It was a pretty quiet month here, but I did have a very important cake to work on, and an extra special delivery to make. Here’s more:

  • I think I mentioned in another monthly recap that I’m making a wedding cake this August! It was the bride-to-be’s birthday this month, so I thought the timing was right to make a little tester cake for her and the groom to try to make sure they liked it. I used the same recipe as for the previous wedding cake I made, plus My Favourite Buttercream to stack it up, but I also used the salted butter caramel from this recipe for the filling. It worked out perfectly; the caramel had the perfect consistency, was still sliceable even when cold, and most importantly, didn’t ooze everywhere even while at room temperature. I just need to brush off my dowelling skills, and I’ll be all set for August.
  • I ordered myself a box of fancy macarons from The Social Blend (pictured above) to snack on over the long weekend, and they were all SO amazing and so cute to look at. They rotate a few new flavours every month, and they’re all so unique. This is my new obsession.
  • My niece Amy turned 13 this month! I can’t even believe it. I ordered her a smashable Edible Pinata filled with candy and drove it over for a special delivery. I haven’t seen her (or my nephew) in person since last summer so it was so exciting to see them, and sit out in their backyard for a long visit.
  • My friend from work alerted me that Farmboy is now carrying three new flavours of La Croix: Hi-Biscus, Limoncello and Pasteque (Watermelon). I picked up the first two and I have to say they have the cutest cans but worst flavours. Just not for me. My LC Power Rankings remain unchanged: 1. Mango 2. Passionfruit 3. Key Lime.
  • And now the regular recap of what I was cooking this month, broken down into three categories (I made a bunch of new recipes that I didn’t really like, so there’s not much to report):
  • Stuff I made from the archives: Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burrito Bowls
  • Some of my favourite go-to dishes: Brown Sugar & Chili Rubbed Salmon Sheet Pan Dinner from Oven to Table
  • New things that I tried and liked: I finally made Homemade Crunchwraps, and they really hit the Taco Bell void in my heart (even though I haven’t eaten there in like 15 years); Smitten Kitchen’s Rigatoni a la Vodka is delicious, but also almost identical to Jon & Vinny’s Spicy Fusilli, and this is like a semi-homemade endorsement, but I tried PC’s Miso Yuzu Cod and it was fantastic.
  • Take-out: Just a gigantic Blondie’s Cold Drink / Hot Girl Pizza and I loved every bite.

Other non-foodie things I was obsessed with this month:

  • I finished my Parks & Rec re-watch and it was so good!!! There were a few episodes towards the end that I missed the first time around, so it was so to see them.
  • This is kind of random, but I also started a re-watch of all of Quentin Tarantino’s movies, in order, starting with Reservoir Dogs. I was obsessed with QT in high school (what teenager in the ’90s wasn’t?!) but fell off later on and never saw anything after the Kill Bill movies, so it was my first time watching Inglorious Basterds and Django Unchained. I still have The Hateful Eight to watch, and will finish it off with a re-watch of Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood, which I did see when it came out.
  • The Planet Byn BookclubTM read Good Company this month, which I loved, but got mixed reviews from the rest of the squad. I’m also up to Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire in my slow re-read, and also read The Push, which was kind of disturbing. Up next for Bookclub is Malibu Rising. I’m so excited to read this because I absolutely loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six.

Flashback!