Peach Cobbler

The good peaches have begun to show up at the stores. I've bought them two or three times this season thus far and have been very lucky. I always look for one with just a little bit of give and I haven't been disappointed. No mealiness has been encountered- only lush, sweet, juicy loveliness.

Spinach bread - or how much I love my bread machine

I love bread, but unfortunately my stomach can't handle too many carbs at the moment and bread tends to upset it. However, if it's a particularly hearty bread I can have a few nibbles.

Although, I can't eat much of the bread myself, I still love baking it. Occasionally, I'll hand make baguettes, but mostly I experiment with my bread machine. I love the anticipation as the smell of bread fills the house, grabbing a nibble here and there, and watching my family enjoy the fresh baked bread.

The neverending couscous salad

This is the story of a rained out BBQ and the couscous salad that survived.

We had planned a cookout last Friday evening and I spent the afternoon making this lovely couscous salad.

I've recently fallen in love with whole wheat couscous. The nutritional profile is pretty fantastic with 1/3 of a cup packing a whopping 7 grams of fiber and 8 grams of protein. Most importantly it's delicious, with a fluffy texture and slight nutty taste.

The salad was fantastic, I mixed chicken stock flavored couscous with black beans, corn, fresh cilantro and parsley and some grape tomatoes. I made a quick vinaigrette with lime juice and cumin. The result was divine. However, it was meant to be consumed by 10 people and instead was a side dish for 4. The flash floods had won this round.

Everything is better with garlic

If you've been spending much time around the farmers markets these days, chances are you've seen a pile of these on a table somewhere. Garlic scapes are just about my favorite thing of late spring. I was introduced to them a few years ago by my CSA.

It's a jungle out there

Late April and still manageable

I have never gardened before.

When I was 12 I watered my mother's garden one summer when she was feeling ambitious and we were living on 11 acres of woods. The garden was a 15 minute walk away from the house uphill through the woods and required thousands of yards of hose and large barrels. It was the most terrible job ever. Almost as bad as being assigned to pick up sticks in the woods which was another favorite of hers. At least that job was in the shade. (She recently told me she only made me do this ridiculous job because I read too much, I think I'll just sign Lola up for soccer.)

I learned nothing from this experience with gardening other than how to use aloe vera after being sunburned.