I haven’t actually made bacon yet, but I am going to try.  I’m not kidding.  Why not?  I made marshmallows yesterday afternoon.  Marshmallows!  I would show you a picture, but they turned out, well, beige, and not terribly pretty.  There are some kinks to the recipe that I will note for the future – like getting as much of the sticky mess out of the bowl in one go, so there are no funky blobs on top.  As for the beige color, it is likely a shade Martha Stewart would paint her walls, kind of pretty actually, just not marshmallow-y.  Don’t worry though, it wasn’t because something went wrong.  Since I am an all things organic kind of gal, the sugar and corn syrup I used were not white and clear, but on the brown side, making everything beige.  Yummy, however.  Sticky, yummy, gooey, good!

The inspiration for all this making?  The lovely book pictured above.  I spied it on Amazon a few weeks ago and then bought it on a little spree at Powell’s Books for Home and Garden.  My goodness is that a dangerous place under the influence of wine.  Thankfully, unlike other times I have imbibed with abandon, I have no regrets.

Speaking of imbibing, I also made the recipe for Rumkirschen.  Dark rum + simple syrup + the neighbor’s pie cherries (hand picked by moi) + one week to steep = delicious.  We mixed the concoction with some sparkling water and enjoyed a seriously pretty and summery drink.  Watch out for the cherries, however.  They pack a punch!

There are also recipes for crackers, two kinds of lemoncello, mustard, pickles, olives, butter, cheese,  pasta, and much more.  My hat is off to Karen Solomon for a fun and inspiring book, filled with Colleen-style projects.  I’m sure I’ll return to it time and again.