Lots of things

Much walking, the usual cooking and baking. These are the highlights.

A lovely hemlock.

A Tiger Cake!, exclamation point required. For my students.

First, on a paper plate, in class...

And then, the last piece, at home after dinner...

It swirled nicely, didn't it? And all by itself, just like the recipe promised.

Today I made a delicious asparagus soup. There are lots of recipes. I used this one, from Epicurious. No cream, though, yes, a dollop on top. And I sautéed the asparagus before adding it. 

The spinach salad has a red wine vinaigrette that I made using this recipe from Food 52. Actual red wine makes the difference here.

And that's The Bread, which I've not made for a few weeks.

Finally, some flowers. First, impatiens on the deck.

And, finally, coneflower (echinacea). I have one on each side of my front porch. They're slightly different, one more orange in the center, one more red...

Oh, almost forgot: here's a little lavender and some Lake Michigan rocks, including a Petoskey stone. The pic is a little dark, but if you know what you're looking for, you'll spot it...

A challenging stove

I like to cook even on vacation. Especially Up North in Michigan.

The cottage was sweetly rustic; the stove... was not.

The oven was about 125 degrees hotter than what the dial indicated. Yep. Took a day or two to sort that out and make adjustments. And the burners—the ones that worked, that is—weren't much better.

Thus, this baked whitefish was a triumph. Fresh from Lake Michigan, of course. Carlson's, of course. Just glad the oven didn't ruin it.

And a simple salad...

Other highlights include these lovely wildflowers: bladder campion (disappointing name), also known as maiden's-tears (better...). I just happened upon them. Isn't that often the way with beauty?

And Lake Michigan was its stunning self, per usual.

That's Sleeping Bear Dunes in the background.

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Back home, predictable cooking resumed. 

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Oh, and speaking of beauty: here's Glen Lake, a real beauty, everyone agrees.