A Pinch Of Swampy Summer

Well the baking was a big success and plenty of things learned — the biggest of which was that planning is important. Very happy to share everything with friends and family, and more to come ahead 🫡 Safe to say the summer weeks keep on flying by. The fun ain’t stopping any time soon.

Another week filled with sporadic rain and swampy feelings didn’t hold us back from enjoying some fun times all around the city here. Wednesday night was about as primo of a vibe as I could ask for.

Picture this: you’re sitting in a brewery that basically looks like a living room with a wall of records behind the bar. The beer’s a nice warmup before the real-deal meal from one of Philly’s top-rated restaurants. Cozy vibes, great music and even better food (with fun people, of course).

Sacred Vice welcomed a curated brewery-only menu from their neighbor Little Walter’s for one night. So what did the group of us do? Ordered the whole damn menu, of course.

Pierogis galore: the regular potato cheese and onion, some summer features of smoked brisket cabbage and corn as well as squash blossom and grilled zucchini, and then one with mushrooms. And the sauces along with each: sour cream, buttermilk ranch and the Horsey sauce, a horseradish-mustard mayo concoction.

The rest of the menu featured some dressed spiral cut-cucumbers, herring salad, kielbasa with mustard, and some chicken cutlet with a homemade heirloom ketchup.

Safe to say I’m hungry again looking back at all of this. It was all delivered right to the tap room too. What an awesome vibe. And made it back home before the rain decided to make it’s appearance that night.

The Goods Turned Out Great

Saturday and Sunday’s bakes turned out damn well. Like I mentioned before, I could’ve done a whole lot different if I had planned a bit better. What could that have been you may ask? Well, maybe getting the ingredients the day before would’ve been a good start, which would’ve led into not getting as late of a start to all the baking and prep.

In reality, the day went pretty damn smoothly. And once I handed off The Goods to everyone, I was so happy to be able to share and thankful for all the support. Who knows what will come next, but this is always fun to do, and I love hearing just how much people enjoy all the treats.

What’s Cookin’

The summer recipe saves ain’t slowing down, so it’s up to me to really dig into this inspo. This week has some fun highlights:

1. Sun Gold Pasta with Pistachio Gremolata from Bon Appetit – Last week was Bon Appetit’s Tomato Week as the summer produce is finding its summer stride. Grab ‘em at markets, whether it’s this recipe or another. The Sun Golds are great for mixing into some pasta, and the roasted pistachios combined with herbs, garlic and lemon zest sounds fantastic over some pasta.

2. Grilled Halloumi and Zucchini Pasta Salad from Food and Wine – a few weeks ago I shared a pita with these main ingredients, so it’s shaping up to be time for me to just get them and see which I choose. Also calling out the lemony panko topping for all the breadcrumb fans.

3. Lemon Brioche Buns from Red Currant Bakery – in the midst of all the baking this past weekend, I got a craving for some brioche. So looking back at my saves, this is the perfect one to note. A fluffy, lemon-glazed bun for a late morning treat? Sign me up.

Thankfully this week is off to a bit of a cooler start. I also got a haircut so vibes are high, IYKYK. And I’m running a 5k here in the city over the weekend, so already looking forward to that. No need to run through the week though.

Enjoy each summer day 🤘