Mmm, this is nice. It’s my favorite time of year, too, and I could definitely use some comfort these days. Thanks for writing that.

Jealous, jealous, jealous.

It’s showing 80 here in Houston right now. Didn’t get lower than 77 or so last night. 84% humidity.

Can someone lob some ice cubes this way?

Though we are expecting a “cold” front that may get us into the 60’s for a low. WOOHOO! ;-)

Hi, Christy — your vivid description of your home turf has its kindred in many pockets of the country. Here in the Red River Valley of the North, our colors are just getting started. The arching American Elms on our street that keep it deliciously shaded all summer are starting to show hints of the gold to come.

It’s been a tough summer around here for the elms. Watching these stately old sentinels go under the cutting blade is painful. But the survivors seem determined to arch that much higher.

Drought’s hit hard around here too, so we appreciate the steady autumn rains that have finally appeared. Too late for a lot of the crops, but an assurance that plants and trees will get a good soaking to firm up and sustain them through the subzero weeks to come.

We’ve been enjoying migrating cedar waxwings at the birdbath this week. And the robins are flocking together. Hunting season begins for ducks, another kind of harvest that’s part of ND living.

You’re absolutely right. This is the best time of year.

Mornin’ Christy.
Fall is definitely in the air. I was in the northeast this week and the leaves were just begining to change colors.

We’re still a few weeks away here in Atlanta.

Hey, did you ever scope out the bird bingo for the Peanut?

My toddler is an A birder, now.

I love apple pie with a crumb topping. And caramel drizzled over it. With vanilla Cool Whip. And hot chocolate,with the same Cool Whip. Drool. And homemade chicken pot pie. Or a nice baked mac and cheese. All good cool weather comfort food.

I love all 4 seasons,there’s something to like about each one. Though in Atlanta we don’t get much of a true Winter,I miss that. I’m from SE Ohio,I loved Fall up there in the Hocking Hills,really lovely place.

There’s something comforting about putting the gardens to bed for the Winter.Cleaning them up,adding compost to the soil,raking the leaves,and getting everything ready for Spring to start the whole process over again.

If you have the time to watch a very enjoyable 50 min show, check out this piece from The Guardian with Al Gore:

http://gristmill.grist.org/sto…..125132/906

I think it’s a week or more old, but it’s great.

Good morning Christy, and yup this is my favorite time of the year as well. The leaves are starting to turn along the river, and the smell of crisp leaves is coming along.

Re: stews I’m waiting to start up the woodstove since there’s nothing like slow cooking to get it right.

Here’s a good basic stew recipe. Quantities are approximations.

1-2 pounds of beef, I like beef tips, or chuck, cut into small pieces, and dusted with flour/salt/pepper
1 good sized vidalia onion, or spanish onion, or the onions you like, chopped up into manageable pieces
3 or four potatoes, peeled and cubed.
a couple good stalks of celery
a couple carrots
2 or 3 cans of beef consome
bay leaf

optional spices, I like thyme (fresh preferable) rosemary, and occasionally a bit of worcestishire (however that’s spelled)

method: In a good sized stockpot, melt a stick of butter, and sautee half the onions, and then toss in the beef. Brown it up. The flour will help thicken the stew. Toss in the consome and add water to the directions. Toss in everything else, the bay leaf is oddly important. Without it, it doesn’t taste right. Bring it to a boil for a few minutes, scoop off any scum that floats to the surface, and then reduce heat and let simmer all day. (woodstove is ideal for this)

This is better the day after cooking. (Oh, I add the thyme just before serving, it freshens the taste up. Also optional to brighten the flavor, some red wine, or some lemon juice)

Two days later, you should have a nearly solid mass in the fridge, at this point, saute some more onions and garlic, add a goodly amount of paprika, toss in a little tomato paste for color, then add the beef stew. You now have a mutant goulash, add sour cream before serving over rice or noodles.

It is a lovely time of year here in Washington. We had a beautiful early fall day on Thursday in front of the White House when a hundred or so activists delivered the Declaration of Peace. There were several great speakers, including Lennox Yearwood and Medea Benjamin. (If you get a choice, you don’t want to speak right after Rev. Yearwood, unless you are pretty darned sure of yourself.) It was so sunny out that Medea was looking for sunscreen, and I came home with a very red face after biking for peace all day.

Last week I was enjoying the fall colors of the tundra in the Copper River Valley of Alaska. From Anchorage to Glenallen was like time-travel from late summer greenery into deep brilliant golden-red-and-colors-that-I-have-never-seen-before. It will probably snow next week. Alaska Fall is about two weeks long. Don’t blink.

On the subject of children growing up quickly, my daughter is headed out with some friends to see The Who and a zillion other bands up in Baltimore. I think it was three weeks ago I was taking her to puppet shows at Glen Echo, but I could be mistaken.

Here in Maryland’s 4th Congressional District, it seems that FDL-friendly Donna Edwards will not get quite enough votes to unseat Albert Wynn (the counting of provisional ballots is almost finished), but she did give him quite a run, and is very well-positioned for another run at whatever office she sets her sights on. I will try and atay in contact with her campaign to see what’s next.

In our local and state elections, one friend of mine won the State Senate primary, while another friend narrowly lost out in the State Legislature primary. They had both worked incredibly hard for the last six months, as had all of the candidates. An area progressive, Peter Franchot, incredibly unseated Maryland legend William Donald Schaeffer in the battle for the Democratic nomination for State Comptroller (a very powerful office in Maryland).

peace,
jim

Leaves just beginning to turn here in suburban Boston. When I first moved here in 1980 the last week in Sept. was peak leaf time and it was spectacular! Over the past few years it has been coming later and later. Last year the peak time was nearer the end of October.

Of course, there is no such thing as global warming. Ask W. He’ll tell you so.

Good Morning Christy. Nice sentiments to start the weekend. Thank you. Last year my daughter went to Ohio U. and I used to pass through your neck of the woods on the way to/from there. It is very picturesque this time of year.

This is my favorite time of the year, too. Here in Chicago, we have warm days and cool nights. I love to snuggle under my duvet, with my two cats, and sleep, with all the windows wide open.

Yesterday, I was in a depressed mood, because I finally realized that we are on the way to unilaterally bombing Iran. It just sorta hit me.

Why aren’t we demonstrating in the streets against this administration? Why can’t our Democratic leaders be much more forceful against the abuses – both former and future – of the Bush Administration? Don’t they know that the “liberal bloggers, i.e, the Democratic grassroots, would welcome and support some leadership?

I’m feeling a little better today. I signed a petition, over at Democrats.com, calling for NO war with Iraq. It’s my “New Year”, and my two sons, one a 24 year old paid staffer at the DNC currently working on the Ohio governor campaign, are going to be home for the weekend.
We’ll go to services this afternoon, hang out with my brother, his wife, and his four year old twins tonight, and then celebrate my father’s 90th birthday tomorrow.

It will be wonderful to see three generations of rabid Dems, from my 90 year old father to my 24 and 27 year old sons, together.

My fave thing this time of year is apples dipped in caramel and nuts. The farmstand stores this time of year feature them as we have lots and lots of apple orchards in the exurbs of Boston.

Best apple for dipping in caramel– macintosh.

It’s a gray drizzly day in northern Iowa. This kind of weather makes me want to make a big pot of something, too. Since I’m writing from the porkiest state, here’s a sausage soup.

Begin with white beans. Either soak, then cook them, till close to tender, or get a can out. I use cannelini beans, or little white navy beans. Red ones would be good too, but they change the flavor. Quantities in this recipe are to taste, but if you start with a cup of dried beans you end up with a lot, and you can either put them all in the soup, or save some and dress them later with a vinaigrette, some kalamata olives, chopped tomato, and garlic.

Cut up an onion or two and begin cooking them over medium heat in some olive oil. Dice a carrot and toss that in. When these are beginning to caramelize with a little fragrant brownness, add sliced mushrooms, a couple of big garlic cloves, chopped, and cook for a few minutes.
Heat another pan with a little more oil, and crumble some sweet Italian sausage into it, leaving it chunky. Brown that, then add it to the onions, leaving the fat behind. Add enough chicken stock to just cover the ingredients, some thyme, salt, pepper, and broken pieces of porcini mushrooms to taste. (These are powerful, and I like to use them as a seasoning. Added to sauces or soups they add a layer of flavor that is wonderful.) Add the beans.

Simmer this for 20 minutes or longer and taste for seasoning. Beans seem to absorb a lot of salt. When you’re near serving time, add some chopped kale and simmer for a few minutes until it is soft but still bright green.

Variations: For a smoky flavor, grill the sausage, and/or add some cooked bacon, or grilled and cut-up pork chops.

Serve with a really great bread.

Mornin’ All,

I too love Fall, but 3 years in Central Texas have robbed me of some of that – It was over a 100 deg last Halloween ! – (hey Zergle!)

but back when we had a Fall, this was a good porch sittin’ treat

hot apple pie -

cider
cinnamon sticks
Tuaca
fresh whipped cream

shot of Tuaca in glass, warm the cider, pour in glass w/ cinnamon stick, top with whip cream

yummers

Morning Christy!

Grey and raining here in Vermont as well. Little fire in the woodstove to take the chill off. Still…my Peanut and I are headed to the farmer’s market, rain or not. We’re in need of some locally grown, E. coli-free spinach!

Dubhaltach has a great memory-filled post and Ramadan chicken recipe here:

Sounded good to me!

Morning gang — Mr. ReddHedd was nice enough to get up with the peanut and let me sleep a bit. cbl at 14 — that sounds DELISH!

Morning all,

I just got my first cup of coffee, soundscapes is on the t.v playing wonderful meditational music. My oaks are still green but the chill is in the air. Last weekend it was 90 degrees before the tornado weather hit and now, for the last week, fall has arrived.

Cloudy, over cast. Still too early to clean up my gardens. My kids are sleeping. The rainiest night here in the midwest for us was thurs. I had a late meeting and came home to chili cooked by my husband, and a fire in the fire place. He can be such a romantic guy sometimes.

I have been dreaming of wild rice soup, butternut squash soup with apples and asiago cheese and glorious stew made with cream of mushroom soup, garlic, and a nice merlot.

Which reminds me of the beginning of my relationship with my husband. He was an electrician. Met him in a bar (bad girl) and needed help with some construction at my house (I use to invent the problems just so he would spend time at my house).

He would never want to eat. I felt this need to feed him. One day I put on some stew. In the back of my mind, I knew that the heavenly smells might temp him into staying for dinner. It was a fall day like today, a saturday.

I put the stew on, the house smelled divine. He worked in the basement finishing a room. But still he declined to join us for dinner. The night got later, he didn’t leave, but he didn’t sit down to dinner. I felt resigned that he wasn’t interested in a relationship. Finally around 8 p.m, I put my children to bed.

As I was on my way down the steps, I peaked over a cut out in the wall and could see down to the counter where the crock pot sat stewing those wonderful juices. There he was in the kitchen eating out of my crock pot with a wooden spoon!! He and I laugh about that moment, because it was the moment we both knew. I came around the corner and caught him with the spoon in his mouth. His eyes winked at me and he said “I couldn’t help it, this is the best stew I ever eaten!!” He says he knew that he would marry me from that point forward. That was 16 years ago! Maybe we’ll have stew tonight!

its damp and cool in Indianapolis – the weather is unsettled. Latinas are holding an Anti Domestic Rally today at noon on the Circle – I’ve been asked to be their official photographer so I’m worried: will it rain?

Snow on the mountain in Santa Fe. Aspens turning. Beautiful.

Green chili stew!

bTW;L’a shannah Tova everyone-tha’s Happy New Year and may it be a year or peace and a return to values of compassion, tolerance, and love.

