We love pancakes over here at Plum Pie. In fact, they are a staple on our weekend brunch rotation. And since bikini season snuck up on me yet again, I decided to pull out my trusty, no-fail, grain goddess cookbook by none other than the Kim Boyce. (I love her as you can see here and here) You can totally justify dousing your ‘cakes with butter and syrup when you have added whole grains and oats to your batter. Or at least that is what I am going with.

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Who has to work this week, raise your hand. Okay, now, who is actually—I mean, really working this week and who is just catching up on Google Reader, pinning new pics to Pinterest? Yep, that’s what I thought. I mean, I already did a much needed re-org of my work inbox, cleaned off my desk, put together some emails to shoot out on Tuesday when the rest of civilization goes back to work, and created not one, but two pretty awesome if-I-must-say-so-myself Pandora radio stations. I guess you could say that it has been a pretty productive non working, work week!

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I can’t believe that the holidays are already here, and 2012 is on the horizon! This year has flown by, and I honestly have no idea where the days or even months have gone. But here we are, about to say adieu to 2011 and hello to fresh new start in 2012. And speaking of new starts, I would like to kick off a wine series from my favorite wine blogger and major foodie, Heather of winepugnyc! She graciously agreed to share her favorite wines of the season that make excellent gifts for your favorite holiday hostess and the perfect vino to serve at your holiday soiree. And the only thing better than good wine is good wine at a great price!

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Just call me Master Cheesemaker. On second thought, don’t. But I would like to inform you that I have officially made homemade ricotta. Twice. Yep, you read that right. I am officially crossing “make your own cheese” off the bucket list. And guess what? You can, too! After several years of carting my plastic wrapped, brand new cheesecloth from apartment to apartment, I finally busted it open and took it for a test run. Watch out Cowgirl Creamery, here I come. No, I joke. I could never do anything that required molding or resting, aging or brining. But what I can do is this. Add milk, cream, and buttermilk to a pot. Heat for 15 minutes. Let sit for 30. Drain in cheesecloth. Eat. As my Food Network leading lady, Ina Garten, would say, “how easy is that??” It is ridiculously easy indeed, Ina.

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Well, it’s a miracle that I haven’t had a heat stroke yet. It is still at least 105°F outside every. single. day. I mean it’s only been two months of torture. But I promise I won’t groan about the weather today.  Besides,  I am hopping on a plane to Knoxville, Tennessee, where it is a balmy 89°F. I bet the grass is green there, the bushes full, and the flowers abloom. I can’t even wait! Plus, my BFF since the beginning of time just had a baby boy who I can’t wait to coo at all weekend long!

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I’ve been feeling somewhat uninspired lately. Uninspired in the kitchen, uninspired to write, and even more uninspired to get up at 7 a.m. to exercise outside before it hits 100 degrees. I’m not sure if it is the endless heat wave in Dallas or my body telling me to slow down, but it sure feels like a “funk” and quite frankly, I am over it.

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Greetings from Texas! I know, it has been ages. I am sure many of you are wondering if I just forgot about Plum Pie completely in a heat-induced memory coma. Fear not, I could never forget! But I am just now beginning to feel like a normal person again after the move. The good news is that Andrew the H, Henry the dog, and I are finally moved in and semi-settled at our new house. We made the journey in less than a week with two stops, two very full cars, one adorable dog, and lots of Wendy’s kids meals (Admit it. You love the mini frosty, too.). And once I found the Casey Anthony trial on Sirius XM’s HSN radio channel, the trip just flew by. Okay, that is a slight exaggeration, but it did provide some fascinating road trip entertainment.

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Ah, June. Usually you are peaceful, if not a little bit hot, but always full of long afternoons, dreams of beach vacations, and gallons of lemonade. Did you forget? You are meant for relaxing and blissfully licking ice cream out of waffle cones as it melts down your fingers. I must say, you are acting a little crazy these days. I mean, I get it. Sometimes things can get a little crazy. But can we relax a little bit in July? Maybe even August, too? I don’t want to be greedy here, but sleep deprived is really not a good look for me.

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