Sorry it's been so long since my last post. Things have been CRA-ZAY around here. I've been cooking a little less, and reading for pleasure a LOT less, but here's a food update:

A couple weeks ago I went to the farmer's market and got fresh corn to make Ina Garten's Sagaponack Corn Pudding. It sounded good and the corn season is almost over, so I thought I'd give it a try. I knew that there was a distinct possibility that Casey and I wouldn't like it, or that I would somehow screw it up and it wouldn't taste right. However. It is pretty much the best thing I've ever eaten. I ate it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a couple days and I've been craving it ever since. The best part is that Ina claims it can be made with frozen corn, so we can eat it year round. Compared to her other recipes it has a lot of ingredients, including basil, cornmeal, fresh corn, and 2 kinds of cheese, but putting it together is really simple and it seems like the recipe would be hard to screw up.

That night I also made the Parmesan Roasted Asparagus. It was good, but it was totally upstaged by the corn pudding.

This delicious-looking drink is Herbal Iced Tea. It's apple juice, Red Zinger tea, and Lemon Zinger tea. Sadly, it was not delicious-tasting. In fact, Casey and I both had a few sips and then I dumped it all down the drain. It was just too sweet, and the tea lent this kind of dusty flavor that didn't go well with the intense sweetness of the apple juice and the tanginess of the fruit. Very disappointing.

Last weekend we had some people over for brunch. In the foreground is the Challah French Toast--or, as our guests renamed it, Challah Back French Toast. It's made with challah, milk, and egg, plus the secret ingredients: honey, orange zest and vanilla. SO good. That little bit of orange makes a huge difference. This french toast is light and delicious and easy to make.

In the clear cup you can see the Fresh Fruit with Honey Vanilla Yogurt. Yum! You can't really go wrong with fresh berries and yogurt. The yogurt is mixed with a little honey and vanilla, and it adds just the right touch. I substituted organic nectarines for papayas, and I'm glad I did.

Last but not least, here we have Ina's Arugula with Parmesan and the Mashed Butternut Squash. Both excellent. In the first recipe, Ina has stuck with her tried and true method of adding lemon juice, olive oil, and parmesan to something green. Very simple and very good. The butternut squash was a little more involved: roasted squash, brown sugar, salt and pepper, and some butter and half and half. You can probably see that it was more of a puree than a mash, earning it the nickname "The Slop," but it tasted great. Just the right balance of sweet and salty, and not too hard to make.