10 days of repenting now- forgiving and seeking forgiveness. Sort of a 10 day walking/talking meditation….

coolish, rainey day is rural NY. Trees not really turnng yet, AM off to services (where i got several agreements with my latest LTE last eveing)and I am looking forward to a late night gathering of recipies and visions from this thread.

Easiest soup in the world.

Take one butternut squash the right size for you and yours. Cut into eighths and scoop out the seeds. Steam squash until soft. Remove from heat and allow squash to cool enough to skin. Mash squash into saucepan and add H2O until it’s the right thickness for your taste. Season with S & P to taste. That’s it.

If you have a little more energy, saute an onion/garlic and some celery to stir in.

If you like it creamier, stir in a little milk or cream.

If you like it more piquant, squeeze a couple of cloves of garlic raw into the pottage.

If you like it sweeter, add a little butter and maybe a sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg or cloves.

MMMMMM golden yellow food!!

Yankee Corn Chowder (with variations on a theme)

-One pound of good bacon cut into little pieces.
-One very large or 2 medium onions chopped
Quite a lot of Thyme
-One quart chicken stock (or clam stock if making the clam variation)
-2-3 medium russert potaotes cut in 1/2 inch dice
-one large bag frozen corn kernels or 6 ears freash corn cut from the cob (if using freah capture all the corn milk and add it tot he pot–actually though frozen works better for some reason)
-One box/package frozen lima beans (very optional, nobody in my family likes them)
-A liitle flour to make a roux
-mile , half and half or cream (depending on how bad you want to be)

Render the bacon and take remove the crispy bacon bits with a slotted spoon and reserve.

Brown the potaotes on all sides in the bacon fat and reserve. Don’t worry if they are not cooked through, you are going for color here.

pour off most of the remaining bacon fat leaving just enough in the bottom to soften the onion. When the onion is transparent add just enough flour to absorb any lingering fat and forma a very pale golden roux.

add the stock, the thyme and the corn(the limas if you are using them). Bring back to the boil stirring so the flour does not make lumps.

Turn the heat way low add the potaoes back and cook slowly until the potatoes are done and the thyme has perfumed the broth.

Add the dairy. If you are using milk, you may need a bit more roux so the soup will not be too watery.
The liquid final product should be the consistancy of half and half not heavy heavy cream.

ADjust salt and peper and ladel into bowls. sprinkle with reserved bacon bits.

This soup is good hot or cold and frezes well. Just make sure yo always keep the bacon bits seperate until you are ready to serve or else they get soft and rubbery.

Clam variation:

Steam clams in a sperate pot and strain and reserve clam broth and substitute clam broth for chicken broth.

Chop the clams and add them to the suop when you are adding the dairy. You don’t want to overcook them. Never use the limas with the clkam version.

Lobster version:

Add bits of leftover lobster meat when you add the dairy. For some reason, the lima DO work in this version

One of my favorite road trips of all time was driving from Ruston, Louisiana to Ann Arbor, Michigan in October of 1967. It was the first time I had been that far north. My boss and some of my colleagues were Michigan grads and they decided to go see the Wolverines play Northwestern. I still remember walking down the sidewalks of down town Ann Arbor that saturday morning. In front of one of the shops they were selling apple cider by the cup. The weather was cool, windy and damp. The cider tasted wonderful. The trees were a blaze of color…..

We turned the seasons corner this week in Arkansas. No fall color yet, but a few cool nights. Key indicators: We sold more hot choclate than ice ancream in at the high school football game concessions stand, and the mosquito killing mist-blower sprayer hasn’t driven by this week. Thunderstorms and tornados last night also remind us that we are in transition.

When I lived on the east coast, Spring was my favorite season.

Now I live in So. Calif. and the season I miss the most is Fall. I didn’t know what I had when I had it.

If you want cool weather comfort food, but don’t feel like spending half the day in the kitchen, try Carol Shelby’s chili mix. It’s easy and it’s yummy. I usually use three kinds of beans and sometimes throw in some kind of vegetarian meat substitute.

If you’re a carnivore, another nurture food is kielbasa. Cook two cups of shredded red cabbage in balsamic vinegar and water with a touch of sugar (to cut the bite). Cook for 30 minutes and then add a pre-cooked kielbasa to cook with the cabbage for about 10 minutes (just to heat it through).

Bin Laden is possibly dead. MSNBC said maybe as far back as a month ago of typhoid in Pakistan.

De-lurking here to say we’ve had cool weather here this week in central IL – some mornings in the 40s, but I’ve been able to hold of on the furnace. My youngest, just in kindergarten, brought home her first virus last week (aw, isn’t that cute?) so this week I’ve had radish and greens soup (recipe came from my CSA along with the produce,) and I’ve made a pot of chicken stock with parts I stashed over the past several months. I made chili, and we treated ourselves to a night out when I felt a bit better.

One of my favorite soups is the Soup Nazi’s Mexican Chicken Chili. I also have my own recipe for Escarole, Bean and Meatball soup, as follows:
2 qts chicken stock
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans Italian beans (or white beans, or 1-1/2 cups beans, soaked overnight, rinsed)

Bring up to a boil, reduce heat and simmer. (If using dried beans, cook until tender.)

Meatballs:
1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1 clove garlic
t. salt
t. ground pepper
3 T parmesan cheese

Mix and form into balls about 1” in diameter. Add to soup and simmer for 30 minutes.

1 onion, diced
1 pound escarole, chopped into 1” strips
2 T olive oil

Saute onion in oil until translucent. Add escarole and saute until wilted. Add onions and escarole to soup and simmer 10 more minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Enjoy!
Melissa

I have been dreaming of wild rice soup, butternut squash soup with apples and asiago cheese and glorious stew made with cream of mushroom soup, garlic, and a nice merlot

Wow a poodle who bakes, what a talented pup. I love fall also. After the humidy soaked month of August, the cool refreshing air is welcome. My favorite thing is getting the hour back in October.

Speaking of October, it’s my favorite month of the year. The air is cool, the sun is warm, the nights are just right. And then there is Halloween. One year I was in SF on Halloween and decided that a walk in Muir Woods would be an appropriate way to spend the daytime. I was joined by a couple from Australia on my trip that day. It was a fascinating conversation, they wanted to know about Halloween because they told me they didn’t celebrate it in Australia. Not that I had a clue about how it started, I never gave it much thought. They were excited to see people dressed up in costumes for the first time. I suggested to them to go and pick up masks and join the fun. I don’t know if they did, I do know they added another level of fun to my day.

Later that night the biggest street party I’ve attended was in the Castro.

katie Jensen @ 17

Morning all,

I just got my first cup of coffee, soundscapes is on the t.v playing wonderful meditational music. My oaks are still green but the chill is in the air. Last weekend it was 90 degrees before the tornado weather hit and now, for the last week, fall has arrived.

Cloudy, over cast. Still too early to clean up my gardens. My kids are sleeping. The rainiest night here in the midwest for us was thurs. I had a late meeting and came home to chili cooked by my husband, and a fire in the fire place. He can be such a romantic guy sometimes.

I have been dreaming of wild rice soup, butternut squash soup with apples and asiago cheese and glorious stew made with cream of mushroom soup, garlic, and a nice merlot.

Which reminds me of the beginning of my relationship with my husband. He was an electrician. Met him in a bar (bad girl) and needed help with some construction at my house (I use to invent the problems just so he would spend time at my house).

He would never want to eat. I felt this need to feed him. One day I put on some stew. In the back of my mind, I knew that the heavenly smells might temp him into staying for dinner. It was a fall day like today, a saturday.

I put the stew on, the house smelled divine. He worked in the basement finishing a room. But still he declined to join us for dinner. The night got later, he didn’t leave, but he didn’t sit down to dinner. I felt resigned that he wasn’t interested in a relationship. Finally around 8 p.m, I put my children to bed.

As I was on my way down the steps, I peaked over a cut out in the wall and could see down to the counter where the crock pot sat stewing those wonderful juices. There he was in the kitchen eating out of my crock pot with a wooden spoon!! He and I laugh about that moment, because it was the moment we both knew. I came around the corner and caught him with the spoon in his mouth. His eyes winked at me and he said “I couldn’t help it, this is the best stew I ever eaten!!” He says he knew that he would marry me from that point forward. That was 16 years ago! Maybe we’ll have stew tonight!

great story!

It’s raining here on LI an I am going to my very extended family’s annual reunion picnic which will be held rain or shine.

Nothing like huddling with your peeps in the chilly rain to make you want to come home to a pot of stew.

Thanks for the good idea Christy.

cathy @ 26

Bin Laden is possibly dead. MSNBC said maybe as far back as a month ago of typhoid in Pakistan.

I’m guessing this is preemptive Rove spin to help inoculate against the Bush failure to get him going into the midterms. Bill Clinton put a highlighter on that failure in the Fox interview.

lhp: south shore or north shore? Nassau or Suffolk?

Mornin’, Christy. Sounds like you’re perking along again, glad for that.

fahrender — that would be mid-to-late October in Ann Arbor, believe they would be just past peak color at that point. Two hours north of Ann Arbor we reach peak about a week earlier, and some parts of the Upper Peninsula are already reaching or passing peak color.

Speaking of the Upper Peninsula, here’s some Finnish-American soul food for those of us from Yooper country:

Kala mojakka (Finnish-American Fish Stew/Soup – kah-lah moy-ah-kah)

1 pound firm-fleshed fish (pike, if thoroughly de-boned, is nice; lake trout better, and salmon is excellent), cut into large chunks

6-8 cups of chicken broth (more or less, depending on volume of fish and vegetables combined, must be enough to cover both vegetables and fish)

Aromatic Vegetables:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large leek, white portion, cleaned and chopped
3 carrots, peeled and cut into bite-sized medallions
3 small turnips or 1 small rutabaga, peeled and cut into bite-sized dice
2 stalks celery, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 clove garlic, peeled and cut in half
5 large waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into large bite-sized pieces, rinsed

Rinse fish and then slip pieces into a large soup pot filled with broth; slowly bring broth to a boil and immediately turn off heat on broth, cover with lid and allow fish to finish poaching. As soon as fish is firm (will only take a few minutes), remove from broth carefully and refrigerate until rest of soup is ready. Skim broth of any foam.

In a large saute pan, heat olive oil to smoke point, then add aromatic vegetables to saute until leeks are soft but other vegetables are not yet cooked. Add aromatic vegetables to pot of broth, then add potatoes and the garlic to the pot as well. Bring broth to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender. Skim broth as desired.

When potatoes are tender, remove one-fourth of the vegetables to a heat-proof deep bowl; use a stick blender to puree, then return to the pot to thicken broth. (You could also use a regular blender, or skip this step and thicken with flour-and-water roux.)

Slip poached fish chunks back into the soup, then carefully reheat soup just enough to warm through fish. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve with a nice artisanal bread, a crisp white wine or beer while watching your choice of Michigan football teams.

cathy @ 26

Bin Laden is possibly dead. MSNBC said maybe as far back as a month ago of typhoid in Pakistan.

rather deflates that “smoke ‘im out, dead or alive!”, doesn’t it?

I hope this is ruining the October surprise…

How about a silent Coup d’etat to start the
weekend. If Thailand can manage,we can. When
does Bushie leave the country?
Great article in Globule this morn…
http://www.boston.com/news/nat…..r_program/

Jack

Pachacutec @ 32

cathy @ 26

Bin Laden is possibly dead. MSNBC said maybe as far back as a month ago of typhoid in Pakistan.

I’m guessing this is preemptive Rove spin to help inoculate against the Bush failure to get him going into the midterms. Bill Clinton put a highlighter on that failure in the Fox interview.

