Peach Perfect

So I've been watching more than my fair share of Sweet Genius this summer (what can I say -- Ron Ben-Israel is charmingly wacked-out), and seeing all these fantastic pastry chefs from around the country work like mad to create stunning works of dessert art in an abbreviated amount of time (and with those stupefyingly challenging mandatory ingredients) is nothing short of inspiring. I recently caught one episode featuring a chocolatier from New York who's only 23. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy -- I mean, here's this guy who's my age, and he's got it going on enough to be featured on a televised cooking competition. It was like a bell going off in my head, an annoying bell, yelling at me, "Hello, Lira, what the hell are you doing ring ring ring?!?!"

Rice Pudding with Poached Plums

Nothing says bummer summer like a week-long thunderstorm, right? It's been wet and gross here in Austin since Monday. The thunderstorms were so nuts that, on what turned out to be an unsuccessful Target run, the power went out three times. There's nothing freakier than being in a Target in a blackout with dozens of scared shrieking babies, I tell you what.

Glazed and Confused

A few days ago I found myself roaming the aisles of H-E-B like a crazy person, trying to figure out what to make for dinner. I had called Caufield to ask what he would prefer to eat, but he was preoccupied with some activity or another, so he said to let my inspiration run wild.

Great. Very helpful, Caufield.

Farm-fresh goodness from Johnson's Backyard Garden

My first few weeks here in Austin were filled with a lot of downtime. Like...a lot of downtime. More downtime than I knew what to do with. I'd applied to a few jobs, but for some reason, no one seemed very interested in hiring a recent college grad for just the summer (huh...), and as much as I loved lounging around the house, staring lovingly into the pellucid blue orbs that are my boyfriend's eyes, I needed something to do.

Enter Johnson's Backyard Garden.