaven?

For dessert, we’ve been eating fresh peaches and strawberries. There is an important lesson about life, eating with the seasons. The asparagus is long gone, the strawberries are getting over the hill, and the zuccini and eggplant, onions, garlic, peaches, are in full swing. Soon, tomatoes and figs will be here. Oh, that life lesson, I don’t know what it is, but it has something to do with the little cyclical deaths we experience when we eat the foods that are available for only a short time, then gone till next spring or whenever. Like Leo the lion’s waking moments, short and intense.

So let’s enjoy this time while we may, doing what we are naturally inclined to do. If only those poor folks that went to see the fireworks on the 4th had been reminded that even the Lion King probably would have slept through the whole thing, they might have rethought their plans. What would they have done if they’d have known that they weren’t really missing anything because there is nothing to miss? Only sleeping in the sun, dreaming of that gazelle.