Mostly cooking this month!
Cooking
– Joy the Baker’s lemon lime thyme cookies, which are lovely. Mostly a citrus shortbread with just the barest hint of thyme. 
– Chocolate zucchini bread, from my mom’s recipe. I added to it 2 T cocoa powder and 1/2 c mini chocolate chips. I think I may have copied the recipe down wrong, though, because it comes out short. Maybe I reversed baking powder and baking soda? It is not impossible, is all I’m saying.
– Zucchini Hazelnut Bread from Cooking Season by Season: This one tasted funny to me–I’m not sure if it was the amount of baking soda, or something I did, or if I’m making this up. I’d probably try it again, because I love the idea.
– Salt and Vinegar Sweet Potato Fries: mine were a bit on the limp side, and I probably would season them differently next time. The general method is a good one, though.
– Dana Treat’s Asian Noodles are yet another noodle/tofu/curry sauce variation, a recipe I am endlessly interested in. I made a few substitutions, especially the vegetables.
– For a dinner party with a friend who can’t have gluten and was on the Dormition Fast, I made peanut sauce with rice noodles, chicken, and vegetables.
– I also made cornstarch pudding a couple of times. Once, for the dinner above, with almond milk and cinnamon (cook the pudding with a cinnamon stick in it and pull it out when you’re ready to pour the pudding into the dishes; dust the top of each pudding with ground cinnamon). Once, with heavy cream and ginger (I infused the heavy cream with crystalised ginger and added a bit of grated fresh ginger to the pudding as it was cooking), topping the pudding with blueberries. In both cases, I used this recipe, changing the amounts as desired.
– Herbed Summer Squash and Potato Torte, from Smitten Kitchen. I liked this summer tart a lot! Nice flavor and good for a lunch or as part of dinner. Also, something different to do with summer squash.
– Muesli from Super Natural Every Day: I liked this version of Muesli, which has plenty of dried fruit and additions.
– Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Stilton from Home Made: This was completely delicious–much richer than most cauliflower soups, and with a great flavor from the stilton. I didn’t make the crostini that go with this recipe, just stirring a little more cheese in as I ate it.
– Chicken Breast and Creamy Mushroom Sauce from German Kitchen: This was very rich, so I’d probably make it more for company or festive dinners, but it was really delicious. Kind of a stroganoff idea, with plenty of mushrooms and onions; the tarragon adds a different twist and makes the whole dish special.
– Milk punch from Smitten Kitchen: I’m not sure exactly why I decided to make this, but I did enjoy it! A nice cooling drink that I suspect could easily be just as delicious in a non-alcoholic version.
– Brie and Blueberry Salad from the Crabtree & Evelyn Cookbook: I didn’t have the exact ingredients for the dressing, which probably made the salad a little different from the original. But I liked what I ended up with, and it made a nice lunch.
– Fried Egg Sandwich with Bacon & Blue Cheese from Smitten Kitchen: I always forget how delicious blue cheese is until I have it again. I didn’t use fancy bread for this sandwich, but it was just as delicious.
Card making
My mom’s birthday is today, and as part of my present for her, I made a birthday card. Dear Mama: don’t look until after you open your package!
I am not super duper great at drawing, but I’m a pretty good doodler. I based this partly on a vase I have that I love, but added a few variations. Don’t worry–I didn’t draw it straight in ink. I penciled it first and traced it.
And then I went over it with a blue calligraphy marker. The lighter parts are the smaller end of the marker, which was drying out. Perfect for the areas I didn’t want as dark!
By Singing Light 