And if they can spend a lot of time on this tomorrow, they don’t have to talk about Clinton bitch-slapping Wallace nor do they have to talk about how the rubber stamp repug congress is about to A-OK torture with nary a peep out of the dems to stop them.

HELP! Someone? ANYONE?

Wish I had time for a recipe, but we’re getting ready for the penultimate parade of the year right now. The kids are actually ready early, I think we’ve finally gotten them trained. The five-year-old loves passing out candy to other kids now and the four-year-old drive the golf cart with daddy’s signs on it, with grandma’s help.

Perfect weather for the parade today. It rained almost all day yesterday, but the clouds parted this morning and the weather is cool but comfortable. May not have a frost warning tonight! The pumpkins are just starting to turn orange, and we still have a couple of peppers growing in the garden.

Wish me luck, this is going to be a close race :)

Pach — yeah, I think you are absolutely right about the OBL story being Rovian spin. Wasn’t there rumor about another OBL audio/video tape only 4 weeks ago?

I suspect that THEY know the Big Dog interview on Faux is very damaging; it would have looked too obvious to put the story on Faux, so they leaked it to another outlet (wasn’t CNN first with this?). Very easy to do with the propagandists on the payroll in Iraq. Also muddies the situation with Pakistan even further.

Classic Rovian whisper campaign.

Rove must have one heckuva “October Surprise” in store if they are already dragging out Bin Laden’s dead body.

Bleh.

I’m with Jack. Though about those particulars….

cathy @ 26

Bin Laden is possibly dead. MSNBC said maybe as far back as a month ago of typhoid in Pakistan.

If this is true, Bush didn’t capture him nor did he try.

Wow– I just went over to link that very recipe, DairyMaid @ 15 and I come back et voila! I sent it all over last nite. I am making it Sunday nite and am so looking forward to it. Du’s post is awesome too!

Milineryman — believe the frame is:

They let him get away with it.

Remember how frustrated folks were after Ken Lay’s unexpected death, like he’d managed to cheat them out of his punishment?

RevDeb @ 12

My fave thing this time of year is apples dipped in caramel and nuts. The farmstand stores this time of year feature them as we have lots and lots of apple orchards in the exurbs of Boston.

Best apple for dipping in caramel– macintosh.

Hi RevDeb, I’m right there with you on the apples. I prefer Granny Smiths myself, however the carmel and nuts are the way to go.

Man this makes me pine for the apple cider donuts from the Louisberg Cider Mill in Kansas. And the Lost Trails root beer is so good. Nothing better on a cool crisp autumn day.

It also mena s to me that I will have to make my Beer Chili soon. YUMMMMY.

Christy,
We have great annual adventures at the local pumpkin farm, which has a corn maze and a petting zoo and its own cider press. They also do this v. weird display of pumpkins painted to look like characters from books and tv, as Eli and watertiger can cofirm if they’re about. Eli was particularly freaked out by the animatronic ape band, as I recall.

Love Susan in Iowa’s sausage soup recipe, and Katie’s handyman tale, and Old Sow’s easy squash soup and… What a great collection of recipes and reminiscences.

FDL Books needs to do a cookbook! Yet another way to show the world we’re not wild-eyed jammie troups ranting from the left. We are America.

I’m looking for some advice for my favorite colorful veggie. Any tips or recipes on making sweet potato fries–especially if they don’t involve frying in deep oil?

Finally tracked down a shoestring/regular potato cutter [at the world’s greatest cookware store, right here in Fargo, creativekitchen.com]. Mark and Claudia have been in business 30 years…unfortunately the marriage didn’t last as long as the business. But it’s a great store, and you’d have fun visiting it in person here in Fargo or on the web.

Kentucky Woman @ 39

Rove must have one heckuva “October Surprise” in store if they are already dragging out Bin Laden’s dead body.

Bleh.

And keeping with their current medieval theme (torture), will they put his head on a pike in front of the White House?

lina @ 48

Kentucky Woman @ 39

Rove must have one heckuva “October Surprise” in store if they are already dragging out Bin Laden’s dead body.

Bleh.

And keeping with their current medieval theme (torture), will they put his head on a pike in front of the White House?

Inshallah

Prairie Sunshine @47:

Have you tried a cookie sheet with just a slight sheen of olive oil? You have to turn them, but this works pretty well for regular potatoes, anyway.

The Rove “one heck of a suprise” has left or is leaving Norfolk VA; ETA Iranian coast, OCT 21.

October 21 you say? That’s my birthday!!

Bleh and a V’urp.

Rayne @ 43

Milineryman — believe the frame is:

They let him get away with it.

Remember how frustrated folks were after Ken Lay’s unexpected death, like he’d managed to cheat them out of his punishment?

I’m for framing it that way. Bush let OBL get away and his failure allowed OBL to get away with it.

Pachacutec @ 33

lhp: south shore or north shore? Nassau or Suffolk?

I live on the North Shore in Nassau, very close to the beach. Picnic is in the south part of the county.

Rainy fall days and cool nights always bring out my craving for Caulifower-Cheese Soup, from the Moosewood Cookbook.

2 cups potato chunks
2 cups cauliflowerettes
1 cup chopped carrot
3 medium cloves garlic
1 cup chopped onion
1.5 tsp salt
4 cups water or stock

Place these ingredients together in a pot. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Let cool 10 min. and puree entire mixture in blender/processor until smooth and creamy. tranfer to kettle(double boiler if possible),heat gently and whisk in:

1.5 cups grated cheddar
3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp dill weed
1/4 tasp ground dill or caraway seed
1/4 tsp dry mustard
black pepper to taste

Meanwhile, steam 1.5 more cups of cauliflowerettes. Add those to the soup just before serving, and whisk in 3/4 cup buttermilk. Top with scallions and extra cheese. Serves 4-5.

YUM.

Sautee some apples in butter and fine-grind cinammon… Add a cup or so of good apple cider, a touch of fresh ground nutmeg as it heats to a boil, top it off with water and maybe a table-spoon of honey or brown sugar and then as it boils add a cup or two of your favortie ground bran cereal or cream-of-wheat or malt-o-meal. (I prefer organic ground oat bran) Maybe toss in some raisins in the last few moments and even a few almonds or cashews.

Best breakfast you ever had!

Just a drive by as I’m off to bed. If anyone feels like waking up this fine Saterday morning with a beautiful piece from Yo-Yo Ma… It’s on my blog. Just because it’s my blog and I can. :)

Aloha my lovely pupsters. G’night!

Oh and if you’re feeling tropical. Mango with a little bit of crumbled candied ginger also rocks on that recipe!

I grew up Nassau, south shore. My parents still live there.

It’s still 80 here just north of Dallas but at least we are getting some serious rain finally.

On OBL, http://www.what reallyhappened.com has a line noting the report on OBL’s reported death with a short comment as :

*No shit.*

—–

Sounds about right to me.

you guys are making me hungry! (and I haven’t even finished my coffee yet)

let me see if I can get the skinny on the Ike leaving Norfolk… sounds very odd that the Eisenhower would leave the “yards” before her refit is really truly finished…not somethin’ the Navy would like very much.

My espresso machine has finally provided enough caffeine that I can type. Fall means opera season starts up for me. I am off to rehearse Aida all day today. This morning is music with Maestro: the conductor comes in for the first time to work with us. I think I can get through it pretty well, I am almost off book, and sorta know the rest. This afternoon is first blocking. In large chorus operas, there is not a lot of movement, and the big thing is traffic, getting everyone on and off stage efficiently and without looking dorky.

Verdi just loved music, he loved chorus singing, and some of his most distinctive music is in this one, including Celeste Aida, the first aria I ever learned: it was in a book of love songs my mother taught me back when I was a boy.

The finale is just perfect Italian singing: Here are Mario Lanza and Dorothy Kirsten (Aida) and Blance Thebom (Amneris) from The Great Caruso.

Note, the people on the stage are supernumeraries (spear carriers). They don’t sing. The chorus, not particularly good in this one, are backstage in this scene. That’s good, because we have to wash off the body paint before we can go home, which can make for a very late night.

Prairie Sunshine @ 47

Love Susan in Iowa’s sausage soup recipe, and Katie’s handyman tale, and Old Sow’s easy squash soup and… What a great collection of recipes and reminiscences.

FDL Books needs to do a cookbook! Yet another way to show the world we’re not wild-eyed jammie troups ranting from the left. We are America.

I’m looking for some advice for my favorite colorful veggie. Any tips or recipes on making sweet potato fries–especially if they don’t involve frying in deep oil?

Finally tracked down a shoestring/regular potato cutter [at the world’s greatest cookware store, right here in Fargo, creativekitchen.com]. Mark and Claudia have been in business 30 years…unfortunately the marriage didn’t last as long as the business. But it’s a great store, and you’d have fun visiting it in person here in Fargo or on the web.

We make sweet potaoe fries in the oven. First you dust them with cajun spice mix and garlic powder. Give them a little spray with olive oil in a pryer or with PAM (very very lightly)

Put them on the top rack of the oven on a high heat. The thinner the shoestring the beter it works. You have to stir/filp them afew times to get all sides cripsy

Low fat and fab

Soup, beautiful soup!!

And Old Coastie, it’s all the folks at this place with all our connections here and there getting the skinny on one thing and another that gives me HOPE.

Love y’all, no kiddin’

There is a cookbook that I love called “Twelve Months of Monestary Soups” written by a monk, Brother Victoir-Antoine d’Avila-Latourrette. The recipes are laid out in a month to month fashion, but one that I love year round is a Provencale vegetable soup with a swirl of pesto. Thought everyone would enjoy it as well:

SOUPE AU PISTOU
2 c. dried white of flageolot beans
10 c. water
2 leeks, or onions, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 zucchinis, cubed
12 string beans, but into small pieces
3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
sprig of parsley, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Pistou Sauce:
7 garlic cloves
10 basil leaves
1 c. extra virgin olive oil
6 Tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Soak beans overnight in cold water. Drain and place in large soup pot with at least 10 c. fresh cold water. Add all veggies and herbs and bring water to a boil. Cover pot and simmer for 50 to 60 minutes, or until beans are tender. Add salt and pepper. Stir well and simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes. Keep soup hot and covered until you are ready to serve it.

While soup is simmering, prepare pistou sauce as follows: Mash garlic cloves in a mortar. Add basil leaves and continue mashing until they are well mixed. (Or throw them in your food processor and pulse a bit until well minced and combined, but not completely liquid.) Add grated cheese and mix well until it turns into a stiff, consistent paste. Place the mixture in a good-sized serving bowl and add the olive oil little by little. Whisk well until it reaches an even consistency. (You can use your food processor or blender to make the whole sauce, it will just be a little smoother. When I do that, I save back a little bit of the parmesan, so I can mix it in at the end to add a little texture.)

Serve the soup hot. Pass around the pistou, and let each person add the sauce to his or her taste. This is fantastic with some fresh, warm bread on a cold day.

Pachacutec @ 57

I grew up Nassau, south shore. My parents still live there.

Pach are you a five towns baby? Or a bellmore/merrick kinda guy?

uniquely_tim — that short comment at WhatReallyHappened.com is actually a link to other materials about OBL’s probable death in 2001-2002.

I have done regular sized white potato fries in the oven with olive oil and seasonings, NYMary…haven’t perfected the crispy quality yet, but a work-in-progress.

Did see on a cooking show–Hell’s Kitchen? Maybe something else–the suggestion to blanch in deep frying oil then cool then crisp with a second “dip” in the oil but my arteries choked on that idea.

Maybe the thinner shoestrings will help the oven cooking. And definitely the olive oil, maybe one of the fruity ones? And some grated nutmeg and ginger. Yummmmm.

