The start of June

Just lots of grilled vegetables these days. Here are a couple of instances.

And another loaf of the now-favorite butter top bread. A better rise, helped by a sunny window.

Lots of pretty

First blooms in the garden...

And along a favorite path...

Food can be pretty too, of course.

A quick salad of asparagus, pea pods, etc.

 

And potato salad. The vinaigrette kind. A few adaptations since last time.

A simple dinner after a long drive.... grilled vegetables, sautéed spinach....

A new bread recipe. KAF buttertop. So so good.

Finally, and definitely in the "pretty" category, Lake St. Clair. A recent Sunday morning. A little before 8. Michigan...

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Cheesecake; Michigan; Poets; Honeysuckle

Lots to like, this go-round.

First, a cheesecake with a chocolate crust. Note: no crack.

And still, no crack:

Here's something pleasing: frosted Michigan glasses. They can be found here.

Aren't they nice? As for the stuff in the background... that was in preparation of the annual spring gathering of MFA poets. This year, an array of salads....

... and they were lovely company, too, those poets. We had a good semester, I think. 

It's already hot and humid in West Virginia, and the honeysuckle---my favorite---is out in full force.

Even the ditches have lovely flowers...

Finally, a familiar little dinner on the day of commencement... spring is full of such beginnings.... spaetzle, roasted brussels sprouts, pecans, feta, spinach, dates... good as leftovers, too... the summer term starts tomorrow... Keats, onward---

Fiddleheads, ducks, tablescapes & whatnot

It's spring-for-real now. Evidence: fiddleheads.

Also, ducks. 

Is "tablescape" a real word? And if so, is this one? Well, anyway, close enough, and pretty.

And here's the dinner that went with those candles. The sweet potatoes were roasted with rosemary, fyi.

And yesterday included some planting... 

The radar says it's raining

but it isn't. Mysterious.

It's Spring, so here's some asparagus soup.

And something I've wanted to try for some time: brown bread a la The Cheesecake Factory. Molasses + honey + cocoa powder + espresso powder = that color and flavor, pretty much.

And because one of my sisters asked about my new stove, here it is. Same as the old one... minus the cracked cooktop, of course.

The Perfect Cookie

Yup.