Miriam’s Jam

Miriam sent me photos of her adventures in making jam with fruit from the Seattle Farmers’ Market. Some are from last year and some from this year:

Photos © 2025,2026 Miriam Wanner

Round things in my kitchen

In my kitchen this month I have many round and spherical things, and I don’t mean just round plates! Here are photos to share with the once-a-month link-up sponsored by Sherry at the blog Sherry’s Pickings, We cooked lots of good things for ourselves this month, and for our guests during the last week in June. Also, they cooked many good things for us. However, I decided to write and photograph something different for this month’s wrap-up.

Blueberries and Trader Joe’s candy — little spheres.

A somewhat rounded cardamom roll that Len baked.

Dough for the cardamom rolls rising in a round bowl and making a dome.

Cupcakes

Waffles

Candy (actually spherical)

English muffins and egg yolks.

Evelyn and Tom’s Anniversary cheesecake.

Half a tomato.

A muffin (from Trader Joe’s)

Pizza (technically this is in Alice’s kitchen).

Pots and pans

Water bottles

Pie weights for baking a shell to be filled later. I rarely use these.

Potatoes — not quite spherical.

Beyond my kitchen…

Ice Cream

A highlight of June has been a visit from several relatives. Yesterday, to wrap up, we had ice cream at Argus cafe with Alice and Miriam. All our visitors have now left Ann Arbor.

Blog post  © 2026 mae sander

An Old Favorite

My blog has DOZENS of pancake recipes and photos of pancakes that I have made or that we’ve eaten somewhere else. Somehow I have missed one favorite: cottage cheese pancakes. Along with one or two other favorites, it came from a very old baking book that we have had for years:

This morning, Len made the pancakes.

Today's pancakes have added blueberries.

We like real maple syrup on all kinds of pancakes.

Recipe: Cottage Cheese Pancakes

2 oz butter 

1 cup cottage cheese

4 beaten eggs 

1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder 

2 tablespoons milk

Optional: add a few berries or raisins.  

Melt butter. Stir in cottage cheese. Fold in eggs, then other ingredients. Cook pancakes on very hot griddle. Eat with Maple Syrup.

Original Recipe

Recipe as it appears in the very old cookbook.

When we make pancakes, we double this recipe, as it appears above. The two of us eat most of the pancakes.

 Blog post © 2026 mae sander

Dinner in our deep frozen town

 

I think the low last night was minus 10° F.

Dinner for a cold evening: ABC stew

Day 1: I cooked the stew, then refrigerated it overnight.
ABC: Apricots, Beef, Carrots (plus lots more ingredients).

Day 2: I rewarmed stew in oven, then adjusted seasoning on top of the stove.

The table, ready for our guests Alice and Carol to arrive for dinner.

Parsley and cilantro garnish a plate of stew. We ate it with couscous and crusty bread.

Ingredients for ABC Stew

Spice Rub: adjust amounts to your taste

Coriander

Cinnamon

Cumin

Paprika

Ground ginger

Red pepper flakes

Remaining Ingredients 

2 pounds beef stew meat

olive oil

2 medium onions, finely chopped

2 large carrots, sliced

1 15-ounce can of chickpeas, drained (optional)

1 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes

2 cups chicken stock from concentrate

1/2 cup dates, pitted and quartered

1/2 cup dried apricots, halved

1/4 cup prunes, halved

Salt & black pepper

Serving

1/4 cup cilantro and parsley, chopped

Couscous

Crusty bread

Directions

Day 1: Mix the ingredients for the spice rub in a covered bowl; coat the beef with the spice, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

In a large frying pan with a lid, heat olive oil over medium-high heat: use enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add the meat and stir to coat in the oil. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes until browned. You may need to do this in a few batches. Transfer browned meat to a bowl.

Turn the heat down, and add the onions to the pan. Brown them for about 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the browned meat, chickpeas (if using), tomatoes, and stock. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Then add the dates prunes, and apricots. Simmer for another 1 1/2 hours. The beef should be very tender and the liquid should be thickened. Remove to oven-proof cooking pot and refrigerate over night.

Day 2: At least 1 1/2 hours before serving, reheat the stew in the oven. Adjust the thickness of the sauce by either boiling it down or by adding more liquid until result is as you like it. Season with salt and pepper. Top with cilantro and parsley and serve over couscous.

Dessert

Alice’s cookies and Blueberries

Photos © 2026 mae sander

The First Week in July

Fun on the Fourth of July

For Deb’s Sunday Salon (link), here are some of the things I’ve done this week,  beginning of course with our July 4th celebration. Nine of us gathered in our back yard to have a barbecue. Here are just a few photos of the great foods we enjoyed.

Ready for guests.

Kabobs: mushrooms, sausage and peppers, ready to grill.

Grilling! We also made chicken and onion kabobs.

Nat made a Nantucket Blueberry pie: same as he ate as a child when his family had a summer place in Nantucket.
His mother knew all the good berry bushes. Nat knows where to pick great wild blueberries here in Michigan.

Jason made two kinds of ice cream: cherry and blackberry. We also had a box of strawberry ice cream.

After dinner: fireworks in the park.

What I’ve Been Reading

Listening Woman by Tony Hillerman (1925-2008)

Listening Woman was published in 1978, the third of Hillerman's twenty-five books about Navajo tribal policemen Joe Leaphorn and (in the later books) Jim Chee. Hillerman was recognized for his knowledgable presentation of Navajo individuals and their culture. To solve a murder and several other open cases, Leaphorn must use enormous reasoning skill, knowledge of the hostile mountain and desert terrain, and understanding of Navajo traditions and beliefs. He also has to use his grasp of how to deal with the FBI agents who are assigned to the cases he is solving. As he hides in a cave while rescuing a number of hostages from some very murderous criminals, he risks his life over and over and deploys incredible cunning and bravery. Not to mention 33 hours without food. It's a great book! 

Two other books I read and reviewed this week.

Afternoon Coffee

At Argus Farm Stop: windows depict the local eggs, produce, milk that are sold here.

Shopping

In the Garden

Blog post © 2024 mae sander