Early on in marriage, we made croissants, an all-day progess of proofing and kneading to get those wonderful layers. A one-time-only experience, but I still get nostalgic about that. There’s definitely something zen about the creativity of cooking.

Kentucky at 52 — mine is the 19th — we’ll have to have a little joint birthday hurrah on the 20th. :)

Christy — YUM!! I’ve got zuchinis and tomatoes right here, and white beans in the cupboard. Will pop over to the farm market to get some basil this afternoon.

Guess what’s for dinner?! Thanks!!

masaccio @ 60
Are you in the chorus?

Split pea soup. Just do what it sez on the package.

Best thing about soups/stews is the house smells good all day. The aroma equivalent of putting on warm jammies fresh from the dryer. Then again, as somebody once said, just fry up some onions and everybody comes running…

Mmmm…Nate at 56 — I love sauteed apples over pancakes or waffles. Yummy. (You guys are seriously making me hungry.)

I love ‘cheater’ recipes – dishes where the finished product looks like you spent hours slaving but in fact are quite simple to do – here’s one – the only real work is in prepping the Apples

and per my usual, not for the dietary timid

apples, apples, apples
butter (lots of it)
sugar & brown sugar
puff pastry sheets (if you can find them)
pre-rolled pie crusts (if you can’t)

oven to 350 deg.

peel, core, and halve apples

place them vertically stacked next to each other in concentric rings in the pan (preferably cast iron, but other works) on medium heat

start adding butter, then add sugars as butter begins to bubble. continue until apples are soft (approx 20 min total cooking time)

once finished cooking, cover with pastry sheet or pie crust so crust covers top 1/4 of apples

place in oven per pastry sheet or pie crust instructions – usually no more than 12-15 min.

take out, let cool a little, place your serving dish on top of the apples and INVERT

options: a good one for pears, and some folks add sprinkles of Grand Mariner to apples as they cook. oh and there is something out there called Soy Margarine (usually found in the hippie food section of grocery store)- works well in cooking/baking as butter substitute (fooled my family for 18 months before being found out – “really honey, it’s just unsalted”)

Here in Denver, the tree leaves are turning golden, and every morning in our backyard, there are more leaves than the day before. But the grass throughout our neighborhood and parks remains a deep green.

I’m surprised that the temperatures are dropping into the 60s in the day and 40s in the evening. Last year after a sizzling summer, the weather remained warm until October. Not so this year, after mostly very hot summer days.

I’m an academic who retired as a business school prof after my second was born (when I was in my mid 40s). Christy, when you talk about the Peanut, it reminds me of how wonderful it is to have unpressured time with my girls. There are certainly tradeoffs, but I’m a happy mom. Hope you are too.

Fall in Maine=Chantarelles…bushels of them! Kitchen table mounded high! Saute them and eat everyday for weeks! Dry them to keep for winter.

Ah!! A kindred spirit!! Another brilliant, creative and JUST Libra!!

Thank you for such a wonderful blog. I landed here as a lurker in April and delurk occasionally, usually with snark.

I am sorely lacking in the ability (ahem..and confidence) to express in depth the thoughts that run through my mind. It has been critically therapeutic to “float around” such exceptional and compassionate thinkers.

You folks keep me buoyant.

Op99: yes, I sing primarily baritone populi in this one, and some bass priest. This is my 46th opera production.

Does the “op” stand for opera?

Potatoes–I never bake whole potatoes anymore. Always cut into bite sized chunks and array on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Bake at 425 for ten minutes to dry out the outside and turn back to 375 for another 30 minutes. If you are daring or short of time, leave it at 425 but PAY ATTENTION. If the potatoes are more than one layer deep, you may wish to rearrange during the cooking. Each nugget is golden on the outside and soft inside. Great “chew” material and wonderful dipped into any sauce of your choice–an easy one is the right proportion of mayo and mustard with a little dill weed. Works as well for sweet potatoes in my experience.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 71

Mmmm…Nate at 56 — I love sauteed apples over pancakes or waffles. Yummy. (You guys are seriously making me hungry.)

You’ll love it. Make sure and try the tropical version with the mango and candied ginger. (crumbled candied ginger = great secret ingredient for blueberry cobbler with lime zest too)

Mango version goes well with macadamia nuts of course. :)

clarification: a little snark (no where near the fabulosity and ferociousness of T-Rex!)

mary jane @ 74

Fall in Maine=Chantarelles…bushels of them! Kitchen table mounded high! Saute them and eat everyday for weeks! Dry them to keep for winter.

I did not know, another great reason to love Maine.

I grew up in the Catskill Mountains in New York, and to me that is the most beautiful place to see the leaves turn. Now I live in Massachusetts where the colors of yellow, orange and brown predominate. In the Catskills the predominant color is rose. Red to pink, they put every other leaf-peeping trip I’ve ever taken to shame.

masaccio @ 76

Op99: yes, I sing primarily baritone populi in this one, and some bass priest. This is my 46th opera production.

Does the “op” stand for opera?

Yes, but only in the seats, not on the stage. What venue is this Aida? Any elephants, lol?

Mary Jane, we saw few chantarelles in our woods this year. Where’re you huntin?

And by the way, mid-coast Maine Lakesters are meeting for dinner in Belfast at Darby’s for dinner on Tuesday next. 6pm. Be there or be square……..

I want to apologize for being combative and rude last night.

A real apology. Not ‘there are some who may have been offended’. I was cranky and rude, so I’m sorry.

