My summer holiday in the Mediterranean has just ended, and like many others, I am thinking hard about how to extend the serenity that vacation brings and not jump straight back into the daily business of work and domestic duties.

In full disclosure, writing this column was itself an item at the top of my to-do list for my return. That list was a cloud that occasionally crept into view while I was away and now threatens to overshadow my idle bliss.

But looking at my recipe for smoky shrimp saganaki, I realize that I have a clear way of returning. Setting aside the risk of romanticizing a Mediterranean break, I genuinely feel that I have come back with some life and food lessons that can show me how to relax a little this fall.

Recipe: Smoky Shrimp Saganaki

The first is as old as human history: It’s all about the gathering. I spent much of my time off on the Spanish island Ibiza, sitting around food-laden tables, connecting with people — some friends, some strangers — and rediscovering how a meal can be both a setting for social interaction and the social connection itself.