Back where we all belong, however briefly

I'm home from Alaska and Isabel, who was painting a house in rural Tennessee (service project), is home and we are once again a medium size, moderately happy family. There's a lot of roasted salmon in the refrigerator but not many eggs because the chickens have been eating their eggs, which is supposedly a sign that they're seeking the calcium from the shells, but not in this case because they aren't eating the shells. We've started watching The Walking Dead, which is a sick show in at least two senses of the word. I'm rereading some Judy Blume for this online book club and boy does it take me back to lunch hour circa 1978 behind the middle school jungle gym (translation for young readers: play structure.) I want to see Moonrise Kingdom. We are done with Fran Gage's Bread and Chocolate.

Here's what I've cooked over the last few days, all from Gage:

savory bread pudding, served alongside the store-bought sausages and salad. You tear up bread (in this case, Fran Gage's country wheat bread, which I've made repeatedly and am baking again as I type because it is great) and mix with chopped herbs, cheese, ham, milk, eggs, bake. It was tasty, like stuffing, but resistible.

chocolate pots de creme. Extremely dense puddings. I could resist these as well, but my husband could not. My indifference to chocolate disqualifies me as a judge.

chocolate pound cake. Also very dense. Flavored with orange. I can resist this too, but it is more of a struggle.

Last night I brought Gage's brioches with goat cheese custard to my sister's house for dessert. They were beautiful -- I wish I'd taken a picture -- and delicious, but they were not dessert. They were breakfast. This should have been obvious to me just reading the recipe, which produced cushiony, faintly sweet rolls topped with a very scant, lovely custard. Owen and my niece Stella were not pleased and called, not all that politely, for ice cream, and I told them NO ice cream, that we were having goat cheese brioche for dessert. This was commendably stern parent behavior, but mean, grouchy aunt behavior and I was sorry afterward.

A wrap-up of Gage coming soon, plus the new book, which I've already chosen and am starting tonight.