nourish your soul this autumn

• Enjoy the fall foliage and flora.  These are photos of some asters and sunflowers that are great September bloomers.
• Take pleasure in the refreshing, cooler evenings and mornings.
• Benefit from investing in your community with your time, talent and treasure.  Consider philanthropic opportunities through your local United Way.
• Delight in friends and family.
• Appreciate life!

grilled scallop salad

A lime vinaigrette, fresh mint, watermelon cubes, and romaine - topped with grilled scallops, grilled cucumber slices, and avocado slices.  This is light and tasty. 

when life gives you apples...

We have one little ignored apple tree on our propery.  It provides us each year with a crop of little tasty apples.  I had enough to make turnovers for breakfast and an apple pie filling (with no pie) a la mode for dessert. 

squash plant

The best part of (trying) to grow squash is the blossoms.  I harvest them in the morning for different uses such as stuffing & frying, or cutting up to garnish soup or eggs or quesadillas.  Strips of the flowers also make a beautiful pizza topping.

state fair snacks

It may be messy but oh so tasty!  I simply must have a Chicharron Burrito at the State Fair.  Crunchy bits of pork, beans, cheese, and green chile all rolled up in a soft flour tortilla.  Others wander about with pizza, fry bread tacos,and  smoked turkey legs, etc. but this is my traditional Fair comfort food,.

blueberry crumble pie

Pure bliss.

relleno reprise

My husband created a great new filling - we might call these calabacitas rellenos.  His filling is a mixture of cooked summer squash and corn mixed with a bit of cheese and sour cream. 

fabulous figs

Fresh figs are one of those foods that I detested as a child, and am loving more and more as I mature.  With fresh figs in the market now I am doing a fig dinner:  for appetizers I cut figs in half, put on a dab of blue cheese, wrap in a strip of proscuitto and roast at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes; main course is an arugula, pickled onion, figs, Parmesan, and grilled chicken salad; dessert is cut figs caramelized in honey and butter, then topped with creme fraiche. 

everybody eats... (hawk visitor)

Last summer we hosted a horde of hungry swallowtail caterpillars.  I love the butterflies but was sad that they devoured my parsley.  This summer I am delighted with our avian visitors.  This juvenile Cooper's hawk (aka Chicken Hawk), and a sibling, have been dropping in periodically for a meal.  It's like we have a sign on our roof:  "free, all-you-can-eat-pigeon- buffet".  I might have to name him "Henerey" after the Looney Tunes cartoon Chicken Hawk.

my favorite weekend breakfast

On special occasions, especially 3-day weekends, I really enjoy making a special breakfast of Eggs Benedict.  The combination of crunchy English muffin, salty Canadian Bacon, softly poached egg, and silky hollandaise sauce is divine. 

friday night pizza tradtion

I don't recall when it started, but we have a Friday night tradition of making pizza at home.  I can make my dough from scratch or buy some at the store/pizza parlor.  The sauce can be homemade or purchased.  We can make calzones, or even grill pizzas outside.  Each person can pick their own toppings.  I have found that having a pizza stone in the oven, and a peel for putting the pizza in the oven (and retrieving it), are kitchen tools we use regularly. 

my favorite chile rellenos

My mother-in-law prepares these fabulous chile rellenos ONLY in the month of September, when she is satisfied with the fresh green chile crop.  Her filling has canned corned beef, cooked potatoes, and onion.  No cheese here.  It is such a wonderful flavor combination that it has inspired the filling I use in my breakfast burritos. 

tasty fruit tart

I love the versatility of one-crust, free form fruit tarts.  I can use pie crust dough or puff pastry for the base.  Depending on the fruit, and the season, I might put a cheesecake-type layer of cream cheese filling, or some almond filling.  I lightly sweeten the fruit, maybe add a thickener (cornstarch or tapioca), and mound the fruit in the middle while folding up the crust for an inch or two around.  Brush with egg white, sprinkle with sugar and bake until brown and bubbly.  Pie crusts I usually bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or so, puff pastry at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes.  Berries and stone fruits will be cooked by the time the crust is done.  I find I need to slightly precook firmer fillings - such as apples or pears - for them to be cooked when the tart is done.

savor the aroma of roasting green chile

I love the scents that signal late summer in The Land of Enchantment.  Time to get the green chile, roast and freeze it to carry us through another year!

my so-called 'green thumb'

I don't have too much success with growing fruits and vegetables but I really love having fresh herbs available.  I find that my hearty rosemary and sage are always available, even in our harshest freezing winter weather.  Each year the mint, chives, oregano, and thyme resurface in the spring.  I have only had to replant basil and Italian parsley each year.  I use fresh herbs often in cooking and garnishing and I prefer to step out to the porch to cut what I need rather than having to buy and store them.  When the mint is plentiful (all summer long), I infuse a simple syrup with it.  This mint 'syrup' is a great base for refreshing drinks.  We recently discovered that rosemary-infused simply syrup is also terrific.