Butterfly Rolls and Solstice Supper

I think that shaped bread is always more impressive. I also think it is a lot of fun to play with.   I like to make braided loaves a lot.  They even taste beautiful in my opinion.  I also like to make what I call "treble clef rolls" and cloverleaf pullaparts and all sorts of things.  Thus, I took our plan to have a Solstice Supper as a challenge.  What fun summer shapes could I make out of dough...?  I tried flowers, my initial thought, but they proved more complicated than I was interested in messing around with. 

Then I had a light bulb moment.  "What if I took the basic premise for the treble clef roll, but just slapped two of them together to make a butterfly?"    The large yellow butterflies (swallowtails?) have started lazily drifting around town lately so it seemed seasonally appropriate.  They are so large I keep thinking they are birds out of the corner of my eye.  Matt says he does, too. (Our eyes are fine tuned to alert at the slightest bird-like motion or shape apparently.)

Yours Truly, Josh, Derek , and Matt enjoying the food and friendship (and dodging mosquitoes) at our Summer Solstice Supper.  It was just as enjoyable a new tradition as I hoped it could be.  Derek and Josh are wonderful friends.

I forgot to take a photo until I eaten almost all of my butterfly, but oh well!  Kabobs rock.  Derek reminded me that their full name is shishkabobs.  I don't know why, but saying that makes me smile.  Its a funny sounding word.  I like it.  Whatever you call the, they are sure tasty.  These are yams, potato, pepper, onion, and tempeh.  We served them over couscous with homegrown spinach.  Hello summer!

 

I really treasure occasions like these.  That is my idea of a perfect evening (minus the mosquitoes of course!).  Preparing a home-cooked meal to share with dear friends, eating, laughing, and telling stories, drinking a local beer, enjoying the sunset and the bird song and the fade into twilight, and starting new traditions.  If that isn't nice, I don't know what is.