Great read Redd.

~~~

Today’s bowl of warmth is beer&pork stew, (I use an IPA);

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/…..95,00.html

I like to add a heaping spoonful of mustard seed, even more onions, lotsa herbs from the garden (thyme, rosemary, parsley, chives) and some capers.

Uh yeah, that was me. JCB

lhp and OS, thanks for the potato tips. Will have to try that cajun spice. As Fargo gets more diverse–the Global Market strip mall is now under construction–the opportunities to find the real thing in ingredients make everybody’s recipes here today…possibilities.

Hoping to pot up some of my herbs for the winter. Basil is probably a goner, too woody now. But the thyme, chives, and sage are just beggin’ to come in to a warm, sunny windowsill.

massachio at 60 — Aida is one of my faves. Which part are you doing?

Hmmm…now I’m going to have to dig through my CDs and find some good opera for this morning. Ahhhh…

I’m in Maine for the week-end, drizzing out and cool, and not much color in the leaves yet. I start thinking of hibernating around now, and make sure to get out for a run each day (keeps SADS at bay). We went out for dinner last night with family and friends (10 of us, here for a wedding). My nephew (a Dem college student who was a Hillary volunteer a while back) espoused his strong support for Susan Collins last night. I’m thinking “what the f…” and say, don’t you remember Alito etc. etc.? He says, “but she has never missed a vote.” I shake my head, suggest there probably will be a move against her in the next election, like there was for Lieberman. Friend of 30 years (New Yorker) a former Peace Corper, like me (he is now a Wall Street broker) looks at me angrily across the table. Israel is the issue. Discussion at the table (mostly us mid fifties to early sixties types) discuss issues of the day, and the Right. I say I have had it with religion. My friend says something about violent Islamic extremists. I say, I am more worried about the far right Christian, Moslem and Jewish extremeists espousing violence, also adding that there are lots of Moslems who are not violent extremists. My sister-in-law (mother of the bride to be) glares at me. Iran comes up, most around the table are appalled with the possibility of attack. I note the likelihood that a wave of attacks against Israel through Syria would be likely. My friend stays silent. Another at the table asks the two college age in the party: Where are the demonstrations by your generation? Where is the sense of moral outrage that young people of our generation had? My nephew and my friend’s daughter say nothing. Crickets. I’m thinking, it can’t just be the lack of a draft. Strange times. A little later I turn to my friend (whose main reading on current events is the WSJ) and remark (in private) that I can’t understand why the business community doesn’t come down against the Bushes and the right. The debt is going to become a noose. He says something like, they are not happy, but are hoping that the mediocre situation will get better with someone else after the next election. I bring up this non-sensical marriage between fundies and Jews and the ramifications for all of our religious rights – to say nothing of war costs. Silence. A thirty year friendship is a long time, but sometimes you wonder. A year ago I probably wouldn’t have spoken up particularly at a wedding even. Now as dessert comes, three of us attempt to clobber my brother-in-law over his love affair with Michael Savage.

Meanwhile, this morning I turn on my laptop (happily there is wireless in this hotel) and it seems Bin Laden is dead. Also, the Portland Press Herald left outside my door has an above the fold article “Heating Oil Prices Drop At Right Time.” The October surprise(s) are well under way.

looseheadprop @ 64

Pachacutec @ 57

I grew up Nassau, south shore. My parents still live there.

Pach are you a five towns baby? Or a bellmore/merrick kinda guy?

Not five towns; east of there, but not as far east as Bellmore/Merrick.

Local train to Babylon, making stops at Jamaica, Valley Stream, Lynbrook, Rockville Centre. . .

I think my recent comment is stuck in the dog house.

Over at HuffPo, Susan Madrak has an article that eloquently expresses the rage that many of us feel toward the democratic senators for rolling over on the matter of war crimes.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 88

massachio at 60 — Aida is one of my faves. Which part are you doing?

Hmmm…now I’m going to have to dig through my CDs and find some good opera for this morning. Ahhhh…

Christy… I have a beautiful audio of Yo-Yo Ma on my site. It’s the top post and if you open it in a seperate browser and let it play in the background… Your spirit will rise up and float around the cosmos for a bit this morning. I promise! :)

masaccio @ 76

Op99: yes, I sing primarily baritone populi in this one, and some bass priest. This is my 46th opera production.

Does the “op” stand for opera?

Yes, but only in the seats, not on the stage. What venue is this Aida? Any elephants, lol?

I sing with the Nashville Opera Association at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Last time we did this, we had an elephant, along with a bunch of other animals. The elephant had a great career: she starred in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective 2, we were told.

Unfortunately, elephants are considered “dangerous wild animals” and the safety precautions add to the cost of having them.

kimster at 73 — I love it. We went through a lot to have her, several years of testing and a couple of miscarriages, so she truly is our little miracle. There is nothing better than snuggling up with a good book in the rocking chair…or playing make-believe with her Fisher-Price animals. :)

Old Sow, My husband and a dear friend have just been hitting the woods behind our house. Every day more spring up! Had so many we swapped some for a gift certificate at Primo. Now their on to the ones we call Swamp Chanterelles which we get near the bog where the cranberries grow. See you Tuesday.

Don’t know why but I always like Don Giovanni on a Saturday morning. Or anybody singin any Mozart.

I am sorely lacking in the ability (ahem..and confidence) to express in depth the thoughts that run through my mind.

Me too! Not that it’s ever stopped me…

JCB and Balrog–we are family….

Hey, speaking of last night, timed out early so I just read the start of late night. Others of you may have thought of this, too, but what think you? Is 2006 Bush’s proxy “war” against Clinton?

I’m thinking about the whole Saddam tried to kill my daddy thing twisted around with Gee-Dubya’s daddy issues and I’m thinking birthright. This is G-Dub’s version of Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau…

Hey, I’m one of those who believes Bush is not stupid. Willfully ignorant is another story. Also lazy, arrogant, possessed by demons of chemical dependency, bullyboy masking his inner coward….but I digress. I accept the view that he’s hyper competitive. Everything’s a battle, prove your manhood, mano a mano.

Whether Clinton wants it or not, Bush is determined that he’ll beat Clinton by the outcome of 2006 elections.

Kentucky Woman – me too, a Libra by just 2 hours!

Katy – love the Handyman Who Came To Stay story! -

one of the sweetest things Mr. CBL ever did was tell a newly wed friend that after the intense initial microwave blast, marriage could be a crockpot – extremely tender and tasty on a long, slow cook (oh yeah, rewards were involved)

My kid (age 15) – who actually spoke up against Bush and the war last night at the dinner I mentioned above – just says “Oh my god, there is actually a whole section in this paper on religion and morals. That is so disgusting.” And, this while lying in bed doing her geometry homework. (Sweet :-0)

Prairie Sunshine @
97

JCB and Balrog–we are family….

Hey, speaking of last night, timed out early so I just read the start of late night. Others of you may have thought of this, too, but what think you? Is 2006 Bush’s proxy “war” against Clinton?

I’m thinking about the whole Saddam tried to kill my daddy thing twisted around with Gee-Dubya’s daddy issues and I’m thinking birthright. This is G-Dub’s version of Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau…

Hey, I’m one of those who believes Bush is not stupid. Willfully ignorant is another story. Also lazy, arrogant, possessed by demons of chemical dependency, bullyboy masking his inner coward….but I digress. I accept the view that he’s hyper competitive. Everything’s a battle, prove your manhood, mano a mano.

Whether Clinton wants it or not, Bush is determined that he’ll beat Clinton by the outcome of 2006 elections.

Thanks Prairie. I need to step away from blogs occasionally because the truth being exposed makes me so mad.

Wigwam @
91

Over at HuffPo, Susan Madrak has an article that eloquently expresses the rage that many of us feel toward the democratic senators for rolling over on the matter of war crimes.

I just love subtle women.

I saw the first brilliant red sumac leaves on a walk this week. Now I’m going to overcome my innate shyness once again and go out to knock on some doors. *g*

cbl…

Virgo or Scorpio cusp?

Thank goodness for my Scorpioness…it allows me to stay focused.

Prairie Sunshine @ 87

lhp and OS, thanks for the potato tips. Will have to try that cajun spice. As Fargo gets more diverse–the Global Market strip mall is now under construction–the opportunities to find the real thing in ingredients make everybody’s recipes here today…possibilities.

Hoping to pot up some of my herbs for the winter. Basil is probably a goner, too woody now. But the thyme, chives, and sage are just beggin’ to come in to a warm, sunny windowsill.

Pot up the basil and prune it back really hard. don’t worry if you ahve cut off all the leaves (you were gonna let it die anyway. What have you got to lose?)

It will send out tender new shoots from the woody bits

I am experiencing the home wrecking that only a 20 month old can provide.

Thanks for the kind words.

I will return when naptime ensues!

Pachacutec @ 89

looseheadprop @ 64

Pachacutec @ 57

I grew up Nassau, south shore. My parents still live there.

Pach are you a five towns baby? Or a bellmore/merrick kinda guy?

Not five towns; east of there, but not as far east as Bellmore/Merrick.

Local train to Babylon, making stops at Jamaica, Valley Stream, Lynbrook, Rockville Centre. . .

Change at Jamaica ;)

Redshift @ 104

I saw the first brilliant red sumac leaves on a walk this week. Now I’m going to overcome my innate shyness once again and go out to knock on some doors. *g*

Absolutely brilliant work that was done on that score for the Deval Patrick election in Mass last week. We got at least 6 personal phone calls to get out the vote (my husband is union, and some were union people). It made a huge difference. Plus we saw groups of people out with candles last night in various places in Maine. The revolution is coming….

Balrog @ 86

Uh yeah, that was me. JCB

Apology accepted and appreciated, Balrog. You were a little over the top, but I never responded last night because it was clear by the end of the exchange that you hadn’t meant to be. The things we’re fighting against get all of us frustrated and tense sometimes.

Kentucky Woman @ 107

I am experiencing the home wrecking that only a 20 month old can provide.

Thanks for the kind words.

I will return when naptime ensues!

My pediatrician set me down when my daughter turned a year and said “from now til the age of 4 she will be on a suicide mission, just so you know.” Yup, sometimes it seemed that way to me!

Before getting back to the calligraphy (it’s become meditative, and thank you Katie Jensen-17 for reminding me of “Soundscapes” on the cable thingie)

I thought I’d toss out a good hot chocolate recipe. It’s really basic. Keep in mind that I like my chocolate bitter, rather than sweet.

1 spoonful of cocoa, add a dash of black pepper and a little vanilla, or cardamom, stir in a little hot coffee/espresso to make a sludge; add a goodly splash of heavy cream, stir/whisk until mixed well. Then top off with hot coffee, whisking all the while. (If you must, add some sugar)

It’s heaven in a mug. A dusting of cinnamon is a delight as well.

Not that it’s ever stopped me…

as you would say – thank F’ing God !

found myself perusing an old gallery of NTodd’s the other night and lo and behold, there were some Sharkbabe companions – doggy was gorgeous and looked like the sweetest pal

Kentucky Woman,
don’t know for sure, but based on certain um, life long appetites, I’m gonna guess Scorpio *g*

Ok now I’m really off to bed…

But first, there is an artist in CA I found last month who captures the madness of Bushco better than any other.

Have a look at his brilliant rendition of Dick Cheney!

Picture links to his site where he has several others that capture Bushco in all it’s non-glory.

It’s past 4:30am so now I’m really off to bed!

Good night Christy and all my friendly firedogs. You all add to me and I thank you for it.

THE OCTOBER SURPRISE,I KNOW WHAT IT’S GOING TO BE!!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14963302/

not really sure but this looks like it

bin laden, dead

they will claim it’s becuase of what they did

I wonder if bin Laden’s reported death is just a way to draw him out and into making a statement… maybe they are trying to get a lead on his whereabouts…

Here in Los Angeles it’s definitely cooler at night, although we haven’t really gotten to fall yet.

Home-made tomato soup – the recipe isn’t hard to find, and it doesn’t taste anything like the soup in the red and white can. (You can start with fresh or with canned.) I’ll dig it out and put it up in a bit.

Chili – if it isn’t hot out, chili usually is welcome.

Redd, we liked to put jam on our waffles (finger food!), but sauteed apple slices were also good. (You had to use a fork, then.) Waffles with sausage patties on the side – I’m glad I’ve had breakfast already!

OldCoastie @ 116

I wonder if bin Laden’s reported death is just a way to draw him out and into making a statement… maybe they are trying to get a lead on his whereabouts…

that MIGHT be true if the president actually wanted to capture him

Oh, such beautiful recipes! I must go shopping, clearly.

But first, it’s a fall morning in Southern Arizona. The sky is a clear, bright, piercing blue. The mountains on all horizons are sharp, their rhythmic peaks making prayers up to the sky. The air is cool – it was 65 overnight — but warm in the morning sun. The monsoon grasses are drying out, golden and green. There are flowers blooming — the texas rangers purple, the salvia bright red, the solanum blue. The mirasol has big buds, ready to open soon into big sunflower-like blossoms.

