3 things we’re loving this week:

1. Gayla Trail’s DIY modern gardening extravaganza, You Grow Girl. For starters, anyone who grows her own nettles and makes soup out of them wins our respect. But we love the gorgeous photography and the site’s populist, urban-friendly tone most of all. And because Trail’s own roots are in Toronto, most of her growing tips work well here in the Northeast.

2. Poseidon Bakery’s rustic Italian loaf. When a little, be-Sharpied announcement announcing the arrival of ‘Rustic Italian Bread’ went up in the window of Poseidon Bakery recently, we had to stop in for a taste. We will also be the first to ‘fess up to our low expectations–Poseidon is a Greek bakery, after all. But Paul Fable’s $5 whole wheat pane rustico is crusty, with a dense, elastic crumb that stands up to the summer’s juciest sliced tomatoes in a way that large-bubble ciabatta or a tender baguette never could. Nevermind the Hellenic signage, because as Fable himself puts it, “Greeks and Italians are pretty similar–they are both Mediterranean. Why shouldn’t we make a little of their bread?” No argument here.

3. Blue Hill’s lemon madeleines. Served with coffee or tea, these fragrant, buttery little treats are among the only real constants on Dan Barber’s ever-evolving menu. And with good reason. We’ll spare you the obligatory Proust reference, but after popping a few of these warm mini-cakes, we began to see how transportative pastry really could be. Call ahead to make sure the madeleines are fresh–you will not regret it.