I like the desert,

morning and night.

But, also, being home. Cooking at home.

These zucchini are from my friend Tim.

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....

California, the abbreviated version

I didn't make this breakfast—The Red House Cafe in Pacific Grove did—but it's too pretty not to post.

And this is just one flight I enjoyed during an afternoon of wine tasting in the Carmel Valley.

Finally, I like this plant. I don't know his name, but he carries himself nicely. Nice water droplets, too. Just outside the Mission in Carmel.

Party for poets, etc

Per usual, the grad poets came to my house for dinner to celebrate the end of the semester. Here's what we ate!

In other news, I got an exciting shipment from King Arthur Flour....

And here are some recent meals... nothing too exciting... but yummy, I think....

The KAF goodies let me bake a bread very similar to the delicious Cheesecake Factory dark loaf...

Finally, look at these beauties....

A stormy Sunday

... in that Spring-like way....

I made this lovely soup---the "everything green" soup from a recent issue of Bon Appetit.

... and a simple and delicious lemon-tarragon grilled chicken.

Between storms I was able to plant tomatoes and some herbs...

A good Sunday.

Now the sun is out

A gloomy start to the day, but now the sun is back.

Here are some highlights from the past week.

Grilled chicken... with Cherry Republic Cherryaki sauce.

Some truly lovely lavender scones. More elegant than they looked.

And here's a very nice date nut bread. The recipe comes from fellow Michigander Maureen Abood's terrific blog.