Not quite back in the saddle again... (FFwD: Blueberry Marscarpone Roulade)

The theme for July is finding respite in spite of the insanity.

Something cool in the middle of a hot spell...

Something easy when things around you are hard...

Something sweet when the rest of the world seems sour...

 Now, I am absolutely not complaining; but it kind of goes like this:

1) Graduation
2) Leave 2 AM that same night/ morning for vacation
3) Have relaxing vacation - that is, until ocean scrapes "one" up and water gets in places it wasn't meant to go... (apparently, human respiratory systems do not do well with ocean water in them)
4) Said ocean water makes "one" very sick and "one" drags self to urgent care
5) Of course this is a few days before "one" is having a graduation party at their house for said graduate
6) There is a holiday somewhere in the middle of all this
7) "One" survives said graduation party and gets majority of mess cleaned up just in time to...
8) Drag said graduate off to college orientation for two days
9) One really needs a nap



Beautiful blueberries

I have decided that from here on out, things just can't get any more complicated.

And I've kind of gone on strike.

Other than a batch of cookies & a buffalo chicken dip, I haven't done a thing in the kitchen in over a week.

It's been pizza, Subway & scrounging. My kids still love me in spite of this neglect (there is still cereal, milk and eggs in the house...).

House chores have been reduced to essential minimums (dish washing, mess clean up, laundry & trash emptying). Bed making has been deemed non-essential.

I haven't been grocery shopping (except for emergency "have to have" items like milk & OJ) in almost two weeks. Thank goodness for the weekly onslaught of fruit and vegetables the CSA faeries keep sending my way.

This lovely roulade was made before the self-imposed work stoppage.

I had just started my anti-biotic treatment (and the other lovely doctor prescribed remedies for what ailed me) - which means I probably should not have been operating anything involving heat, electricity or with sharp edges.

My pre-sick self was worried about how this was going to work out - it was my first time, you know (in making a roulade...).

Sick me wasn't coherent enough to know the difference.

Maybe I should be incoherent more often, because I can't remember the last time I made a cake that came together with so few hassles.

Unlike all the rest of the July selections, I pretty much followed the directions (except for substitution the marscarpone for cream cheese - the theme for July is "use up what you have..." - and I had cream cheese).

I had received a pint of blueberries in my CSA share that week and was pleased that this showcased them in a deserving manner.

The cake topped off a FFwD dinner that also included salmon with basil tapenade (hold the basil) and the lemon barley pilaf (which contained neither lemon or barley). It was a rather lovely meal - but I am not sure how that happened.

Hopefully, the work stoppage will cease sometime in the next couple of days. I have been on a pesto kick and have a few variations bouncing around in my head. A few batches were cranked out pre-strike. Everything else is sitting in the fridge waiting for successful labor negotiations to commence.

This post participates in French Fridays with Dorie. Our group does not post blogged recipes, but one bloggers description of this cake can be found here.

Peace out!

P.S. Anti-biotics have since performed there wonders. I am back to normal health-wise, but still on strike :-)