Choco Pudding + Muumuu Mishmash

Still not a whole lotta cooking going on in these parts... this happens to me every summer. It's ironic - all this fresh produce piling up in the fridge and I simply can't be bothered to spend much time in the kitchen. Instead we've been swimming in our local pond, attending the many free cultural events here in the Berkshires, reading long books and just generally hanging out. Oh yeah, plus there's that little triathalon thing I've been trying to get ready for. Thank goodness for the exta long days of summer!

View from the Kripalu footpath to the Stockbridge Bowl



Relaxing in front of Norman Rockwell's studio



With little cooking going on, it seems that one thing we've been eating fairly regularly is cold chocolate pudding. Which I don't feel toooo bad about, considering the only ingredients are tofu and chocolate chips. Yes, you read right: 2 ingredients. And it's so easy to make: first you dump one of those boxes of silken tofu (Mori-Nu is the brand I usually see at most grocery stores) into a food processor. Puree it until creamy, then add 3/4 cup melted chocolate chips and puree some more. Yum, yum - layered with whipped cream, or fresh berries, bananas, peanut butter, fresh mint, or in a pie crust... This recipe is not my invention and honestly, I don't even remember who first told me about it, but show up at any vegan potluck and I guarantee you there will be tofu chocolate pudding. It's just one of those axioms of life.



About 15 lbs of berries. Every year, we vow to pick even more - they are so good!



Well, as I said I haven't been in the kitchen much, but I have been spending plenty of time in the cool basement of our house since we don't have air conditioning. The basement has become our family's all-purpose creative space - it's where we've set up the workshop, craft table, painting easel, sewing machine, etc. So after a few days of staring at all the sewing projects I've had piled up since wintertime, I finally got up the courage to tackle The Muumuu.

Originally, I picked up this vintage dress because of its huge, Georgia O'Keefe-like flowers on a neon orange background. Wowie zowie!!! Also, it's 100% cotton, is from my favorite decade ('60s) and was made in Hawaii! But as much as I loved its potential, I'd been avoiding The Muumuu because I was afraid I'd make something dumb out of it and waste that lovely fabric.



The Muumuu:
Business in the front...



Party in the back.
Seriously, what's with the extra fabric layer??







It was at the point where I thought I would just to open it up and make big throw pillows, but thankfully at the last minute I had another inspiration instead. With just a little creativity, a lot of time spent communing with my seam ripper, and the patience to conquer two of my long-time sewing fears (installing garment zippers and gathering), I managed to transform one problematic dress into three cute ones! So the girls and I now have matching outfits. Cheesy, I know, but they are thrilled to be matchy matchy and I am (mostly) able to swallow my embarrassment at attracting extra attention in public.

Next time I promise to have more to offer in the way of summer recipes. Somebody's got to use up all these vegetables! Hope you're enjoying these hot days and taking advantage of all that summer has to offer.