More deliciousness, more fun.

Today we had Julia and Alan over for brunch - and bocce ball! I made a pecan french toast casserole with challah, some fresh fruit, and Julia brought this out of control delicious egg/chicken sausage/onion casserole. With maple syrup and orange juice and coffee - it was a pretty ridiculous feast. So we attempted to work it off with some bocce ball (Julia and Alan brought their set), but we got swarmed by little gnats, so we didn't last too long out there. Certainly not long enough to burn off breakfast!

My pecan french toast casserole and the fruit:





And I've been experimenting with more bread - a baguette and a no-knead bread. The baguette was okay, not fantastic, but not bad. It was only crusty for like, a little while, then it kinda lost its glitz and crust and got too soft. But the no-knead bread - I highly recommend everyone try it! It's super simple and the bread is so delicious - it's sourdoughy and chewy and soft with a crackling crust - so good.

Here's the bread, all finished in the dutch oven (yep, you cook it in a dutch oven), and a close-up of the crust:





Here's the loaf cooling on the counter, and a close-up of the inside of the bread - look at all those yummy holes!





My first buttered slice:





Here's a few of the baguette - nothing too exciting. I have to try this one again.





We spent Wednesday and Thursday with mom and dad in DC, and for dinner we had a lobster feast at Old Ebbitt Grill. Some of the best fries I've had in a long time - really crispy.





And after dinner, I dragged everyone the mile or so to ACKC Cocoa Bar for hot chocolates. If you live in DC you have to go here - the owners are awesome (they kept giving us free chocolates!) and the hot chocolate is ridiculously good. And they have free wi-fi - it's just a fun, happy, chocolatey place. Here's my "Doris Day" hot chocolate (and that's mom and dad in the background):





And lastly, here's a pic of Gus's dinner the other night - homemade pesto on linguine with grated Parmesan. I had a LOT of leftover basil, and pesto is his favorite, so everybody wins:





In non-food news, no news, really. Life has been really normal lately except for the usual frustrations (no crowds, no crowded areas/stores, no contact with kids, etc.). My blood counts on Friday were normal, and the BK virus is pretty much completely gone. Everything looks really good. I have a little over a month before my 6 month biopsy, so that will be stressful, but I have no reason to think it won't be a good outcome. Things can't be going any better than they are, as far as my progress and recovery. Unfortunately, Gus is sick with a cold, so I have to stay far, far away from him, which sucks. But thankfully it's not the flu, so even if I were to get a cold, it wouldn't be the end of the world. But we're being super careful.

And I hate to end things on a sad note, but I can't not mention this. A good friend's daughter passed away on October 1st. She was only 22 years old and had been fighting Hodgkin's Lymphoma since she was 9 years old. One of the things I admired most about her was that she never let cancer stop her from doing anything. She did more in her 22 years than most people will do in a long, long lifetime. This is a devastating loss, and it just drives me even more to raise more money for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society so that we can find a cure for blood cancers. I'll be carrying a gold balloon in her memory at the walk.

Speaking of walk - we've raised over $5,000, and our team will have a banner to decorate and carry during the walk, as well as recognition on signs around the walk route. I'm so proud of us - and I'm so excited to walk on the 17th with all of my friends around me.

Love you guys!