We invited some of next-door and across-the-street neighbors over for a little casual fall soiree last weekend and had a ton of fun out on our deck with our newly installed mega outdoor heater (you know, the ones that restaurants have on the patios–love this thing!). In summary of the party: Jazz. Kids laughing and mingling. Babies playing. Wine. Appetizer munching. Crisp, but not cold (thanks to the heater), fall breeze blowing. Pumpkin gazing. Tons of fun. More photos…
I raided a neighbor’s Italian plum tree (we have one in our backyard, but it gave us exactly 9 plums this year–boo), with permission of course, and came home with a bowl of the most beautiful and luscious little plums ever. What to do with them? Jam!
On a sunny afternoon walk with the boys today, we stopped to check out my friend Annette’s garden (remember her–the one who turned her entire front yard into a city farm and introduced me to the amazingness that is French sorrel?). Carson, my 2 year old went wild for her three big orange pumpkins sprawling out onto the sidewalk. (He whispered in my ear, “I want to eat them.” The kid is on an eating kick. He wants to eat everything. More on that in another post.)
Annette sent us home with on gargantuan zucchini, an acorn squash (which is too beautiful to eat, I’ve decided) and a genius idea that I can’t believe I’ve never thought to try. Her 3 year old, she said, goes through picky-eating stages. Lately, all he wants is pancakes! So, she makes big batches of homemade (and of course, healthy!) pancakes and then freezes them in batches. All you have to do is pluck one out of a Ziplock bag and toss it in the toaster. Brilliant, right? So you know what I did? I walked straight home and made pancakes. Here’s a recipe for the most satisfying little whole-wheat banana-cinnamon pancakes and photos of my pancake-crazed afternoon…
My new obsession is this simple number I made up the other night: Broccoli-Buttermilk Soup. It made a perfect dinner with crusty bread on the side, and an even more delicious lunch the next day. The recipe…
Do you remember that episode of Gray’s Anatomy when Izzie’s terminally ill boyfriend dies, which sends her into a craze where she bakes muffins all day every day for about a week in order to cope? OK, I’m not quite there, but I’ve been baking a lot–brownies, cookies, zucchini bread, muffins, and these amazing black bottom cupcakes (recipe to follow) that I turn to now and then when things aren’t going so well. Truth is, nobody’s dying here. Everyone’s healthy, we have jobs (and frankly, I have too much work). And we have a roof over our heads–a nice roof, which covers a pretty darn nice house (time to be grateful!). But you know when you dream a big dream and it doesn’t pan out the way you hoped? It’s tough.
I found this gorgeous strawberry-basil drink over at A Day That Is Dessert, a beautiful blog by Lecia Phinney. Here's the recipe, which is by Kathey Casey, who I happen to think is great. Enjoy! [Photo: Lecia Phinney]
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