Making s'mores

Look at that s'more! It's perfect. The graham cracker is browned. The chocolate is melted. The marshmallow is both gooey and toasted. I can assure you that it tasted as good as it looks.


If you want to make a perfect s'more, you'll need a proper grilling basket. Michael won ours at a staff golf tournament earlier this summer, but I'm sure they're easy enough to find. I was concerned the exposed graham cracker would burn, but Bex and Jen knew what they were doing. Look how excited they are!

If you need another reason to be enthusiastic about s'mores (if the possibility of achieving the perfect s'more yourself isn't enough), you should know that the name is a contraction of "some more." Cute! You should also know that the first recorded version of the recipe can be found in the 1927 publication Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts. Wikipedia!

Berries!

Yes, there are local berries to be had. I like them best when served with pastry and vanilla custard at Fol Epi or when freshly picked and still warm from the sun. Whichever.

Badminton

You guys. It's summer. It's hot outside. I'm relieved.


I bought a badminton set with some birthday money back in May (we have a sheltered back yard, so the wind isn't a problem), and we've only managed to play three times since due to the cool, wet weather. It's time to step it up!

Making waffles (the basic kind)

So, I guess I'm documenting my birthday purchases today. I wrote about my new badminton set on Tentative Plans, and now I'm writing about my new waffle iron.

I've been planning to buy a waffle iron since March, but I got a little overwhelmed by my options. Sometimes the Internet is a little much with its product reviews. So last weekend I decided to trust my local kitchenware store, Muffet and Louisa, and buy the one they have in stock: the Chef's Choice Belgium Waffle Maker. We've used it once, and I like it.

The Internet seems to be really excited about waffle recipes (in addition to waffle iron reviews) -- I've recently read about different varieties on Orangette and Everyone Likes Sandwiches -- but I wanted to start with a basic recipe; that way I have a baseline by which to judge the other recipes. That's why I made the Joy of Cooking's basic waffle recipe on Sunday. I wasn't expecting much, even though Orangette's readers seemed to like it, but man. It was good. It was crisp and fluffy in all the right ways.

Michael ate his with maple syrup, pictured above (he couldn't wait to take a bite), and I had mine with Jen's strawberry jam, maple syrup and peanut butter. I did it up, friends.

Now I can branch out with my recipe experimentation. I think I'll start with my mom's pecan waffle recipe, which Michael is particularly fond of.