Food, Drinks & Getaways: Peak Peaches, an Official Nap, and a Field of Ten Thousand Suns

One thing to eat, one way to rest, one place to go.

Tomatoes, peaches, and sweet corn are all at peak season at once. It's the shortest overlap of the produce year so we’re making: tomato peach burrata salad.

The entire meal can be made in three simple steps:

1. Slice ripe tomatoes and peaches into thick wedges and lay them on the biggest platter you own.

2. Tear a ball of burrata over the top.

3. Finish with basil, olive oil, balsamic glaze, and a good pinch of salt.

Ten minutes tops. Zero heat in the kitchen. Add some bread on the side and it's dinner time; alongside whatever's on the grill and it's company-worthy. One warning from the recipe testers: slice ahead if you want, but don't assemble until you're eating — it gets watery. (Also: kids who "don't like tomatoes" have been known to make an exception for anything served with peaches. Worth a try.)

July 22 is National Hammock Day. An entire observance dedicated to lying down outside.

No hammock? A blanket under a tree, or on the porch counts just the same. Give yourself a twenty minute block for a power nap and leave your phone inside under the sky overhead.

We spend a lot of energy teaching our kids to rest for their naps and bedtimes — yet we rarely let them watch us do it. Remember that our kids learn best as they observe. They’re actively learning what self care and rest look like, from the way we model it. Today, there's a holiday to give you an excuse to lean right into it!

Sunflower season is opening up across the country right now — fields bloom from late July into early September, but any single field peaks for only two to three weeks. Many u-pick farms charge per carload and include stems to cut, and lots of them (here's New Jersey's list, as one example) add wagon rides, berry picking, and picnic space — a whole morning for the price of a pizza.

Three things to do before you drive:

1. Search "[your state] sunflower farm" — nearly every region has at least one within an hour.

2. Check the farm's Facebook page the day before. Bloom timing shifts with weather, and farms post field conditions daily.

3. Go early in the morning — cooler air, softer light, and the flowers are literally facing east waiting for you.

What's your family's late-July ritual — the dish you make on repeat, the field you drive to, the official nap spot? Share it in the Parenthood Together community: facebook.com/groups/parenthoodtogether.