Okay, so the calendar might say it is fall, but I’m going to retain my death grip on summer and continue enjoying the late summer bounty while others move on to pumpkin-y things and slow braises. I did warn you that I was planning to obsessively hoard all stone fruit till they rot off the tree, did I not? And even the rotting ones… I’m sure there’s still good bits…

I know. Obsession is unhealthy. Which is why I probably shouldn’t share that I was actually stomach-flippingly nervous about going to the farmer’s market yesterday.

What if there are no more peaches? What if they are gone? What if this is my last 2011 experience with the fruit that tastes like sunshine?

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I took Oliver to the groomer this weekend for a 7 am appointment on a Saturday morning.

He has never been groomed, EVER. In his four years of life. So why I felt immediate attention to his hairdo was so urgent that 7 am seemed reasonable…

The grooming lady was very pleasant. She calls herself “Auntie Sue”. She tried unsuccessfully to win his affection by feeding him those weird cracker sticks dipped in a substance that mimicks cheese.

You know, the rectangle plastic snack thingy with two compartments, one for sticks, one for cheese goop? You peel back the plastic and dip the sticks in the goop? Ick.

She said that it would take an hour if things go well. Two if he struggles. We were going on three when I started to sweat just a little.

My friend suggested maybe they were just making him “extra handsome”.

I had my money on him coming out looking exactly as scruffy as he went in, but with crazy, bulging eyes and blood on his nails from his ravaging of Auntie Sue.

I really wouldn’t blame him if he’d roughed her up a bit just for the edible cheese-like product…
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S’mores to me are the epitome of all that is delicious in summer and in childhood.

A beautifully roasted marshmallow – evenly golden, slightly charred, perfectly puffy, and ooey gooey in the center – smooshed stickily between two graham crackers with a generous slab of milk chocolate. It’s the best part of any campfire.

S’mores pie embodies this summer treat in a slightly more sophisticated way, and without the need for open flames. It consists of a graham cracker crust, filled with a luscious chocolate cream, and topped with a marshmallow-y meringue. I’ve got your attention, haven’t I?

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Marbled lemon cheesecake just became my new favourite thing. Layers of cheesecake batter and lemon curd are swirled together to create a gorgeous marbled effect, with pockets of tangy lemon curd throughout.

Lemon curd alone makes me giddy. The bright flavour, that rich creaminess, the tang, the sweetness, that beautiful pale lemon colour…

It is delicious on scones, in pies, in yogurt, on ice cream, with pound cake, on pavlova, licked off your finger…

it should really come as no surprise that it found an incredible alliance in cheesecake.

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Homemade hot fudge sauce takes ice cream, brownies, or your favourite spoon to a whole new level of deliciousness.

Warm and gooey.

The best possible way chocolate can behave.

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