The Flavors of Summer.

French Coconut Pie

Rhubarb coffee cake, macaroni and cheese, French coconut pie, fish tacos with mango salsa, black bean and corn salsa, guacamole, rum slush, and French toast. The best part -- all of it was homemade. I would say that summer is off to a great start. I have been busy busy busy, my kitchen is in constant need of a clean-up, and for some reason, I've had to run the dishwasher each of the last three days, but it has been so worth it! It's amazing how much happier I am in the kitchen with cookbooks scattered around me.

Mango Salsa (for the fish tacos)

Steven told me the other day that someone asked him what I like to do. He said that I like to cook. When asked what my favorite thing to cook is his response was, "Probably something she's never made before." I laughed when he told me and was surprised at the realization that that assessment is probably spot on. I get so much satisfaction out of trying a new recipe and having it be a success. One of my favorite things to do is to read 5 to 10 different recipes for the same thing and then create my own version of it combining my favorite aspects of each recipe. This, of course, makes it rather difficult to recreate many of my favorite dishes.

I think I may have finally found a solution. I'm going to start keeping a recipe journal. I'll write down all of the recipes that I use and which books they came from, just in case I need to look them up in he future, and then write down whatever random variations I happen to have come up with during the process. This way I can keep track of different ingredients or quantities or cooking times/temperatures and make note of what took longer than expected or what tricks I used to help make things a little easier.

I took a quick inventory this morning of my blank journals and settled on this one. Nothing foodie about it but I've had it for ages and I think this is the perfect use for it. Don't you think so? Recipes and cooking can certainly be mysterious and full of secrets that I can choose whether or not to share. Then there's Miss Nancy herself. She's outgoing, independent, talented, sweet, attractive, fearless... a good feminine role model I think. AND there's a horse on the cover. It looks like I'm pretty well set here. I can't wait to get started! I'll have to put the fish tacos in first -- that's a recipe I don't want to forget.

It feels so good to be done with school! Summer is here and I am excited to spend more time not only in the kitchen but also with friends and with my handsome husband. We're being a bit better about being social and seeing people. Last weekend we hung out with Sarah and Haydn and did the Mac & Jack's Brewery tour/tasting as well as the one at Chateau St. Michelle winery. It was something we've wanted to do for a while and it was so nice to have friends to go with! The other day my friend Melissa came over and we celebrated the end of the school year with macaroni & cheese, sparkling lemonade, Psych, and French coconut pie. Tim & Annika spent the night on Friday -- we had such a fantastic time with them! Fish tacos with mango salsa for dinner, and then chips with salsa and guacamole while watching Cowboys & Aliens (ridiculously terrible movie -- but funny in it's own bizarre way). Followed by chocolate and wine tasting. They brought 4 different kinds of chocolate from Theo's and a bottle of wine and we had a lovely bottle of pink port. It was a deliciously silly experience as we tried to use all of the fancy tasting terms to describe the flavors and textures. Saturday morning Annika went with me to zumba (so fun to have a friend with me!!) and then we all shared a fantastic French toast breakfast. Fabulous. The whole weekend was just fabulous. I made Lone Ranger cookies this morning and am now off to spend the rest of the day with my family.

And yes, in case you were wondering, you can expect nothing but food related posts from me, at least for the next couple of weeks, as that seems to be the current source of my joy and general passion for life.