Monthly Musings: July 2021
Good morning, friends – happy Wednesday! Welcome to our Monthly Musings: July 2021 post! I hope this finds you well. I’m sipping on one of my first coffees of the day and listening to the rain through the open window; it’s such a relaxing sound. Kind of like Rainy Mood, except more real and thundery. My afternoon plans include a spot of cookie baking, photo editing, quenelle practicing, and hopefully a stolen walk between rainclouds. Do you have any baking plans for the day? There’s a cookie recipe linked below that I think might tempt you. I know – I spoil you.
A few weeks ago, I had to have a tiny tiny minor surgery for the removal of a small mole. It was just a precautionary removal, but gosh I’m so glad it’s over. That said, the whole thing was done in my doctor’s office under local anesthetic, and it was pretty much a breeze! I had six stitches, paper stitches, a fishnet type buffer, and a giant waterproof plaster – that’s it! The stitches were taken out a week ago and rolling over onto my other side during the night has never felt so good. I’m free to roll whenever I want now!
We’ve largely been keeping to ourselves and abstaining from going out, so I don’t have a whole lot of interesting news to share. What follows is a collection of links and thoughts gathered from around the web, and I hope you find something to take away with you. There are recipes, books, TV recommendations, and even a random podcast! Enjoy!
Monthly Musings: July 2021
Covid-19 update: I feel like we’ve stalled a little. My parents and Boyfriend’s parents + sister are all fully vaccinated with Pfizer. Boyfriend’s brother & brother-in-law both have one shot and are awaiting their second. Boyfriend will be getting his first shot on Sunday and we’re thrilled! They’ve opened up pharmacy vaccine registration for 18-34 year olds with J&J, but my sister and I have both decided to wait for the HSE to offer us an mRNA vaccine instead. The Delta variant is basically rampant and they’re expecting case numbers to go allll the way back up before the end of July. Otherwise, everything is basically the same as last month, except indoor dining is being pushed until maybe August.
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There were two stellar new recipes shared to the blog last month, and I’d hate to think you missed them by accident. Chocolate Caramel Squares and S’mores Baked Alaska – both of which I’m incredibly proud of. The squares have been a loooong time coming, but they only just passed Boyfriend’s ridiculously high standards recently, and thank goodness for that! The s’mores dessert is probably my new favourite summer treat – it’s perfect for the hot weather! Only one updated old recipe last month, but it’s a goodie: Mini Strawberry & Apple Crumbles. Aren’t they just adorable!?
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In case you missed it: last week I announced our cookbook club choices for July! I’ve already started to put a dent in each book, but I’ll have a more comprehensive break-down for you at the end of the month. In the meantime, here’s the roundup of June’s cookbook club and a recipe for Dreamy Lemon Curd. Literally, it is the lemon curd of my dreams. I’ll have a new recipe utilizing it hitting the blog next week, so keep your eyes peeled!
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Related: one of the cookbooks last month was all about making desserts influenced by artworks. And, how have I never heard of Wayne Thiebaud before!? I’m obsessed! His paintings of all things sweet are incredible! I especially love the ones of whole bunches of desserts together – here and here. I’m pretty sure I see a Thiebaud print in my future kitchen!
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Let’s talk books! Do you have any good recommendations? I recently enjoyed The Last Story of Mina Lee, and to a lesser extent The Hunting Party. I am forever in search of a good mystery-thriller-whodunit kind of book, so please throw any titles fitting that description my way! If you’re also on the lookout: Joy recently shared her summer reading list!
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Are you watching anything good at the moment? We’ve been watching a lot, and I feel like there’ve been some gems! There was Mare of Easttown and The Night Of – both of which we loved. We have also started watching The Wire, but we’re only a few episodes in and I’m not sure how committed we really are. And then, of course, we devoured both Sophie: A Murder in West Cork and Murder at the Cottage: The Search for Justice for Sophie. It makes me so sad to think that the Gardaí haven’t charged anyone with her murder; her poor family.
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Summer Bucket List update: getting! it! done! Decisions are starting to become slightly more than half-formed thoughts. Pies have been made. Ice cream has been thoroughly enjoyed and there have been a whole bunch of cakes! I may have entirely forgotten about the weekend movie project idea – but I’m working on the rest! There’s still time!
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I was reminded of my Cookbooks to Travel Through piece by this article in the Washington Post. The author cooked his way around the world during the pandemic, all from the comfort of his own kitchen. Spain by way of gazpacho, France through a croque monsieur, and China in a bowl of biang-biang noodles. Now more than ever, I truly appreciate the way a great cookbook can transport us to another place entirely.
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I’m normally not one for podcasts, but this one was too wild not to listen to: Labour in a Parking Garage. It’s Troian Bellisario and Patrick J. Adams’ birth story and it is well worth a listen. Honestly, I think Boyfriend would just die if he was in a situation like that – it’s so crazy!
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I love coming across old recipes on blogs with heaps of great reviews. Three new-to-me recipes I’m adding to my summer baking list: Cookies & Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies / Southern Double Crusted Cinnamon Sugar Peach Cobbler / No Bake S’mores Cake. That second one is a bit of a mouthful to say, but it sure sounds like a tasty mouthful! And well – do we ever need an excuse to eat Oreos or s’mores? I didn’t think so!
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Savoury wise, Nigella’s Lemon Linguine recently caught my eye. It appears to have somewhat of a cult following online, and that is definitely something I can get behind. Nigella has yet to let me down, and I don’t think she’s going to start now.
And there we have it, our Monthly Musings: July 2021 post! I hope something piqued your interest – and I really hope it’s the S’mores Baked Alaska. They’re just too good not to make!
Thanks for stopping by, let’s do it all again next month, okay?
My love to you,
Vicki xo