Labor Day

 County Farm Park

We took a walk in the park. We haven’t been there in quite a while, though it’s only around a mile from our house.

End of Summer Grilling

Farmers' market tomatoes that Alice brought to us up

Blog post © 2026 mae sander

In My Kitchen and in My Life

Nothing is really new in my kitchen this August, but we have been making good use of gadgets, furniture and so on that we already have. And we’ve enjoyed summer produce, buying local when we can find it, but also shopping at our most convenient local food store that happens to be Trader Joe’s. Here are a few photos of August foods from the market to our table and in our pantry.

August produce in my kitchen and at the markets.

Sheet pan chicken and potatoes.

Lamb stir-fry with rice and smashed cucumber salad. Trader Joe’s had great shaved lamb, perfect for this dish.

Charcoal-grilled lamb chops.

Corn is in season and local corn is delicious.
Unfortunately our next ears of corn were moldy and had to be thrown away. 

Ravioli toasted in a frying pan rather than steamed.

An omelet

Another omelet.

Fresh fruit from a neighbors trip to western Michigan.

Pancakes with the peaches and blueberries

Toaster waffles: a favorite breakfast this month.

Ice cream: always in my kitchen

In the Pantry

My messy pantry shelves.

Onions in the onion bin

Among other things: an order of jam from amazon.com

On the New Grill Pan

Chicken cooked on the new grill pan and served with a cucumber salad.

A few more dinners

Shrimp with rice and green peas

Vanilla pudding topped with local peaches

A Few More Thoughts for August

A Fascinating Artist Has Died

Yayoi Kusama (1929-2026) was a fascinating Japanese artist and sculptor. (link)

Summer Flowers are Still in Bloom

And I Got Snookered

Now in the pantry: a lifetime supply of off-brand peanut butter cups (note intentional misspelling).
I guess you have to be hyperaware ALL the time, even if you just want authentic REESES candy.

The real deal (that I don’t have)

Blog post © 2026 mae sander

In My Kitchen, July 2026

New Things in My Kitchen

New octopus-shaped jar which Evelyn made for me.

Dragon coffee bowl, also by Evelyn.

New grill pan which marks the food with grill marks.

Magnets

New magnets on the refrigerator.

A Little Magnet History

My magnet collection, which contains quite a few of them, hasn’t changed much lately, but Evelyn visited Arches National Park in June, and brought me the Arches magnet. The second new magnet — which I bought at a local shop — depicts the “Big Tire,” which is a famous Detroit landmark on Highway 94 between Ann Arbor and Detroit. 

The photo from a car window, taken a couple of years ago, shows the actual Big Tire as we were driving past it. The structure inside the “tire” was originally a ferris wheel built for the New York World’s Fair in 1964. The tire company purchased the ferris wheel in 1966 at the end of the fair. They moved it to its current location beside the freeway where it was repurposed as a record-setting outdoor advertisement. 

It makes a good magnet!

What We’ve Been Eating

Ripe local peaches. The stone-fruit season is just starting.

Lots of vegetables: here, tomatoes, green beans, potatoes.

Fresh corn

Meatballs

Berries

Len's Bread

Salmon from Seattle, a gift from Miriam

Salmon that Alice cooked for us in her kitchen

Blintzes in a fairly recently purchased skillet.

Pasta with cheese and pepper (cacio e pepe) — an Ottolenghi recipe

Cherry tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and grilled chicken

More Berries

Cookbook from the library: most of the recipes call for too much chili pepper.

In July we can cook outdoors all the time, and often do so.

 All Photos © 2026 mae sander

Shared with In My Kitchen, the monthly blog event