summer

  • Shortbread fans (and a bit about ovens)

    It’s the last gasp of summer, friends. The air is getting cool at night (sometimes). Stores offer apple cider in big displays. And this week I go back to school. To mark the occasion, let’s look at one more recipe… Continue reading

  • Blueberry picking (and muffins)

    It’s been two weeks since we returned from vacation in Canada, and I can’t stop thinking about it. Even though I’ve since joined my parents for a weekend in upstate New York. Even though Josh and I have entertained and… Continue reading

  • Away

    For the next few weeks I’ll be away on vacation with my family. Swimming, canoeing, reading, and cooler weather (fingers crossed) await! I’ll be back at the beginning of August. In the meantime, you can read posts from last year’s… Continue reading

  • Line-drying laundry

    For a few weeks the dryer in our apartment building has been broken. Problem? Easily solved. After putting in a call to the landlord, we hung our clothes fresh from the washing machine out to dry on the balcony. It’s… Continue reading

  • Devil’s cake no. 1

    Yesterday I celebrated my birthday! I turned 27, just a few weeks after this blog turned 2. In between melting in the 90-degree heat and dashing through torrential rainstorms (yes, it was an eventful day, weather-wise), I enjoyed a pastry… Continue reading

  • The best-laid plans of gardeners

    It’s been some time since we’ve visited the container garden. Let’s take a stroll, shall we? Here’s the basic layout: broad beans (the happy tall stalks in the corner); sugar snap peas climbing those bamboo trellises; one strawberry plant; onions… Continue reading

  • Kitchen garden (V)

    It’s been a while since the last update from the garden. Unfortunately, in between moving and travel, the poor tomatoes and peas had a rough transition. Those big green tomatoes I planned on harvesting? The squirrels at my new place… Continue reading

  • Canning fruit (II)

    Yesterday I recounted how my friend Nina and I decided to can 40 lbs of tomatoes. When I left off, we had just realized how much time (and patience) this project required. Nevertheless, we persevered. Once the crushed tomatoes had… Continue reading

  • Canning fruit (I)

    Last Sunday, over dinner at our local Ethiopian restaurant, my friend Nina said, “When can we can?” And thus began a rather silly and ultimately fruitful (heh) endeavor of canning 40 lbs of tomatoes. And making lots of canning jokes.… Continue reading

  • Supposedly delicious (II)

    As I mentioned earlier, I love perusing the old cookbooks at the cottage to see what earlier generations enjoyed eating. People of my great-grandparents’ generation apparently cooked with quite a lot of lard in the 1930s, while those of my… Continue reading