I’m about to go out and work with my four year old colt. He’ll be started under saddle this winter.

I am not going to think about what my country has become, and will try to renew my battered spirits with the beauty of the land.

RevDeb @ 12

snip…Best apple for dipping in caramel– macintosh.

I’d have to agree of course :D

Am charting new routes for my daily sanity walks. It turns out I live by a river! Who knew.

Morning gang, slept in this morning so a little late to the party.

Great thread, Redd! Fall is always my favorite time of year. The sky always seems bluer, the air crisper.

And college football. I am a true junkie! I’ll watch games all day, and stay up till 2 in the morning to watch a good Pac-10 matchup. There is nothing like a big game at night in Boulder, CO. Or the Cocktail Party, in Jacksonville, FL. The Bayou Bengals can’t count so they have yard markers every 5 yards, but the fans make the earth shake. The backyard brawl between Pitt and West Virginia. And of course the Wolverines.

Another is playoff baseball. I am not a huge baseball fan, but I always tune in for the playoffs. Go Mets!

Taking the kids to the pumpkin patch, riding the haywagon to the fields to pick out a few good ones. Applie Cider and kettle corn.

My wife and I got married on a rainy day in September 1992-14 years this Tues. They say rain on a wedding day brings prosperity; I’m still waiting!

Thanks to all you who have contributed great stories and recipies to this thread. Go Blue!

CNN’s backing away from the bin Laden dead meme. They’re reporting he’s been gravely ill for several weeks from some water-borne bacteria…according to Saudi intelligence. Hmmm, which would tie in with when Bushie started up the bin Laden chant again.

Let’s see, we didn’t chase him, we couldn’t catch him, but now we’re gonna take credit for his death…. is that the October surprise?

I still am wary of the feigned attack on the toobz…keepin’ us all unconnected, in the dark if they could.

Drizzly morning here in S Illinois, bad evening yesterday, you may have seen the tornado videos in the Weather Channel last night. Coming home from a foray into town we decided to stop for a little Chinese at a buffet rather than head into a bad storm cloud that was coming from the direction home. We sat there over soup and spring rolls as the storm washed over the area, wind and rain, lightning almost constant. It blew by and we made a run for the truck and headed up the road towards the house and noticed a lot of trees down, power poles down on some side roads, and worried that we might have bad news in our own immediate future. We pulled into the drive and were relieved that there wasn’t any wind damage, but the power was out so no TV or blog surfing till it came back on.

Most of the severe damage was a few miles to our west, we only got the backwash of the twister. No reprts of injuries, one woman pulled from the basement of her demolished home.

I have my recorder set to capture Olbermann every day, but the power was out when he was with the Big Dog. I set it to catch the repeat last night but haven’t watched it yet. Still a tad behind on my Daily Show and Colbert, as well.

Made a pot pie I was pretty happy with a few days back. Crust was great (three sticks of butter:21/2 cups flour) chicken chunks, veggies in a white sauce (stir roughly equal amts. of flour and butter over a low flame for a while, add milk, stir until thick and glossy), egg wash over the crust, bake at 350 until it looks right and serve.

We feed orts to the dogs, they usually are patient until we are done but they were wild for the pie and actually whined and drooled way more than was really necessary:)

I still am wary of the feigned attack on the toobz…keepin’ us all unconnected, in the dark if they could.

when I hear, “the terrists are using the internets…”, I worry about the same thing…

From the Good Housekeeping Cook Book (7th edition, 1942-44)

Cream of Tomato Soup

2 tbsp butter, margarine, fat, or salad oil
3 tbsp flour
2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 cups milk or 1 cup each evaporated milk and water
2 1/2 cups canned or stewed fresh tomatoes
1 tbsp minced onion
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 bay leaf (or 1 small leaf)
1 whole clove
1/8 tsp baking soda

Melt the butter in a double boiler, thaen add the flour, 1 1/2 tsp salt and the pepper, and blend. Add the milk; stir until thickened.

Meanwhile, cook together the tomatoes, onion, celery seed, 1/2 tsp salt, sugar, bay leaf, and clove for 5 minutes.

Sieve (or run through food mill, removing the bay leaf and clove first) and add the soda, then add to the milk mixture gradually, stirring constantly. Heat 1 minute, stirring constantly.

(Serves 4-6)

Stewed fresh tomatoes: For 2 1/2 cups, simmer about 3 1/2 cups cut-up ripe tomatoes for 10 minutes.

thanks, all… I better get up and get going… the Big Dog needs his rabies shot (no, not Bill! MY big dog)… time to get to the low cost vaccine clinic before everyone else…

Beth’s comments about Arizona remind me to mention I saw the Goldwater documentary on HBO and recommend it highly. Especially for his appreciation for the land. A lot to respect about his nature of “conservatism.” He’d fit in well at the Lake.

Will add basil to my potting-up list.

Brewing loose leaf green tea from the Asian market this morning, but that hot chocolate recipe sounds nirvana, beard5

But then I’m a firm believer that dark chocolate is health food. Especially Dove dark chocolate, with much more antioxidants even than other dark chocolates…or so Prevention claimed.

me to me @ 114

THE OCTOBER SURPRISE,I KNOW WHAT IT’S GOING TO BE!!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14963302/

not really sure but this looks like it

bin laden, dead

they will claim it’s becuase of what they did

they spiked his apple juice with typhoid germs?

OldCoastie @ 124

I still am wary of the feigned attack on the toobz…keepin’ us all unconnected, in the dark if they could.

when I hear, “the terrists are using the internets…”, I worry about the same thing…

Yes – and they blog. Don’t you just see it coming? My prediction – if the Dems don’t win one of the houses, free speech over the Internet will be cut off – for National Security reasons, of course.

Kentucky Woman @
76

Ah!!

You folks keep me buoyant.

I just love your comment Kentucky Woman. My feeling exactly, especially in “Pull Up a Chair.”

I’d like to add my favorite comfort dish – maybe in honor of those Middle Eastern families who have suffered and even died. I learned this recipe from my Lebanese mother-in-law almost forty years ago.

Majudarrah – Lebanese Lentils and Rice

1 cup lentils
1/2 -1 cup rice
1 medium to large onions
olive oil
salt & pepper
3 cups water (watch this, may need some more)
plain yogurt for garnish

Sweat the onions: peel and slice or dice them, then fry them slowly in some olive oil until they are golden brown. Add the lentils, water and salt and pepper; cook 15 minutes, then add the rice, cover the pot and finish cooking. I prefer a thick stew, add more water if you desire. Serve with a dollop of yogurt for each bowl. Crusty bread or pita.
Serves: 4-6

During the Reagan reign I was almost as poor as I am now. During those years I fixed it every week as a staple because it was pennies per meal. Add pasta or egg noodles instead of rice, add stewed beef, pork or chicken. Add vegetables of the season. This lovely, hot dish can be a starting point.

to zergle at #2 – I am here in The Woodlands, TX and I must say, as humid as it is, the winds this morning are fabulous. Good walking weather, as my dog, Odis, will attest to. For the rest of you, enjoy the nice cooler weather you are having and send some our way.
Best to all……

Prairie at 126, try Dagoba chocolate. Fair trade, best flavour!!

OK

Making chili today-going to a Jim Webb fundraiser tomorrow.

Life is FAIRLY good here in Virginia. Even better with Senator macaca gone..

Hey where did my hot buttered rum recipe go?

Did it get eaten by the toobz?

Did anyone post Ned’s new radio ad?

(I found it at Connecticut Bob’s.)

Jan @ 133

Making chili today-going to a Jim Webb fundraiser tomorrow.

Life is FAIRLY good here in Virginia. Even better with Senator macaca gone..

Jan, do you think this latest dust up with Allen will effect the race?

Back from the store. For some reason fall makes me sing in the car all the time. “Standing Still” by Jewel is one of my favorite belt-along songs, go figure.

Think I’ll catch up on some TRex before chores…

me to me @ 115

THE OCTOBER SURPRISE,I KNOW WHAT IT’S GOING TO BE!!!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14963302/

not really sure but this looks like it

bin laden, dead

they will claim it’s becuase of what they did

There are people (we can use that strawman too) who think Bin Laden has been dead for quite a while and all the tapes “he” has put out for years – conveniently timed for times that will benefit BushCo – have all been phonies.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Rove has been orchestrating something like this to pull out of his pocket if the going got rough.

They will do anything to stay in power.

Happy Weekend to everyone! When I had my restaurant, every Friday was Corn Chowder day. There was never any left over. I cut the recipe down for a serving for 4 below. If you make a nice cornbread with it it is a great meal.

CORN CHOWDER

3 cans cream-style corn
3 cans condensed milk
1 jar of pimentos
1 package of bacon
1 green pepper, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
Thyme-Salt-Pepper

Cut bacon into 1″ pieces and toss in a heavy stew pot. Mix them around until they are cooked, but not browned. Throw in the onion, pimentos and pepper and saute until all veggies are tender. Next, add in the corn and the condensed milk. Season with 1/4 tsp of thyme and salt & pepper to taste. Cook on med/low heat for 1/2 hour.

katecont. — the lentil and rice stew sounds wonderful! So much better than Progresso lentil soup spiked with Frank’s hot sauce…tho’ on a frazzly day, that’s a decent lunch. Will definitely give your mother-in-law’s recipe a try. And salut to mothers-in-law everywhere…I lucked into the best on earth and now in heaven.

Hot Buttered Rum

For the “cookie dough”

-1/2 cup butter (eurpoean style cultured butter works best)
-1/2 to 1 cup of brown sugar ( I use a mix of dark and light brown sugar)
-at least one tablespoon of good vanilla
-at least one table spoon of freshly grated (it must be fresh not pre-ground)nutmeg

Mix up. You can keep this covered in the fridge for as long as you keep plain butter.

For the hot buttered rum:

in a mug of Irish Coffee (heatproof) glass put one heaping tablespoon of “cookie dough”, one jigger of good dark rum like Myers or Gold Seal Dark, boiling water to the top.

Mix, there should be a little “foam” on the top. Grate a little extra fresh nutmeg onto the foam

Sip and get warm

That should be “mug OR Irish coffee glass”

The ultimate comfort food: Jewish Penicillin

Chicken: I usually buy 3 or 4 leg quarters when on sale for $.49/lb; you can use a whole bird or any chicken parts. Sometimes I even go to Hong Kong Market and get chicken carcasses (the frames left after they’ve removed the meaty parts). This is Eastern European peasant food, after all.
1 or 2 carrots
1 or 2 celery stalks, with leaves if present.
1 large onion or 2 medium ones
1 to 4 cloves of garlic, depending if you have a job interview coming up
1 parsnip (optional; it adds a nice sweetness)
1 turnip, peeled (optional)
1 bunch fresh parsley (optional; or just use the stems in the soup and use the leaves elsewhere)
1 or 2 bay leaves
Salt to taste (I use coarse sea salt)
Black pepper to taste (fresh ground or, if using pressure cooker, a few whole peppercorns)
Any other odds and ends you want — a potato, broccoli stalks, cauliflower, rutabaga, etc.

In 8-qt. pot or pressure cooker, rinse chicken, dump water, fill with fresh water, leaving room for veggies.
Put on hot stove.
Wash and cut veggies. I slice 1/2″, onion 1/4″.
Add veggies and seasonings to pot.
When boiling, cover and turn heat to medium and cook 45 minutes, or low and cook an hour. I use pressure cooker (love it) and cook 1/2 hour on high pressure, then allow slow natural pressure release.

Refrigerate overnight. Next day, peel fat from top of soup and discard or use it for whatever (I leave a bit in for extra taste). Serve soup with or without the veggies and/or shredded chicken meat. Granny served it clear with thin spaghetti or rice, chicken on a separate dish. I serve with everything left in, sometimes with whole-grain bread in the bowl.

The soup is also a great base for many other things — I cook beans and split peas in it instead of water.

Thanks Christy and Jane for FDL and PUAC!

This is a great fall drink and it is really delicious.

Apple Pie Cocktail

Mix a nice Vodka & Cider on ice in a large rock glass. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon.

ccmask @ 140

Happy Weekend to everyone! When I had my restaurant, every Friday was Corn Chowder day. There was never any left over. I cut the recipe down for a serving for 4 below. If you make a nice cornbread with it it is a great meal.

CORN CHOWDER

3 cans cream-style corn
3 cans condensed milk
1 jar of pimentos
1 package of bacon
1 green pepper, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
Thyme-Salt-Pepper

Cut bacon into 1″ pieces and toss in a heavy stew pot. Mix them around until they are cooked, but not browned. Throw in the onion, pimentos and pepper and saute until all veggies are tender. Next, add in the corn and the condensed milk. Season with 1/4 tsp of thyme and salt & pepper to taste. Cook on med/low heat for 1/2 hour.

cc – if you wanted to make this with leftover fresh corn, how would you adjust the recipe? This sounds de-lish!

Cliffradz: That sounds like a great recipe due to the parsnips. I have never added parsnips to mine but I imagine it gives a great kick. Did you ever try using pastina instead of a thin spaghetti or rice?

Pastina is great! I was introduced to it at an early age. At least twice a week breakfast was a bowl of pastina. My mother would make 6 servings for us six kids and add a little milk to the bowl. Some of us added sugar but I like salt and pepper. I still eat it today. They used to carry the green Spinach Pastina but it is very hard to find. Just a thought!

This past week, The Kid and I went to Redwood Park – part of the East Bay Regional Park system, up in the hills above Oakland. Some trees were losing their leaves, giving the redwoods and pines more glory.

