Oh, the garden is doing surprisingly well this year! The weather has been cooperating, giving us just the right amount of sun and rain. The tomatoes are finally starting to ripen, and I caught my neighbor trying to sneak one the other day. He claimed he was just checking their progress, but I saw him eyeing the basil too. I have already harvested a decent batch of zucchini, which means I am desperately searching for new recipes to use them all up. It is a good problem to have honestly. Let me know if you want to swing by and grab some fresh produce before it is all gone. I also tried planting some bell peppers this season, and they are just beginning to turn color. It takes so much patience waiting for them to fully mature, but seeing that first red pepper appear makes it all worthwhile. The squirrels have been a bit of a menace, but I think we have reached a truce. They stay on the fence, I leave out some sunflower seeds, and everyone is happy. Gardening has been such a rewarding way to spend the extra time at home.

That cooking class was such a blast! I cannot believe we actually made pasta from scratch without completely destroying the kitchen. Although, who knew flour could end up on the ceiling? Chef Marco was so patient with us, even when we kept mixing up the measurements for the dough. Learning to roll it out properly was way harder than it looks on TV, but the end result was totally worth it. I tried recreating the recipe at home yesterday and it turned out pretty decent. Not quite as good as ours did together, but definitely edible. We should do another class soon, maybe try a different cuisine next time. Thai or Indian food would be fun to learn how to make from scratch. Let me know if you are free next weekend to try that new Italian place downtown. I heard they have an amazing tasting menu that rivals anything we attempted in class.