Roasted Plums with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Tomorrow marks the first day of fall, where did the entire month of September go? Here I am scrambling to get this post out before the 23rd officially rolls around, so in the spirit of being constantly late to the game, I'm sharing one last late summer recipe with you guys because I'm not ready for six months of winter squash.

Just like the recipe, this post is going to be short and sweet, mostly because I don't really have much to say today, but also in part because I've been trying my best to enjoy time away from the computer screen lately, doing things like biking, walking, and for the first time tonight, climbing! Work's been good, I've been super busy, I went to a launch party for Sam's new cookbook (which you should buy because it's amazing and she's one of the most talented ladies ever), and I've been obsessed with making a vegetarian Chicken Shack at home, so much so that it was dinner almost every day last week. And that's it, that's my life update, that's all I got.

Brown Butter Peach Ice Cream Cake

I have these images in my head about how things in life should turn out before they happen. How a conversation with old friends will go, how a new city will make me feel, how I'll impress someone I haven't met yet, what my first day somewhere will be like. Inevitably, nothing ever turns out the way we picture it in our heads, and we're left with the determination that things will be different next time.

It was one of those single digit birthdays you don't quite remember with perfect clarity as an adult. My mom had bought me a cake, chocolate, decorated with white and yellow frosting, tucked nicely in a box for transporting home. I absolutely insisted on carrying it during the short walk from our car to our apartment, I had pictured myself gracefully gliding to the doorway as mom opened the door for me to step through like a princess. She insisted against it because she was afraid I would drop the cake. I won. I tripped. I dropped it on the hot August pavement. It was a devastating moment for my younger self as not only had I ruined my birthday cake, but I also got slapped in the face with a lesson in humility on the very day where it's okay to be unapologetically self centered and arrogant. Nothing like I pictured. We ended up eating the cake, mom scraped off the corner that got smushed to the ground, redistributed some of the frosting, and worked out some crafty angles for the photos. And as horrifying as it was at the time, it was character building—a learning experience. Never again would I be so careless with cake.

Cherry Galettes, Personal Sized

This past weekend I went to upstate New York to see my friend at Lake Luzerne. It was such a nice escape from city life. The lake's water was amazingly clear and fresh, the sky was perfect with just the right amount of sun peeking through fluffy, Texas-like clouds (yes, Texas clouds are special, I said it). It would have been nice to spend more time up there. Right as we got back into the city it was stress-central. Cars everywhere, people everywhere, the exact opposite of life at the lake.

I still love the city though. We are a stone's throw away from Brooklyn Bridge Park and walking to Manhattan from where we live has got to be the best 2 hours ever spent, especially if you reward yourself with soup dumplings from Chinatown. Also the food culture just can't be beat. I'm still on the hunt for my favorite restaurants. I know it's going to take a while, since it took us years in Chicago, and we were still finding amazing places right before we left.

Buttermilk Plum Swirl Ice Cream

Guys. This New York City summer is killing me. It is so humid, it makes the heat 100 times worse. This coming from a girl who grew up in Texas. But then again, I grew up in dry Texas where I got static shocked from door knobs and metal handles of all sorts. All. The. Time. I had this trick where before I would open a door or turn on a sink, I would wrap my sleeve around one of my hands and lightly tap the metal handle/knob/faucet in lightning quick speed as if I were a toad catching a fly. I'm not sure why I did it since it never prevented the shock, I guess it just lessened the unpleasant surprise. But I digress. It is humid here. Sometimes I get dolled up to go outside and I think to myself, "Summer, what is wrong with you? Why bother? Oh eff...your makeup is literally melting off your face..."