Not Covid

So that’s how the summer break began for my little grasshopper who got to spend her first week in the country in bed, running a 40°C fever, popping ibuprofen and choking down chicken soup, one painful spoon at a time. Getting her tested out here was no fun, and my belief in doctors having to bow to the Hippocratic oath has been a bit shaken. But all is well that ends well. Test came back negative, and we got through this as a family, husband’s rapport with the local physician turning out to be considerably better than my own, me sticking to my guns (my chicken soup is a laser gun, at least), and our four-legged friend on hot-water bottle and morale officer duty. Also, thank God for Audible :-).Other than that? Work, albeit in a pretty spot – check out the little flower bed growing around the herb spiral in front of the kitchen window (scary-ass bush of spearmint on the right) I’ve also taken lots of walks in the forest, and Charlie made a friend, Little Charlie, a 4 month old pup.

Today is a rainy day, which is always a good time for baking. I made a loaf of bread, the 17-hours-rise-no-knead type I already talked about in an earlier post. Dough was mixed together yesterday, the yeast did its thing over night, and since humidity is conducive to yeast dough, it turned out nice:

I’m on the last editing round of volume 2 of the urban fantasy series I’ve been working on, and taking a break to blog instead of walking Charlie. Usually, at this time of day, I’ll have at least one, or two solid walks under my belt, but since my delicate City Dog refuses to set foot outside for anything but the bear necessities on rainy days, I’ve stayed inside as well.

Yesterday, my son successfully completed the written part of his driver’s license, and in a matter of weeks, the above will not be restricted to the training grounds, but our new normal. Mind-boggling. Didn’t I just teach this dude how to take his first steps? But looking at old pictures reveals the truth, as it will. It’s not only he who got older!

My kids say I should not dye my hair, and I respect their opinion. But I’m not totally sold on the silver foxy mane, tbh. Some mornings, I swear I feel my Granny’s staring back at me from the mirror.

I love that picture of her, even though you probably can’t see a lot because it’s so pixeled. I’ll have to get a better version of it to show you what I mean when I get home to my box of old family pics.

The rain not only has yeast-beneficiary qualities, but also makes these grow:So I guess I’ll go find some more tomorrow morning, since, miracle of miracles, my daughter ate (and loved) chanterelle quiche yesterday at my lovely neighbor’s, C., who was kind enough to give us lunch. I intend to take full advantage of this, as quiche used to be a no-go for her for a good 11 years.

Crafts have been happening, too, at a snail’s pace – I’ve been doggedly working my way through the Waffle Blanket. This stitch uses plenty of yarn, as I have said before, and it’s not quick work by a long stretch. I can handle it though, because I love it so much, the texture, the construction, the symmetry – really, it is one of my favorite crochet patterns. I’m now about 8 balls of yarn in, which amounts to a mere 28 cm length, given the width of the blanket, 120 cm. Sometimes, it’s a good thing to do the math, for this tells me I’ll need 5 more balls of each of the 4 colors I’m using, maybe only 4. But since it’s sock yarn, there will be other ways to use it in case I order too much.

And now for a much beloved summer recipe.

One of my annual summer favorites is Cherry Clafoutis, a simple, seasonal dish from the French countryside, that was made with freshly picked fruit from the orchards (which is exactly what we did last weekend. It was most idyllic indeed: sent the boy up into the tree to pick, cooked, then sat all my family, and some friends, down at the sun-dappled picknick table, and spent the summeriest of summery afternoons so far this year.) Cynics, please don’t puke, it really was a nice time :-).

The recipe could not be any simpler. It uses flour, eggs, milk, sugar and salt, and of course, cherries.

Coveted Cherry Clafoutis

100 g flour (I used spelt)

50 g sugar

200 ml milk

2 eggs

Pinch of salt

Vanilla to taste

350 g cherries, pitted

Make a crêpe-like batter, butter a pan, pour in the batter and evenly distribute the fruit. Bake at 160 °C for about 30-40 minutes until golden brown at the edges.

Invite friends, bring it out to the park or garden, and enjoy :-).