A Birthday and Fresh Peach Salsa

TBHITW had a birthday this week.

He is the hardest man in the world to buy a present for or to surprise. Really, he is. It's not that he HAS everything - it is that he doesn't WANT anything.

This year I was bound and determined to give this wonderful man something he would really enjoy. Something he didn't already have. Something he would remember.

I finally pulled it off.

TBHITW likes jazz music. He listens to it all the time. One of his favorite jazz bands is Spyro Gyra. He has never heard them perform live.



I found out that Spyro Gyra was playing on a dinner cruise around Manhattan FOR JUST ONE NIGHT. ON TBHITW's VERY BIRTHDAY.

I arranged for a car service to pick us up at the house and drive us to Chelsea Pier in New York where we boarded The Spirit cruise ship for sightseeing, dinner and live music. After the cruise the same car service picked us up and drove us home. No traffic worries, no train schedules, no parking woes. It was a perfect evening full of all the beautiful city sites that living so close to NY we tend to forget.

And TBHITW was happy and relaxed and glad to have a birthday surprise.

Is there a more beautiful skyline?

See the Brooklyn Bridge in the distance, past the sailboats?

It was a perfect evening for sailing.

Is there a more glorious site than our Lady Liberty?

Happy Birthday Husband. Let's spend the next 100 or so together! 

Peaches are IN! Fresh, plump, sweet, juicy and fragrant. Eating a peach on a hot summer day is one of life's simple pleasures. Peach Salsa runs a close second.

Fresh Peach Salsa: makes about 2 cups

2 local peaches, peeled, pit removed and diced. Try to catch all the juices by peeling and cutting over a bowl.
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 large ripe tomato, deseeded and chopped
1 small cucumber, peeled, deseeded and chopped
2 scallions, chopped, include some green
1 small jalapeno pepper, deseeded and chopped fine (optional)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Mix all the ingredients together. Refrigerate at least 1 hour to meld flavors. Serve with cold boiled shrimp, grilled salmon, pan roasted halibut or simple pita toasts.

Have you ever been able to pull off a really good surprise? What was it? Who was it for? Don't you just love it when a plan comes together? Don't you just love making someone you love happy?