Country Mouse Monday: hot fun in the summertime

Where I live, it gets hot in the summer. Roasting hot, close to 100 both days this past weekend.

I LOVE that kind of heat -- something I never got enough of growing up in San Francisco, even though our neighborhood, Eureka Valley (aka The Castro), had some of the best possible weather, the fog held back visibly by Twin Peaks above.

July for me is a paradise: ooooh, that feeling of stepping into the oven of 90+ degree weather.

And, naturally, because it's hot, I need to bake.

Yesterday, because there were cherries, it was clafoutis.

I'd torn a recipe from the magazine supplement to the Sunday paper a few weeks ago. And since I was going real grocery shopping for the first time in probably three weeks (scandal!), I took the recipe with me and made sure I had everything on hand.

Let's thank the charming Rachel Khoo of Little Paris Kitchen right away, as she supplied the recipe and the inspiration. Plus, she's straight-up adorable!

So while the heat outdoors was about 95, on went the oven as I put together the ingrediments. Clafoutis is easy-peasy, really -- you just need to source ground almonds and crème fraîche. Luckily, my local sophisto suburban markets all carry these, one of the benefits of being close to, but out of, the fog!

Honestly, it was so hot in the house anyway, why not bake?

And really, so worthwhile. Clafoutis is yummy custard with fruit in it -- melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness. I was inclined to eat it for breakfast today.

Cherries are the traditional fruit, but I'm already dreaming of blueberries or raspberries, or both. And since there's still more crème fraîche in the fridge, I may get my wish, on the next burning hot day or when I lick the pie-pan clean, whichever comes first. ;>

XX

PS Recipe, in case you missed it, is here.  And check out the lovely and adorbs Rachel Khoo.