Mostly Michigan

Lake Michigan was as ever, thank goodness. Two views from The Homestead. First, with the Crystal River in the foreground, and then the dune, and then the Lake.

Then, looking north...

Many, many chipmunks about....

Michigan strawberries are the best. Of course.

Back downstate... and a very happy Theo, who had been staying at "camp," which is, as everyone knows, a little stressful....

A week or so later..... a fancy brunch at The Townsend Hotel.... 

Later still... barbecue chicken...

Followed by a cherry pie... homemade crust (rolled out just by accident into the lower peninsula!) with cherries from Cherry Republic. 

Back home in West Virginia.... tomatoes coming along nicely....

 

Herbs too....

Our first harvest. Theo LOVES tomatoes....

The roses are also doing well. This is The Shepherdess.

And on a beautiful July evening... dinner and a sunset....

Tomatoes and other summer-y things

Let mostly to their own devices, my tomatoes, little and not so little, came along.

A couple of attempts and these zucchini cakes turned out nicely. 

They're delicious with chutney (and a lookalike chick pea patty)... and the leftovers made pretty good driving food on a recent road trip.

Finally, it's time for figs. Here are some grilled ones with spinach, pecans, raspberries, feta.

Oh, wait, there's more

Tofu with asparagus and broccoli and mushrooms.

Just real food: filet, roasted potatoes, vegetables. 

Corn muffins. And tomato soup, which is always easy and enjoyable to make. 

Just chicken

Yet pretty, in its simplicity.

First, grilled chicken with a very nice side of pan-roasted white beans, kale, and walnuts (recipe from Food 52, kind of) along with some roasted tomatoes.

And then grilled, as before, along with yellow squash and zucchini over basmati rice and some more tomatoes and garlic.

Simple as can be.

It feels like fall

And cooking is headed in that direction too.

Here's a soup of butter beans, spinach, onions, garlic, rosemary.

Italian bread, made with KAF 00 Italian flour. Pretty good, especially with roasted garlic.

Thanks to some farmers' market tomatoes, I made a very nice marinara with mushrooms. Kale added, last minute. Whole wheat gemelli.

Finally, today's bread, my new favorite, a white whole wheat loaf. Terrific.

August shouldn't feel like the end of summer

But it does, when classes begin as early as they do this semester. It's just wrong.

Meantime, here are some delicious things...

Salmon-potato-asparagus salad with a sun-dried tomato vinaigrette, with a slice of The Bread alongside.

Next, an irresistible pad thai with tofu...

...with a side of Best Ever asparagus and peas with shallots and basil.

Then, very simple gnochetti with tomatoes and kale. Nothing to it.

And, as a test run for next weekend's MFA meet-&-greet, a rice salad (wild rice & basmati, edamame, pistachios, dried cherries).

Finally, on the kitten front, we are making progress, as documented below.

Actually, they are now mingling freely, but this pic captures the spirit of the relationship...

How could I...

... forget to post some very important pics? Namely, this apricot and blackberry crostada that I made for my lovely friends Gail, who was visiting town too briefly, and Laura.

And then a few beautiful little tomatoes from my garden...

... and, hmmm, some bread, though I can't remember what kind...

Now, we're caught up.

Oh, August

—So that was July. Much travel. Lots of reading (Lawrence in Arabia and the Bate biography of Keats were the main things; both are recommended). Not enough cooking. But now it's August, and I'm back home, happily.

Some recent highlights, beginning with this eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, tomato bake that my sweet friend Beth and I shared.

And then a couple of other typical meals... whole wheat gemelli with chicken, pecans, dates...

And a farro salad like the one at the always lovely La Quinta resort (or maybe theirs is like mine... yes, I think that's more accurate). 

This buckwheat bread seemed wintry, at first, but then it just got better and better, especially with some hummus.

And last night, I made these oatmeal-date cookies (with cardamom). Delicious.

Finally, it's Kitten Time here. This is Miss Myrna Loy. She is about 10 weeks old and quite precocious, she wants you to know.