Summer Update: Canada

For the first time in a few years, I went up to Canada for good reasons. I hung out leisurely, made fun plans, caught up with friends and didn't have a nagging, sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that reality would eventually catch up with me and i would go back to worrying and processing and all of that. so needless to say it was a great time, and left me with a kind of feeling like you get when you finally book a massage, remember how awesome you feel and wonder why you don't do it more often.
it was fabulous. everyone was so smiley and happy and excited, and i needed the visit. i need to be around the overly polite, i need good chicken wings and swiss chalet and cute accents things taking much longer than they should but people still patiently wait. it was also very sweet of them to let me in the country with a canadian passport even though i have an 'intense southern accent' now apparently.

I stayed with Dee, had a ton of fun with her reconnecting and got to see enough of friends and family to make it feel like a great span of time. i miss you, canada! here are some pictures:

Love them!

Summer Update: Winnipeg, wedding

Summer Update

 So... it's been 4 months. It has literally flown by, if that helps. Now that it feels like the seasons are changing it always makes me want to reflect and reconnect. The following few posts will be a series of updates and picture posting. Hope you've been doing well!

goldenberries: the tomatillos of the fruit world

How adorable are these goldenberries? they're like little gorgeous fruit tomatillos!
the flavor is bright, a little tangy like a tangerine, and filled with little seeds that are smaller than a kiwi's.

They often come dried and are another one of those touted superfoods. apparently they're used as a remedy for asthma, among other things, and is an anti-inflammatory. Fresh, though, they would make an amazing fruit sauce or jam, especially with the tiny seeds. However, at $7 for a tiny basket, goldenberry jam might be a little too rich for my blood. this time around we threw it in a spinach salad with apples, hearts of palm and thinly sliced and rinsed purple onions with a honey mustard vinaigrette.

the past 2 weeks, weather-ly speaking

It's hard to talk about anything other than the weather here. Right now the air conditioning is not working and it's 100 degrees and screaming bright outside. A week and a half ago, though, there were crazy storms and nothing but sticky, humid weather and nightly storms and tornado warnings.

The weather is sunnier and warmer and so begins the summer, it feels like it. so many things are blooming and opening and ripening. a great excuse for my favorite, cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches:




we're trying to take advantage of the warm evenings and the hot afternoons as much as possible before the heat and humidity get too insufferable, so we packed our things and went to the sunset symphony next to the river this past weekend and it was fabulous!



perfect weather, a great excuse to go down to the river for a gorgeous view, and so much fun. we packed snacks and wine and water and chilled out on picnic blankets and listened to the orchestra and music and watched the awesome fireworks.

Erbazzone with turnip greens and pancetta

Had this for dinner the other night after seeing something like it on Lidia's Italy. I like this recipe because it's incredibly unfussy and even before it came out of the oven, it was clear that this would be a go-to recipe and a great way to make sheepish seasonal vegetables really sing.

It really came out as a less eggy quiche, or the vegetable filling inside a lasagna. it was phenomenal.

I will say, however, that when we had people over yesterday it was very humid out and the dough ust didn't end up that great. maybe i added too much water but i really doubt it. it just ended up kind of cakey and not crisp, and it didn't hold together in the same way as the first time i made it, so i wasn't able to roll it out superthin and it couldnt crisp. i'm going to play around with the dough and get some actual measurements of ingredients figured out. until then, some pictures:

slow news day

sorry, guys. my camera has been on the fritz for the past 2 weeks, and on saturday it just magically started working again. forgive the kitty photo.