Baking on the mind.

This photo (which I took about two months ago in Grantsburg during a bread making class) is how I am feeling today. I want to bake, but just can't get past looking at the empty bowls and supplies I have in the kitchen. I know my baking results will be fruitful (pun fully intended).

I've got baking on the brain. I know it is because we bought a crate of strawberries (8-1 pint packages) over the weekend and I am thinking about pie, jam, bread...etc. One of my tasks for the evening is to prioritize that baking list. I refuse to let them go to waste.

On the top of my list is a strawberry rhubarb pie. I can use all market bought fruits! (Well, I don't know that rhubarb is technically a fruit; we got it recently at the Minneapolis Farmers' Market. Need to find a market here that is equally as awesome!)

Tonight we're making a strawberry almond salad. It's a simple, yet delicious salad.

Here's my recipe:

- Bag of spinach or spring greens (no iceberg lettuce allowed)

- 1.5 cups (~1 package) of fresh strawberries, halved

- Caramelized almonds

- 1/2 red onion, chopped

- Gorgonzola cheese

- Balsamic dressing (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper)

30 Days of Creativity - Day 21: Summer Storm

Happy First Day of Summer! It's been a very busy last week of travels and changes.

This past week got me thinking about all the things that define summer. Ice cream naturally is on that list, but it goes far beyond that. It includes lake swimming, camp fires, night walks, fireworks and thunderstorms.

I just got back from northern Wisconsin, which got me thinking about summer. One of my dear pals and I took a bread making class (of which I plan to post on later this week complete with photos and recipe) and had the joy of feeling like we were living in the early 1900's. The class was at a b&b that was designed from antique store finds from this period. Amazing.

Anyway, the point I wanted to make it that less than a decade ago a tornado went right through this couple's property and demolished their barn and lot. Summer storms often bring on tornadoes. We almost got our very own taste of this natural disaster.

Just so happens that the power went off and a tornado warning was issued just as our class was ending. If I know anything - I don't want to be anywhere near where a natural disaster strikes. But.... The views of the storm from this house/lot were incredible. I couldn't help snapping photos and then driving away only to pull over and take more photos. No tornado came. *whew.

Let's hope for no more warnings this summer, and instead just unlimited lemonade, s'mores and grilled meat. No more putting my life on the line in the name of creativity. :)