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

Recent Food Photos

 

Local tomatoes.

Update: this is local lettuce, grown in Michigan. I purchased it at the local farm store called Argus Farms.

Deviled egg lunch

At Trader Joe’s

Ice Cream at Blank Slate Creamery

Photos © 2026 mae sander

September Highlights

Around our house and in my kitchen

The neighbor had a huge old tree taken out because it was too close to her foundation.
We are now getting used to having a lot more sunshine on the side of the house,
especially in the kitchen, dining room, and in the driveway.

Nasturtiums are edible, but I’ve never tried eating one.
Our next-door neighbor has a flourishing patch of them.

New faucet for the kitchen sink. The old one leaked irreperably.
This is my main new kitchen item for Sherry’s In My Kitchen.

My sunny kitchen. In a corner on the counter,
 you can see my newish water boiler.

Outside our porch: our hydrangeas are still beautiful, and our neighbor has pumpkins.

We had quite a few very good dinners during September.

We’ll soon be missing the local tomatoes!

Evelyn and Alice share some treats.

Alice showed us a favorite ice cream spot, Blank Slate Creamery, that she’s discovered in the several weeks
since she moved here to graduate school.

Evelyn spent the past weekend visiting us and also seeing Alice’s new apartment.
We had lunch at a downtown diner. Evelyn and Alice shared a masala omelet, and I had avocado toast.

Alice also had French toast with berries.

Halloween is here!

The elaborate decor on a street near us is being installed already.

We have bought and eaten some Halloween chocolates. Another new food for Sherry!

Reading for our time

Ionesco’s allegory of conformity and fascism corrupting ordinary people seems to apply very well to the moment. If you know this play, you can probably see what I mean. I plan to reread it soon.

Blog post © 2025 mae sander