I've never subscribed to the popular notion that if we want something really badly, over and over, and often to the exclusion of everything else, it must be bad for us. Rather, I trust in the body's inherent wisdom and believe that when I'm irresistibly drawn to something there's a good reason for it. There have been times when I've eaten artichokes three times a day, carrots for breakfast every day for a week or two, nothing but watermelon. These cravings present themselves differently than simple longing for a favorite food, or the thought that maybe tacos would be nice for dinner. It is a deep hunger that is satisfied only by the thing itself.
Carrots are everywhere, but a good carrot, perfectly sweet and crunchy, can be hard to find.
Lately, it's been butter lettuce that has my attention. I cannot get enough of the sweet tender leaves. Mariposa Restaurant in Windsor makes an ethereal salad of nothing more than the inner leaves of butter lettuce, paper thin slices of pear, and a luminous champagne vinaigrette that clings to the leaves like a kiss. It is flawless. I think of it often, and find myself wishing I lived closer to the restaurant.