The stream that has trout in the winter and spring is mostly still pools right now, but the blackberries are ripe which means that the deer are more visible. . . . There is nothing like watching a four an almost-five year old following deer tracks in the dust of the trail, spotting the places where the deer has been eating berries by the side of the trail, and then hearing him “shhh!” me (our signal to stop walking and talking) and pointing to a deer off in the brush.

Ah, fall.

Christy Hardin Smith @
64

SOUPE AU PISTOU

Sounds great – I simmer my leftover parmigiano reggiano rinds in a soup much like this.

They’re reporting he’s been gravely ill for several weeks from some water-borne bacteria…according to Saudi intelligence.

KBR is claiming credit.

Jack/BSL & Wigwam – thanks.

Anne: I would imagine you would look online for a recipe for making cream style corn. If I need to make a little more, you can stretch the recipe by adding another can of corn and another can of milk. The other ingredients can handle it. I imagine fresh corn would only add to this delicious and quick prep time recipe. Great for Moms who want to blog all day but make hubby think you cooked all day.

For company, I make the chowder the day before and transfer it into a crock pot. Plug it in the next day on high and as soon as it is hot, put it on low and it will be great. You can even add some shredded cheddar if you want to impress…

Just popped the brisket in the oven for tomorrow’s dinner.

The recipe is one that is really loose and subject to your taste:

1 flat cut brisket 3-5 lbs.
1 medium sized onion
red wine
cider vinegar
sherry
salt & pepper
brown sugar
bbq sauce
bullion or “better than bullion”
maggi
kitchen bouquet

All ingredients are subject to your own experimentation and taste but this is about what I do:

saute onions in large pan in peanut and sesame oil
remove onions and brown brisket that has been salted and peppered
remove brisket to roasting pan and put onions back into sauce pan with about a cup of combined red wine, sherry & cider vinegar, a cup of bullion, about a tsp of Kitchen Bouquet and about a tsp of maggi. Add about 1/3 cup BBQ sauce (I use Open Pit) and about a tablespoon of brown sugar (also to taste)

Stir and simmer mix for about 5 minutes then add to brisket in roasting pan. Cover top tightly (very tightly) with heavy duty foil.

Roast for 3 to 3 1/2 hours at 325 deg.

Source: Bin Laden has water-borne disease

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has a water-borne illness, a Saudi intelligence source told CNN on Saturday, knocking down a report in a French newspaper that the man who has been hunted by the United States for the past five years is dead.

Anne, when you make corn chowder with fresh corn, you cut the kernals off the cob, but include the cobs when you cook it. Then after everything is done, you scrape good stuff off the cobs into the soup. We just use whole milk, potatoes, onions and maybe pimento. Bacon if no veggies dining. Its thin like a New England chowder ought to be. Better the next day, but who can wait?

Anne: I’m thinking that 2 cups of fresh corn added into the chowder recipe would work without tweaking. Have a 4th can of cream corn and a 4th can of condensed milk on hand just in case you need to adjust, but I really don’t think so. I just love this meal because it is a no brainer. Pimentos can be left out in case you don’t like them. I like them for the color it gives the dish, but I don’t always add them when it’s just me & my son.

Balrog @ 87

Uh yeah, that was me. JCB

It’s okay, Balrog/JCB – we’re all a bit cranky right now. It’s hard not to get panicky about so much to do and so little time because we’re up against forces of darkness and there is so much at stake

we’re up against forces of darkness and there is so much at stake (just above,my bold)

MOM’S BEEF STEW
2 lbs stew beef(chuck is best)seasoned with s&p
1/2 c flour
3Tbs. shortening
1 large onion
2-3 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1tsp salt
1tsp brown sugar
2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
dash allspice
1Tbs. lemon juice
1Tbs. Worchestershire
carrots, small boiling onions, celery
potatoes peeled and quartered
2 cans low salt beef broth plus enough water to equal 4 cups liquid, boiling

Toss seasoned beef in flour to coat.

Melt shortening in a lg. pot over med-high heat
Brown meat.
Add onions and garlic. Saute for a minute or two.
Add all seasonings and boiling broth/water

Simmer 2- 2 1/2 hrs
Add vegi’s cook extra 1/2 hour or until tender

Will hunt down Goulash recipe and post.
Anyone have a good Mac & Cheese recipe? Nana passed before she could show me. Mom never made the stuff. Thanks!

twolf1 @ 153

Source: Bin Laden has water-borne disease

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has a water-borne illness, a Saudi intelligence source told CNN on Saturday, knocking down a report in a French newspaper that the man who has been hunted by the United States for the past five years is dead.

got to be a way to prove it was bush that got him and that he wasn’t dead before their claim

RICE ART FOR KIDS

I just thought of something we used to do on rainy days as a kid that I had forgotten about. My mom would buy us each a poster board and we would draw or trace pictures on it.

Mom would take small baggies and put about a cup of rice in each one. Then she would add food coloring to each bag. So we’d each have 4 different colored bags of rice. With a paintbrush, we would paint elmers glue on the picture and use the rice to color in the drawing. We would use the color chart on the box to make purple and other colors too. I remember making a map of the USA once. Kept us busy for hours.

Fresh thread, gang.

Happy Saturday, all. I love Saturday morning, the way it seems to last all day.

In the mountains of Vermont, fall has been with us for weeks. Blankets on my tomatoes every night, frost on the windshield. And the colors really starting to come out. I’ve lived here 25 years, and still feel awe, daily, at how beautiful it is.

Love these wonderful recipes above: soups, stews, pies – my favorite kind of food to make and eat. And not least because while all of the above taste great when you make it, you can continue to enjoy it for days, and the flavors meld and everything becomes much more delicious.

Off to walk the hound up to the neighboring sheep farm where there are beautiful views of Camel’s Hump and Lincoln’s Peak.

MOM’S HUNGARIAN GOULASH
1/4 cup shortening
2lb stew beef
1lg onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup ketchup
1 Tbs brown sugar
2-3 Tbsp Worchestershire
1 tsp. Paprika
1/2 tsp ground mustard
Few dashes red pepper flakes
1 teas. pepper
1/2 – 1 teas salt
1 and 1/2 cups water
1/4 cold water
2 Tbs flour

Melt shortening in lg pot over med/high heat.
Add beef, brown.
Add onion and garlic. Saute ~3 – 4 min.
Combine all ingredients from ketchup through s& p. Mix. Add to beef.

Add 1 & 1/2 cups water.
Simmer 2 and 1/2 hrs
To 1/4 cup water, add 2 Tbs flour. Shake to combine.
Turm heat to high. add water/flour and stir constantly for 1 – 2 min. to thicken.
can add peas at this point, but I always hated them!
Serve over egg noodles, with crescent rolls.

twolf1 @ 152

Source: Bin Laden has water-borne disease

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has a water-borne illness, a Saudi intelligence source told CNN on Saturday, knocking down a report in a French newspaper that the man who has been hunted by the United States for the past five years is dead.

Tsk, the cat got out of the bag before October, so now they’re putting it back in. Hard to claim credit without proper build up.

JimPreston: When is the best time to visit Washington? Is there a time when the weather is nice and the crowds are thin? Thanks in advance.

Pardon my sub-standard toobz skills, in this ABC article War Price on US Lives Equal to 9/11 there is an interesting “rich mans war, poor mans fight”comment.
abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2480760

Saturday always has great recipes, but this one is something else. Is there a way to save this comments thread? Capture the page or something like that? Something a moderately tech challenged person could manage? Thanks.

It is the end of summer here in AZ and fall will be here soon. Yes we do have seasons here but they are very subtle and ya just have to pay attention to nature.

How do I know its fall?
It has been below 100 degrees for two weeks
The water from the cold tap is back to being cool(that is how I found out my water heater was out)
Finally, you see your neighbors during the day

=========
My favorite Fall Stew receipt I brought back from Greece, I have used beef, venison and other game meat. Because it is cooked in a pressure cooker, you can use the tuff meats and will turn out very tender.

STEFATHO …. or Stew
2 lbs lean meat cut into large cubes
1/2 cup olive oil
salt & pepper
1 medium chopped onion
large can stewed tomatoes
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup red wine
1 bay leaf
2 lbs small boiling onions
2 garlic cloves shopped
1 Cinnamon stick
4-5 allspice corns
fresh Italian parsley

Using a 6 qt pressure cooker, brown meat in olive oil, added salt, pepper, chopped onion, garlic and saute until soft. Add tomatoes, vinegar, wine, spices and 2 cups warm water.
Add boiling onions and using the pressure cooker cook 20 minutes. If you do not have a pressure cooker, a slow cooker (crock pot) and simmer all day.

Serve with crusty sourdough bread, fish out the cinnamon, bay leaf & allspice corns.

Here in California, fall is the less foggy version of summer. For the first time, we see the sun in the morning, that is, when the fires in Ventura don’t render the sun an angry red. Fresh strawberries still coming in, but we have to be careful of the spinach now. Rains won’t come ’til late October or early November, returning the hills from straw to green again.

Sounds like it’s raining all over the world today. In our hamlet in the Hudson River Valley Halloween is the favorite holiday, although we make these year round.

Pumpkin (or Sweet Potato) Muffins

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups canned mashed pumpkin (or sweet potato)
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Cream butter; gradually beat in sugar, then eggs, one at a time. Stir in sweet potatoes and milk. Combine dry ingredients and stir into creamed mixture. Stir in raisins and nuts.
Spoon into greased muffin tins, filling 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.
We like to make these in the mini-muffin tins. For many years my children, subscribing to the Ronald Reagan catchup-as-vegetable school, claimed these fulfilled their daily yellow vegetable requirements.

For anyone visiting Maine I would recommend the Fish Chowder at The Dolphin in South Harpswell. Always even better than you remember it. Also, the lobster roll at Reds in Wiscasset “Most Beautiful Village in Maine” is most definitely worth the (off-season) half hour plus wait in line. Lobster on a buttered toasted New England hotdog bun. Drawn butter or mayonnaise on the side. (I recommend the mayonnaise, but I’m from Georgia.)

Hccmask @ 147

Cliffradz: That sounds like a great recipe due to the parsnips. I have never added parsnips to mine but I imagine it gives a great kick. Did you ever try using pastina instead of a thin spaghetti or rice?

Pastina is great! I was introduced to it at an early age. At least twice a week breakfast was a bowl of pastina. My mother would make 6 servings for us six kids and add a little milk to the bowl. Some of us added sugar but I like salt and pepper. I still eat it today. They used to carry the green Spinach Pastina but it is very hard to find. Just a thought!

ey

ccmask @ 147

Cliffradz: That sounds like a great recipe due to the parsnips. I have never added parsnips to mine but I imagine it gives a great kick. Did you ever try using pastina instead of a thin spaghetti or rice?

Pastina is great! I was introduced to it at an early age. At least twice a week breakfast was a bowl of pastina. My mother would make 6 servings for us six kids and add a little milk to the bowl. Some of us added sugar but I like salt and pepper. I still eat it today. They used to carry the green Spinach Pastina but it is very hard to find. Just a thought!

Hey, pastina, couscous . . . like I said, this is peasant food, so whatever’s on hand goes in! Thanks for the pastina info, now I’ll have to look for some.

Bob’s Clam Shack for Fish ‘n’Chips…In Kittery Maine…no kidding in the middle of the Outlet Mall Nightmear.

The spelling Nazis must love to hate me.

A really good thick pea soup with chicken and curry loosely based on a mulligatawny. Makes a huge amount but is scalable. It freezes well so why not make a lot. Devised this in the late 60’s and it has been a winter staple ever since.

In a big (8-16 quart) pot put:
a 6-8 lb roasting chicken or two fryers
1 lb green split peas (another is put in later)
3-4 carrots
2 onions
4-6 ribs celery
a couple potatoes–don’t bother peeling
the above 4 vegs in 1/2″ dice or so
2-6 Tb madras curry (the hot kind–I like the 777 brand)–to taste, but best on the hot side (can always add more toward the end after tasting, if you’re a chicken, too, and start with less.)
4 or so bay leaves
10 or more chicken bouillon cubes
4 or so beef bouillon cubes
add water to suit (lots), bring to a boil, skim if you like, and cook till the chicken is getting ready to fall off the bone.

Add: 1 lb split peas and continue to cook for a bit.

Remove the chicken carefully and set aside to cool, bone and cut up. Meanwhile continue cooking the soup till the later peas are al dente, or as you like, but leave some texture.

Whiz the soup up some with a hand blender or a whisk till quite thick but still chunky and add the boned chicken. Serve with some diced raw onion if you like (and I do)

Variants: add whatever dollops of spaghetti sauce you have left in the fridge, and/or a diced apple or two at the beginning. I sometimes sneak in a few Pakistani pickled green chilis in oil and spices (Ahmed brand–excellent on burgers, too)

ccmask @ 147

Cliffradz: That sounds like a great recipe due to the parsnips. I have never added parsnips to mine but I imagine it gives a great kick.

Sorry I quoted you twice before, I’m new to this commenting stuff.

Parsnips: I wouldn’t say they give a kick, they’re not hot ‘n’ spicy or anything. Sweet and mellow is more like it. I often use them in beans, soups, stews. I once tried a recipe for parsnip chips from a natural foods cookbook. Just slice the parsnip as thin as possible and fry the slices a few minutes. Drain on paper towels. Salt. Like potato chips but sweeter with real nice flavor.

