Reader,

I'm landing in your inbox to say hello and happy May!

May is my favorite month- warm days but cool nights, bright yellow-green leaves, blooming redbud trees, and birdsong in the air. And my birthday is at the end of the month! I'm living in a state of constant day-dreams over birthday cakes featuring fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

We've had a few days of glorious sunny and warm weather here in Ithaca. Scroll down for some of my favorite recipes best enjoyed outside, with herbs fresh from the garden, and a look at my latest obsessions.

In case you missed it- the latest recipes

Brothy Butter Beans with Leeks and Spinach Butter beans and fragrant leeks melt into a smoky and garlicky Spanish-flavored tomato broth, laced with succulent just-wilted spinach. Serve with crusty bread for a satisfying vegan dinner that cooks in only 30 minutes Get the Recipe

More from my kitchen

With the warm weather I've been enjoy more time outside on my patio, eating dinner and tending to some container plants. I have quite a few pots and containers growing herbs here, so I always have them on hand.

This week my cilantro made it into my favorite turkey burgers. Cooler weather-loving chives and chervil are thriving now, and perfect additions to green goddess dressing (along with parsley and dill from the grocery store).

Recent life pleasures

Birds. We are in peak songbird migration and I can't go outside without the Merlin app open on my phone. Its a free app from Cornell's Lab of Ornithology that IDs birds based on sound. Its so fun to have it running on my walks through the woods, and hearing new migrants arriving each day!

Books. The books I've read recently have been following a theme- retellings of classic novels but with more focus and agency for the women in the stories. Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price was a perfect lighthearted adaptation on Pride and Prejudice, but with Lizzy as a detective and aspiring lawyer trying to solve a murder mystery.

I'm also working my way through Sherry Thomas's Lady Sherlock series and have thoroughly enjoyed the first two books- A Study in Scarlet Women and A Conspiracy in Belgravia. The series followed Charlotte Holmes as she is disgraced from London society and sets up her own detective agency. Where under the name of Sherlock Holmes, she investigate a series of unexpected murders.

Cookbooks. This last month I've become obsessed with milk bread, a Japanese enriched bread, thanks to Kristina Cho's recipe for Orange and Oolong Milk Bread Morning Buns. After making them two weekends in a row, I had to get a copy of her cookbook Mooncakes and Milk Bread. There are so many recipes I can't wait to try, including cocktail buns with a coconut filling, coconut jasmine cream buns, chocolate nutella milk bread, crispy panko pork chop sandwiches, and so many more!

Take care,

Sammy

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