The hot weather continues, though a cooling trend is on the way, with rain promised by the end of next week. Oregon just can't take this heat. Most Portlanders don't have air conditioning in their homes because it is so rarely needed. Salmon are dying in the warm rivers, their poached bodies washing-up on shore. It is so very sad.

On a happier note, Leo's birthday present - the lion pillow he requested
because there is nothing toddlers love more than needlepoint for his birthday is complete and off to the finisher. I found a very fun, bright mosaic-print fabric featuring the colors of the bird - can't wait to see how this turns out! Remember the pillow from last year:

Wonder what I will be stitching for Miss Lucile?
With the hot weather, I have been craving spicy foods.

Combos like left-over San Bei Ji stir-fried with rice, a scrambled egg - and topped with super-spicy Korean pickled radish kimchee. Why not?

Or... brown rice, topped with avocado, drizzled with sesame oil and topped with spicy chili sauce. Why not?
My love affair with the wild-caught Alaskan cod from Costco's freezer section continues. I tried a recipe this week from a 2008 Real Simple magazine, Cod with Corn, Beans and Pesto. 2008 was a long time ago, but this recipe was perfect as we have such great corn right now and tons of frozen pesto from our garden in Indio.

Super fast, super easy and everything tasted so fresh (even when using frozen fish!). There is only one tablespoon of olive oil in the entire recipe, so very healthy as well. I veered ever-so-slightly from the recipe by using white wine instead of the requested 1/4 water for steaming the green beans.

I would make this again and figure it would probably work just as well with frozen corn kernels.
Of course, we had another tomato salad, because tomatoes are the only thing enjoying this weather:

Heirloom tomato from the Farmers Market
Until my next update, I remain, your sultry correspondent.