Monthly Musings: May 2021
Hello friends! How are you? No really – how are you actually doing? April seemed to fly past in such a blur, I’m still trying to catch up. Me, and the weather, apparently: it’s been swinging wildly between cloudless sunny skies and violent hailstone downpours. Between hailstone showers, I’ve been spending a lot of time watching the sky change colours recently and wow, it never ceases to amaze me. This particular photo was taken riiight as the daylight was fading to pink to dark blue all over the space of a minute or two – it was a beaut. Other than sky-gazing, there is very little new with me: I’ve been asked to make a dinosaur shaped chocolate biscuit cake for Boyfriend’s godson’s birthday, and I’m impatiently awaiting the arrival of my GIY seed pack. I’d be grateful if you could send any dinosaur shaping knowledge and patience my way.
Shall we get to our Monthly Musings for May 2021? They may seem like seemingly unconnected thoughts and ramblings – but you haven’t been inside my head. Enjoy!
Monthly Musings: May 2021
Covid update: things are moving! From May 10th we’ll be able to freely travel between the counties and have people to our gardens! There are some other little things too – hairdressers by appointment, retail click and collect, etc. – but those aren’t that important to me. Also – the vaccine! As of tomorrow, all of my grandparents & Boyfriend’s dad will be fully vaccinated, all with Pfizer. Boyfriend’s mom is half vaccinated, while my parents will officially be able to register this weekend, so fingers crossed it won’t be too long!
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In case you missed it: the blog turned 9 last week! I made this Perfect Chocolate Cake to celebrate and tried to decorate it in the style of Violet Bakery, London. I combined my buttermilk chocolate cake recipe from Indulgent Chocolate Cake with my chocolate fudge frosting, and the results were phenomenal. It’s officially my new go-to chocolate cake – it’s so good! If you’re looking for a chocolate birthday cake, I beg you to consider it.
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Aside from the birthday cake, there was only one new recipe shared last month: Boyfriend’s Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins. Boyfriend likes to whip them up whenever we have buttermilk and they’re extra great with a cup of earl grey tea in the afternoons. I also found the time to refurbish some old posts over the course of the month: Strawberry & Rhubarb Meringue Tart / Joy the Baker’s Chocolate Brownies / Curly Carrot Cake / Chocolate Marbled Vegan Banana Bread.
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It’s official, Passionate Baker has its very own Cookbook Club! The first post went out over the weekend with the cookbook selection and some links to recipes online. I would love for you to join in with the baking/cooking throughout the month – I’ll be posting about it on my Instagram stories if you’d like to follow along.
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Boyfriend & I were super busy shooting his next short film over the last month. Due to Covid, we weren’t able to have any extra helpers, so it was just the two of us and one actress – we were busy bees! There were a handful of 5am beach shoots, and, although it was freezing, it was pretty magical getting to watch the sun come up. Now, we’re nearing the end of the shooting stage, and soon Boyfriend will start putting it altogether. I can’t wait to share the finished product with you! To watch his other short films on YouTube: The Unquiet / Sit Beside Me.
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The Oscars finally happened! I loved the whole show – but especially Glenn Close doing the Da Butt dance. My estimation of her went up considerably. Overall, I was pretty happy with all the winners, and thankfully we’ve been able to watch most of the big films! We’re eagerly awaiting the arrival of The Father, Minari, and Another Round – but it shouldn’t be too long now.
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Do you have any TV show recommendations? We’ve started watching In Treatment, but it just isn’t grabbing me. I’m still watching Sex and the City, and still loving it – but I’d like to find something more serious but not heavy. Help.
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What are you reading at the moment? I’m currently rereading The Kite Runner, and recently devoured Michael Connelly’s Fair Warning, it was so good! Next, I plan on reading The Midnight Library, but I don’t know where to go after that. Would love any thoughts or suggestions!
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I don’t mean to alarm anyone, but these Roasted Potatoes by Molly Yeh are some of the best we’ve ever had, ever. They’re cubed, boiled in salty water, roasted, and tossed in paprika spiked mayo to finish; they are a revelation.
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I’ve had this No-Knead Bread on my to bake list for a while and I’m finally going to make it this weekend! It comes together over a long 14-18 room temp rise, and it only needs 5-minutes of active time. I have a very good feeling about it!
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I’m just going to leave this here in case we find ourselves in need any time soon: The Best Pizza in Every State.
There we have it, our Monthly Musings for May 2021! I hope you found something to take away with you, or something that made you smile. If you didn’t find anything you think you needed, please reconsider taking Molly Yeh’s potato recipe with you, it’s truly wonderful.
Hugs,
Vicki xo