Just starting to turn cool here in NC, but fall gives us so many wonderful comfort foods… My family has always loved to make breads. My great-aunt grew the biggest butternut squash you could imagine. She would give the seeds away and now I think all the squash in Macon County are descended from her garden. She made the best Squash Muffins. They’re wonderful right out of the oven with soups or meals, but even better when toasted for breakfast. The best part is that you can freeze them and just pop them into the toaster oven when you want to snuggle in those flannel sheets a few more minutes.

Squash Muffins from Aunt Dorothy
2 cups cooked mashed squash
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter, melted
3 cups unsifted self-rising flour

I usually bake the squash. Cut it in half, place cut sides down in baking pan, add water to cover bottom of pan. Cover with foil and bake at 350F for 1 hr.

Combine cooled margarine and sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Add squash and flour. Mix just to moisten ingredients. Pour into greased muffin pans. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes or until they rise. Turn heat down to 300 for about 15 minutes or until brown. Before cooling, loosen from pan to let steam out.

Makes 18 large muffins.

cliffradz at 175 — I love parsnips oven-roasted with a light coating of extra-virgin olive oil, some seasalt and a little fresh rosemary, with some potatoes and carrots and whole garlic cloves as well. The parsnips have a sweetness to them, and they get mellow and incredibly soft when baked. Yummy!

Sharon @ 9:54 if you’re still on the thread -
Macon? Are you still in the neighborhood? Jackson here :-)

Jackson…as in county? How’s Heath Shuler doing in your parts?
Still here.

Another good soup. This time with cabbage and dilled meatballs. Suggested by a conversation with my now-gone Lithuanian father-in-law. It’s also a bit like the little-known Northern Italian soup called yota which is like a minestrone with sauerkraut (also excellent). I start with making a broth with all the chicken and pork bones I collect in the freezer till my wife yells at me.

In a big pot (8-16 qt) put a lot of meaty bones, onions, carrots, celery (with leaves), bay leaves, maybe thyme and parsley if you have them, and a bunch of bouillon cubes of various sorts. Also a couple tablespoon of whole peppercorns. Maybe a Tb or so of kosher salt, but the bouillon cubes may be enough. Add water and simmer and skim for a couple, three hours, or more. Strain off the broth, and add whatever meat and vegetables you can salvage.

Make meatballs out of maybe 1 lb of beef with an egg, some breadcrumbs, a very generous amount of snipped dill weed, and ground pepper. Roll in a cup of raw rice till coated thickly. Saute in oil till browned. Save any leftover rice (waste not, want not).

Shred finely a small head of green cabbage. Add to broth and bring to a boil. After a while, add the meatballs and leftover rice. Cook till the cabbage is tender and the meatballs done. Add a lot of snipped dillweed and some sour cream.

Very good when you have to dig out from three feet of snow the next morning. Go overboard on the pepper. My wife won’t eat this, believing, like the Brazilians, that black pepper is the work of the Devil. But I’m part Polish, so I know better.

Chorizo chili (sort of)

Saute in olive oil:

Chopped onion
Minced garlic
Chopped sweet red pepper
Minced jalapeno or other hot pepper
chorizo sausage, removed from casing and chopped or crumbled

When vegetables are tender, stir in:

Diced tomatoes (I use canned)
Canned pinto or black beans, drained and rinsed
Minced chipotles in adobo sauce
A little ground cumin (optional)

Simmer for a little while. When the ingredients have simmered long enough to get acquainted with each other, stir in some corn kernels – I use frozen – heat through and simmer gently for another 5 minutes or so.

I love this stuff. The chorizos I get here are doubtless inauthentic, but still do a nice job of seasoning the stew.

What might also be nice in here is my new discovery – smoked Spanish paprika.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 177

cliffradz at 175 — I love parsnips oven-roasted with a light coating of extra-virgin olive oil, some seasalt and a little fresh rosemary, with some potatoes and carrots and whole garlic cloves as well. The parsnips have a sweetness to them, and they get mellow and incredibly soft when baked. Yummy!

My library has a book, “The Roasted Vegetable”
by Andrea Chesman with lots of those type recipes. She says veggies take on a whole different character than we’re accustomed to as the sugars carmelize or whatever magic they do. I confess I haven’t tried it yet as I’m too cheap concerned about global resources to use the oven much. But hmmm, I have a couple parsnips and other veggies sitting around, it’s a cloudy Saturday, and I’m stuck in the house waiting for someone . . .

Sharon,
One & the same. Have been in eastern part of the state for much of the summer & Aville paper is so bloody miserable I can’t force myself to read it online so very out of touch re. Schuler. How abt over your way? Would love to see the current twit floating down the Tuckaseegee & trying to decide which end of the state I’m going to be in to help w/GOTV.

Sorry to hear about OBL’s tummy ache. Best to wash hands and all kitchen surfaces after handling raw chicken, and never EVER drink unboiled or unfiltered water in south asia. I know.

Still hot and humid down here in the Sunshine state, although we did have a cool, 76 degree morning Thursday. Fall will come, just a little slower and the 90s will give way to 80s and crisp, chilly 65 degree nights, come December. But this former West Virginian has fall in the blood and I crave apples, cider, apple butter, and all things pumpkin. I love the bounty of the northern harvest despite the balmy weather of the Gulf Coast where I live.

Here’s a lovely little pumpkin bread recipe that is quick, easy, and simply can’t be beat with a little dab of fresh butter and a cup of good strong coffee (I like mine with a little half and half). Pure comfort, pleasure, and deliciousness and the taste of fall in all its glory….

Makes 3 loaves: 1 to eat, 1 to freeze, 1 to give to a neighbor or friend.

3 1/2 cups of sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups of sugar

Sift together and add the following:

1 cup of cooking oil
4 eggs, well beaten
2/3 cup water
2 cups of canned pumpkin (not pie mix!)

Mix until smooth. Bake in 3 loaf pans that have been greased and floured at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean.

Let cool slightly before serving.

Enjoy!

The greatest soup recipe I’ve ever had wasn’t a recipe at all… just a willingness to experiment. Everyone pretty much knows the basic tasty flavors that go into soups: tomato, chicken, beef, seafood, mushroom, celery, garlic, salt, pepper. Just start with one or two basic, reliable flavors, and then start dumping stuff in the pot.

One caveat, though. Pay attention to what you’re putting in there. I once made the greatest soup I’ve ever had, and was never able to make it again because I’d forgotten what I put in it. I know it involved nacho cheese Doritos, though. MMmmmmmmmm….

Redshift@104 mentions sumac. Well, sumac seeds are God’s gift to man. Sort of citrusy. If you can find them at a Middle Eastern store, try an easy chicken dish.

Marinate some skinned chicken pieces, whatever you like, in a mixture of say 2 Tb sumac, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp cloves, and 2-3 Tb oil. Maybe a crushed garlic clove and thyme. An hour is plenty.

Saute a mirepois of the usual carrots, celery, and onion in oil and add a cup or so of stock. Put some flatbread cut into halves or quarters into a baking dish, and arrange the chicken in a layer over it. Add the marinade, mirepois, and maybe more stock, and bake till the chicken is done. Make it soggy. I like it with a tomato and basil salad.

This reminds me of the first time I had sumac, in a little Iraqi restaurant in SF back in 1992 or so, where the bread was served with olive oil and cracked sumac, kind of before you saw virgin olive oil show up on a plate in the East.

Try sumac and thyme and sesame seeds with oil, a la Jordanian zataar, with good bread.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01647.htmljere @
19

Snow on the mountain in Santa Fe. Aspens turning. Beautiful.

Green chili stew!

Jere, amen to that!

CHS: Got here after this thread RIP’ed (as opposed to EPU’d), but found your ode to autumn poetic and lovely. Sumptuous writing.

Simple recipe for apples that are close to fresh but on the brink of going south:

Core and slice cross sections (not along the core axis), about 1/2″ thick.

Saute in light butter, sprinkled with nutmeg and cinnamon, turn and saute other side, more spices.

Remove, place on warm serving dish.

Add more butter, maple syrup, chopped walnuts, optionally add dried currants or cranberries, heat until slightly bubbling,

Pour sauce over apples, serve.

Re: my 188 above, sorry about that, i had something else to copy and got mixed up.
That comment was to Jere!

Summer is not quite ready to give up yet here in NW Oregon – still going into the 80’s this week (fortunately the nights are cool). Local apples and pears are just beginning to make their appearance too.
Chili Verde
2 lbs. Tomatillos (outer husks removed)
1 1/2 lbs. cubed pork
2 Tbl. olive oil
2 cloves garlic
cilantro, chopped
1 chopped jalapeno (seeds and membrane removed)

Cover tomatillos with water in stockpot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain.

In large frying pan, brown pork in olive oil, season to taste. Add garlic and continue to brown about 10 minutes.

Place tomatillos and jalapeno in blender and blend until uniform consistency. Add to pork and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1- 1 1/2 hours or until meat is tender. Add cilantro (about 2 Tbl.)just before serving. Serve with warm flour tortillas.

I came home from the farmer’s market today with (among other things) some beautiful baby bok choy. Any suggestions for what to do with them?

Hi Fern, I’m just checking in, taking a break from hunching over a calligraphy project.

I don’t know if this is what you have in mind for the bok choy, but one of my favorite salads is bok choy dressed with rice wine vinegar and a little sesame oil. Salt and pepper is optional, as the vinegar and oil have enough flavor.

I read Dubhaltach’s post and recipe–sounds great. Can anyone tell me when there became a Mrs. Dubhaltach?? Erdla??

Morning! she says hastily, having slept in and now scrambling to see if anyone is still here.

I’ll go back and read the comments, but know that I’m enjoying it. Today it will be warm here, up to 18 which I think is around 64. But being close to the ozone hole makes the sun much more intense. So it is pleasant in the shade and hot in the sun.

And spring has taken a firm hold here. We took a long walk along the lake, had a light meal in a pub, and then walked home in the dark. I love the way the fragrance of a blossoming tree greets you in darkness. The willows are that early lime green, and the other trees have a green shimmer of buds about them.

Another school term break has begun and my son has chosen to spend the week on his friend’s farm, rather than at the ocean or up skiing on the mountain (we manage to get reduced rates, because of my job…otherwise, we’re not in that financial league). At the farm,they are expecting a total of around 900 lambs, so he might have an interesting week…..

Enjoy the sharpening air there…..

re mac-n-cheese recipe: I like the one in Chef Bobo’s Good Food Cook Book, by Robert Surle (sp?). Easy, really good!

Carolyn Urban, it’s easy to save the page. Go to File > Save As and tell it where and what name.

This is the time of year when I resist turning on the furnace, even though there is a damp damp chill in the air, and we’ve already had a few frost warnings …I can’t bear the thought that once this short, wonderful season has begun, it is so close to being over… It does propel me to finish scraping the ugly side of the barn, so I can paint before it’s too late; finish putting in the small stone wall before the ground freezes, and get on to putty and fix these old old windows that rattle in the winter winds…But STEW! Wonderful regenerative comfy STEW! Even the thought of stew pleases me no end. I have copied and pasted ALL your recipes for stew & goulash & chowdah, and look forward to the simmering glorious fragrance…

When I was a child, my mother (who was an excellent though quite modest cook) used to make the best stew in the world. She would fill a huge pot on the stove and it would simmer the whole day (We had a very large family). It was one of the few times it felt as if we had a bounty of meat, a bite in every spoonful, tender, sweet and perfect. I loved that big pot because there would always be just a bit leftover, and my mother would always save it for me for the next day, when she would say ‘it taste’s best once it’s had a chance to rest.” I haven’t quite be able to duplicate her recipe, so I assume it must have been the great metal pot and her hands that made the difference.

Ah, and about french fries…I know that cooking them twice might seem as a clear assault on your arteries but you are actually better off dipping them twice, the first dip seals the outside, the second finishes the cooking and gives a nice crisp exterior. Also use Idaho potatoes which have a low (9%) moisture content, that will produce the best fries (double fried or not).

I know I’m beyond EPU’d, but here’s one of our favorite, easy stews (even good for a school night). My teenagers love this– we call it Turkey Gumbo.

2-3 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, diced (optional)
1-2 lbs. ground turkey
Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning, to taste (approx. 1-2 T.)
1 lb. frozen cut okra
1-1/2 c. organic chicken or turkey broth
20-30 baby carrots
1 c. corn kernels (optional)

Heat olive oil over medium heat in large griddle or stew pot; add
onions and cook for a couple of minutes. Add bell pepper and celery
(if used), and saute until onions are translucent.

Push vegetables to the side and brown the ground turkey. Sprinkle
the Creole seasoning over the meat and stir it in while it browns.

When all the meat is browned, stir the vegetables back into it and
add the carrots and broth. Add the okra, cover
and simmer over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, or until
carrots are just tender and okra has released its sticky glue.

Add corn (if using) and heat through.

Serve gumbo over cooked brown or white rice.