Gem of my garden

Each year, after my two peonies bloom and flee, I wait, anxiously, for the stunning Casablanca lilies to reveal themselves. Utter floral perfection, yes?

Shrimp tacos to die for

Oh.my.god.

Tonight's dinner, contemplated while at the market earlier but not begun until much later, was one of the very best, most delicious, can't-wait-to-make-again dishes I've cooked in a long while. These are the shrimp tacos of my dreams. Tom's too.

I started by making a marinade: freshly squeezed orange and lime juices; toasted and ground cumin and coriander seeds; garlic; minced habañero; honey; and some critically important supporters. Into that I folded shrimp and diced red onion and let everything marry while I made a cilantro-avocado creme with the ever-sublime crème fraîche. I also julienned some jicama and toasted some corn tortillas.

Do you know and/or use crème fraîche? It's like souped-up, top-shelf, Grade A sour cream. I like it better for many reasons but in part because it has a vague element of sweetness to it that I fancy. It's great in baked goods like scones, delicious stirred into pastas, lovely used in a marinade for chicken and, as I discovered tonight, a dear friend of the avocado.

I am feeling incredibly happy that A) I meticulously took notes while cooking tonight so that I can write this recipe up tomorrow, share it with you and make it many more times for us, and B) that Tom got home in time to enjoy it all at the peak of fresh. He was beside himself with pleasure: "This is absolutely delicious, Em."

Indeed.

Aah! *We also enjoyed the perfect side: watermelon, feta, cilantro, olive oil and Maldon.

When a friend brings you basil...

Earlier today, I made a batch of cherry-rhubarb-hibiscus jam. It's a recipe I made up last summer after creating my rhubarb-cherry-hibiscus crumble; the latter was so tasty, it seemed I simply had to try and turn it into a preserve so that its flavors could last throughout the year. It was a success, and I now have five new half-pints for my basement store. Today I used both Bing and Ranier cherries, both of which I find, when they're plump and fresh, heavenly. They're pretty, aren't they?

I then ordered new photos of the boys - on my to-do list for months!- so that I can update my frames. If you looked around our home, you'd think I had two toddlers on my hands. Though it sometimes feels that way, such is not the case. I was putzing around accomplishing other things when my dear pal, M, texted: "can I bring you some basil?"

"Um, yes!"

And by the way, I say ba-sil, not bay-sil. Both, FYI, are correct pronunciations, so even though T and Jack mock my preferred short 'ba', I'm going with it. #southern

A bouquet of fragrant, just-picked Genovese was soon mine, and after plucking the stems bare, I found I had three packed cups. Obviously, pesto. I added a half-cup of mint, about a quarter-cup of toasted pine nuts, the zest of a lemon, a half-cup of grated Parm, two cloves of garlic, salt and olive oil. Pesto is such a dynamite sauce. I too often forget about it, so standard and regular it often seems. But good pesto is an exquisite thing, and I'm thrilled to have this new batch.