This is going to be a short and sweet lagniappe as it's a glorious day and my garden beckons. It's actually being written in anticipation of tomorrow when my column in the Times Dispatch is all about homemade ice cream. I've been in an ice cream making frenzy for weeks, as you'll see if you read the paper, however, my theory is that if you're going to make ice cream, you need to make a really fabulous something with which to bedeck it: caramel sauce.
Read moreBenne Crackers
It's so thrilling to have a culinary coup. I'm quite certain it's happened to you too. You know how it goes--you eat something remarkable somewhere and simply can't get it out of your mind. You try and try to recreate it and then, as if by magic, you suddenly find the missing key and voila--you've mastered it.
Funnily enough, it's often the simplest things that make the biggest impression and are the hardest to replicate.
Read moreBlueberry and Nectarine Buckle
Chased inside from my epic weeding undertaking (just call me Sisyphus) by thunder, I am bursting with observations and conclusions wrought from a steamy morning trying to make order from chaos: 1) When one is covered head to toe with columbine seeds from banging into their seed pods repeatedly whilst weeding, they are completely indistinguishable from deer ticks and will exacerbate any already lurking anxiety. 2) Anxiety caused by dwelling on those things one hasn't done for three weeks (like gardening, blogging, exercising) is even more debilitating than insanely trying to pick infinitesimally small seeds off your sticky self with your gardening gloves that are encrusted with them,i.e., a complete waste of time.
Read moreCitrus-Almond Pound Cake
I can't believe it happened again. Yes, more trips, more adventures, more parties and general festivities, which put pay to my best intentions to blog more. Among the many happy things that led me astray were Felix's birthday, which involved a brunch party for none other than the hurricane boys (see my posting on shrimp, chicken and andouille gumbo for details.) It turns out that the "hurrication" and Felix's birthday were perfect bookends for freshman year; so, not only were we able to catch up and reflect on a stellar first year of college, the Griffin even showed up to wish Felix many happy returns! Worth a little blogging lapse, I'd say.
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