October's Best

This month really flew by.  It was a busy time at home and at work, which is why I didn't get Monday's post done. But we have a day off so I'm taking care of it on a Friday morning.  This is a real treat during the school year.  On of the best things of the month is the colors.  My younger daughter and I decided to go for a walk at a local park and enjoy the beauty one day she took these pictures.. I also love wearing fall clothes. There are so many options.  I love the idea of layering a casual top with jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt.

Another great thing about October is the food.  I really start thinking about pumpkin recipes, both sweet and savory.  I made these pumpkin and chocolate chip pancakes pancakes from Half Baked Harvest.  My whole family really enjoyed them.  I don't know if I would use the maple butter again, but it was fun to try it.  I just really love maple syrup.

What I'm reading:  People Who Knew Me.   It's a very interesting book about a woman who has changed her identity and now has cancer and a 13 year old daughter.  I'm about 2/3 done so I don't quiet know how it will end, but I would highly recommend.  

Hope you enjoyed this month as much as I have.

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

Taking Advantage

As I write this post it is mid-October sunny and 65 degrees.  The sun is playing among the golden leaves as they drift onto the ground.  This is a rare fall day when I can still wear capris, a light long sleeve shirt and Birkenstock.  I stated my day with a run getting ready for my next 10k.  The moon was huge and low in the eastern sky and ground fog was coming off the streets and grass as the day was starting to unfold.  Every window in our house is open, because I never know when they'll be shut for what seems like an eternity.  My husband just went to the store to pick up bratwursts for grilling for lunch.  Usually I'm all for making a healthy soup or salad, but as I said I'm taking advantage of the day. I put our sheets out on the line to dry and will pick more flowers from the zinnias that we still have.   I plan to read outside later as well.

Yesterday we put the garden to bed save a few plants and enjoyed what the last few weeks of the farmers market had to offer.  How to end a great Saturday? Steaks on the grill, with delicious chanterelles and potatoes from our garden.

A black radish from Saturday's farmer's market.  I love the black and white coloring; they taste like a radish.

What is left of the garden.  I'm still using all local fruits and vegetables. Lettuce and my large leafy greens remain.

The beautiful fall day.

Enjoy and Happy Fall.

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

A Fall Weekend

This weekend was a crazy busy weekend in the kitchen and out.  I felt it really marked this first weekend of fall here.  Friday started off a little cool so I was able to wear jeans and a sweatshirt to work.  For dessert Friday night I turned to apples.  We bought 20 pounds of seconds the previous weekend from a local orchard.  Dessert was French Apple Cake from Dorrie Greenspan's Book Around My French Table was delightful.  It also keeps for a few days, if there is any left.

Marie-Hélène's apple cake waiting to cool. 

Saturday started with a run on a very cool morning, 37 degrees.   My son's favorite pancakes for breakfast and a walk around our farmer's market.  There are still an amazing amount of veggies for sale. So I'm trying to stock pile some that will keep for a while, my winter squashes.    Afterwards I still had some corn on the cob that I needed to freeze from the last weekend.  That was tackled in about 1/2 hour.  There is something so nice about taking anything out of your fridge or freezer knowing it is yours and where it is from.  That is one of the many reasons why I'm so into local food. The afternoon was spend canning applesauce -still using up the 20 pounds.

The corn I parboiled for 1 minute before I cut it off the ears and froze.

Zinnias and dahlias from the garden. Yes I still have some.

On Sunday morning I went to yoga.  I really love my hot yoga and one of our local studios has a 7:30 class which is perfect. I get to sleep in a bit and still can get to church at 10:30.  Breakfast?  Well waffles.  My girls love my waffles plus my middle child likes them as leftovers during the week.  The afternoon included making pear-ginger sauce.  I received a bunch of little pears so this was the best use for them. The slow cooker works really well for this.

Here's the recipe for pear-ginger sauce.

Enough peeled, cored and sliced pears to fill a slow cooker 3/4 full.
2 peeled and cut apples
1/4 c sugar
1 T ground ginger.

Cook on high for about 4 hours and blend with an immersion blender if you want a smooth sauce.  I like to let my sauce cook for about 1 hour more with the lid a-jar for a thicker sauce.  

Please get into your kitchen and enjoy what nature has to offer at this time of year.   

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

Fall Dinner

Late September early October seems to straddle between summer and hard-core fall.  Somedays are warm and sunny and others... well are just rainy and nasty.  Unfortunately when I plan my meals for the week I can't always take into consideration the weather.  I'm more concerned about schedules and how much time I have to actually make dinner.  Believe me this comes in handy when planning meals for the week.  However yesterday I was given the gift of time.  I had 2 places I thought I had to be in the afternoon, but both were canceled. So what did I do with my time, make break of course, French bread. (The recipe is my first post.) 

The menu include: 

Meat torte (my children like to call this hamburger pie)

Tomatoes Provencale

Applesauce -from my jars I canned

French Bread

Wine: a Spanish red, Allende

For the Tomatoes Provencales: Use as many tomatoes as needed.

I core and slice off the very bottom of the tomatoes -so they sit flat.

I sprinkle basil, oregano, salt, pepper and a bit of garlic on top.  Then I cover that with bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and olive oil.  

I bake them in a preheated 425 degree oven for about 25 minutes -until warm and bubbly. 

Bon Appétit!

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth