A Sunday chicken

For my parents. Along with the butter top bread, etc. A mini-Thanksgiving...

The next night: mac & cheese. I do like real food.

One of my many walks while in Michigan took me past a park from childhood: Bookmobile Park, so called, of course, because that's where the bookmobile stopped. Loved that. And I was so happy to see this new addition: a Little Free Library. The only improvement I can think of: a doll library. Borrow a doll. Share a doll. Leave some doll clothing for a doll in need.

So that was last week. This Sunday's bread is wheat & buttermilk to go, soon, with some pumpkin soup.

The dough had a tremendous rise. The only improvement to the recipe might be a touch of honey. Nonetheless, this is good and will be even better with soup and as sandwich bread.

Sunday round-up

It seems people like to say "round-up" on Sundays, so here's a Sunday round-up.

First, some nature. Goldenrod...

... and Beautyberry. Great name.

Today's bread: oat bran. A lovely dough. Some just are.

While that was rising, I made a quick lunch of old favorites: asparagus, peas, feta, basil.

Later, the bread emerged... a beautiful loaf.

And for dinner, baked rigatoni and zucchini. 

And that's the round-up!

Pumpkin, part 2, which is fancier

It's hard to photograph a sauce, but this one, despite the lackluster pics, was amazing. Pumpkin and kale.

And then finished with toasted hazelnuts and chèvre.

And I tried a new multi-grain bread: AP-flour, white whole wheat, rye, cornmeal, oats, sunflower seeds. Ridiculously easy. Also really pleasing. 

I served the pasta with a side of asparagus. It looked pretty, as asparagus nearly always does.

And the bread...

Finally, a little candlescape, shades of the season.

A school night

Sigh.

In any case, watermelon gazpacho:

And The Bread:

And leftover rice salad and the ever-lovely asparagus and peas with basil and shallots:

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...

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.

*

Back home, predictable cooking resumed. 

*

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

The Long Winter

It's snowing. Again.

Anyway!

Here's yesterday's bread, a wheat germ loaf that is maybe The Best Bread Ever.

And for dinner, lemon & feta risotto, which never really photographs that well, alas, but was very good. And some sautéed spinach. Again, not the most photogenic, but pleasing nonetheless. Unlike the snow, which, though also not that easy to photograph, is—sigh—not that pleasing either. Yes: pretty... for a while, but then—.

And here's my helper, dutifully watching while I shovel the driveway yet again. I don't know why I bother since the roads (hills!) are treacherous here so I'm not going anywhere, but one likes to feel like one could, maybe.

Pomegranates really are pretty special

A very persuasive salad of spinach; roasted acorn squash; sautéed zucchini, mushrooms, and asparagus; toasted hazelnuts; feta; and, the star, pomegranate arils. Those little things have a lot of power.

Two photos, neither of which does justice to this terrific salad, which I served with beef tenderloin.