Grilled Honey Peaches with Honey Mascarpone

Oh boy, I really had one of those days yesterday.  And I could have told you that at 7am that morning, too, that's the really sad part.  Lack of sleep, failures of technology, one thing after another, blah blah blah.  I won't bore you with the details. Let's just say it wasn't the best day I ever had. 

The one redeeming thing is that I have a few moments right now to write about these honey peaches with honey-ed up mascarpone.  Which is also writing about the very first time I stood in front of a grill and cooked something.  It's true!  First time ever. 

Letters from Maine on Independence Day Weekend (and Baking and Boiling, Etc.)

I went to Maine for my 4th of July vacation.  It was great.  It was a long-ish road from Cambridge to Port Clyde, but of course, it's all okay when the company's good.  Which it was.

Hurry up, traffic and traffic lights; we're trying to be on vacation here. 

When I saw the sky looking like this over the bridge on the edge of Wiscasset, I was pretty sure I was on the right road, heading in the right direction.  Away from the city, basically.  And especially - away from my office.  It was time for a change of scene.

 

Within about 15 minutes of arriving to the cottage in Maine - and that includes the time it took to unload our stuff from the car - I was browning butter for this banana-strawberry bread I read about on the Joy the Baker blog a few weeks ago.

Around the time I was mixing the browned butter with the yogurt and eggs and whatnot, I thought about adding a light crumb crust to the top before putting those sliced strawberries where they are and popping the whole thing into the oven.  And so that's what I did.  (3 Tbsp. cold butter, 1/4 c. four, 1/3 c. brown sugar, all crumbled up and sprinkled on top of the bread batter).  It made those strawberries deliciously sweet and crunchy.  I'd add even more strawberries and crumb crust next time.   

Then what?  Oh yes, then it was time to eat a lobster roll and fries on the dock at the Dip Net (restaurant)/Port Clyde General Store.  And also these delicious mashed potatoes with corn in them, which I sampled from Eliza's plate.  And to meet up with Jerome and Lindsay and baby Logan, who drove all the way from Montreal to spend the weekend with us.

A Citrus-y Fruit Salad

Summer time: time for fruit salad.  I love fruit salad.  So many delicious flavors.  And I think it's even better if you leave it for a few hours, or overnight, and let some of those juices come together.

More often than not I'm peeling an orange to eat after a meal, or grabbing a pink lady apple for snack later.  But I guess it's the right time to pull things together a little more when friends will be eating fruit with you.  It's simply a matter of chopping up fruit, but I like the combination of ruby red grapefruit and orange segments in here.  I think grapefruit and orange is always a good idea.  And the watermelon chunks don't hurt, either.

This salad was good for about 10 servings.

2 ruby red grapefruits
2 oranges
2 cups red grapes
1/8 watermelon, cut into chunks (I used half of a quarter watermelon I got that way at the grocery store)
2 peaches
3/4 cup diced strawberries

Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the fruit for an extra zesty flavor.

Happy 4th of July!