So much

Summer into autumn. No way I can narrate it all; the pics will have to do.

... and thus August ended.

And now it's football season...

And the season of meetings... and baking for meetings...

Sometimes, though, autumn also means a special trip.... like the one my sister and I took to Mackinac Island.... here's the view from The Iroquois Hotel... and the very lovely breakfast....

Back home, it was pleasure to make dinner for my friend Rosemary... love this gnocchi with pomodoro sauce...

And what's dinner without dessert?

And now autumn is for real... as these pics show...

Autumn... I like it fine. You too?

Fairy Doors, Whatnot

Well, one fairy door, anyway. Newly blue. And a gnome lurking outside.

Other than that, this post is mostly bread.

Here's a nice mushroom soup. Looks creamy and is but that's from puréed mushrooms, not cream. Nice.

I've made these "free form enchiladas" a few times and they're delicious. Too bad they don't photograph all that well. 

And this chocolate loaf was a tad dry... but still rich... and photogenic, with strawberries.

So, yes, lots to report.

The Perfect Cookie

Yup.

Cooking and baking are very satisfying,

I find.

Last week I made a lovely Swedish almond cake for a meeting at work. The second pic shows a piece on a plate on my desk. You can just see the mess.

Next up, something very healthy: tuna + butter beans (my new favorites) + spinach + asparagus + red onion + tomatoes. Here it is in stages:

Today I made two loaves of the white whole wheat bread. Slightly different sizes, you'll note, because the pans were different. Anyway: one loaf to eat, one to freeze. 

Finally, tonight's dinner: spinach salad with dried cherries, feta, and pecans; orzo salad with sautéed onions, dates, spinach and parmesan; and a very nice pumpkin soup. I used the Mayo Clinic recipe, so, yes, very healthy, though I cooked the onions in olive oil. Also, I added some curry to cut any sweetness.

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...