1) the corn is as tall as me!

2) we can’t go to Oregon Country Fair this weekend, even though a bunch of our friends are going, but it’s raining so i don’t care, anyway, as the rain makes me “la-di-da, maybe I should build a fire in the fireplace! Oh, wait, I don’t have a fireplace…”

3) Mezza plates — last night i made baba ghanooj, hummus, and fancy “company rice” with butter, cinnamon and toasted pine nuts. We had leftover lentil soup that WD made the other night, pita bread, wine, and chocolate Milano cookies for dessert.

WG had marshmallows. “Do you love marshmallows?” she asks. “I do. Can we build a fire and toast some?”

4) Recipes and how to get them: If you don’t have a copy of “The Language of Baklava” by Diana Abu-Jaber then you need to run out and buy one today. I mean it. I know I’ve mentioned her before, but I just loved the hell out of this book, and the recipes are easy to follow and don’t call for a bunch of fancy crap that I can’t even find at the store, much less keep on my shelves at home. Also she’s not from Portland, but I’m *saying* she’s from Portland (her family is from Syracuse, N.Y. and Jordan) cuz now she lives here (at least half the time, anyway).

5) Cookbooks in general. My lovely father- and mother-in-law gave me an Amazon gift certificate for my birthday (THANK YOU!!!!) and i spent the whole thing on used cookbooks. (I did buy the kids a copy of “Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle and an “I Spy” computer game that they love.) You can get stuff for dirt cheap on Amazon! It is a dangerous thing. Cuz if you find something for, say, a quarter or three dollars, then the $12.99 purchase seems like, eh, not so bad, cuz you got such killer deals on the rest.

I bought *more* Naked Chef, mainly to look at the pictures of the adorable Jamie (no, he’s not naked in the pix, sorry) — “Hi Jamie! Hello again, sweetie! Well, aren’t you cute, making gin and pomegranate cocktails over crushed ice!” and that crazy Nigella Lawson (“Nigella Bites”) who as far as I can tell, mainly stands around looking glam and reprints recipes from other people. Although she is forgiven cuz it turns out she loves Amazon too! Cookbooks, natch.

Well. Pretty much *all* recipes are from other people, as there is nothing new under the sun, and blah-blah-blah, but deep-fried Mounds bars? Elvis peanut butter and banana sandwiches? Blech. There are some great recipes, though, including one for Orange Muffins that WG and I are planning to make for brekkie this morning. (See how it is, once you start reading Brit cookbooks? Jamie’s always saying everything’s “pukka” when it’s something righteous, and i’m like, huh?)

And Nigella the Biter talked me into buying a Microplaner, which is a pretty cool little grater. I got two — one for nutmeg (another gift from my mom-in-law — fresh nutmeg! This has changed my life, I’m not kidding. I’m a big nutmeg fan) and one for parmesan and citrus.

6) more favorite things — the honeysuckle has gone crazy this year! And the rosemary, the African Daisies, the lilies of the valley, the potatoes… i do love summer, and…

7) FOOD! Off to eat, ta-ta!

WM