Stonefruits and The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

Our first delivery of Tree Things means the fruits of summer have arrived! The peaches, nectarines and cherries are ripe and ready, so we are putting them to use in the very best of ways. Irene is pratcising a little culinary therapy (we are so glad to have her here with us right now) and made some beautiful tarts:
These jewels flew out the door just like everything is these days. The summer is shaping up to a busy one with people visiting from all over. So far we've had a cruise ship full of Dutch tourists, a bike touring group from the lower 48 (or 'outside' as we like to call it) and a whole bunch of Kitesurfers from everywhere! This weekend brings the Kachemak Bay Writers Conference with keynote speaker, Michael Cunningham and a whole host of other great presenters ( here is the complete list).

Now that we are having a literary moment, I'd like to share an intriguing new novel

by Aimee Bender:

I heard the interview with her on NPR this past sunday while baking away in the wee hours. It is a story of a little girl who discovers after eating a bite of birthday cake baked by her intensely dissatisifed mother, that she can taste the emotions of the people preparing the food she eats. The novel follows her into adulthood and her discoveries along the way as she deals with her 'gift'. After reading the excerpt, I ordered it right away. The magical realism reminds me of 'Like Water for Chocolate' and the modern setting makes for an interesting platform on which to take our discussions about what we eat and where it comes from and how it affects us.