It's Time

i can't wait any longer...i have to put out my SQUIRREL and OWL hooked rug...don't ya think ?
( click for a closer look )

In Search of a Pumpkin

My cousin John is here in San Luis Obispo visiting from San Francisco and we decided to make a day of pumpkin hunting. We did find a pumpkin pie at The Avila Barn. But what we really wanted was a pumpkin.

They had some nice looking end of the season tomatoes and squash. But frankly, I am burnt out on 'em.

We made our way up See Canyon to Gopher Glen and this was the days offerings of apples. I got a bag of Bellflower...one of my favorites ... they smell like apple blossoms in Spring....and a bag of Red and Gold. We tasted the cider..it was really good...but I am waiting to buy that for Halloween night.

We headed down Los Osos Valley Road to Mary's Pumpkin Patch. The sign on the road said OPEN. So we went down the driveway.....

Little Louie the tiny donkey was there......and we petted him.

huh? the pumpkin racks are empty......where is everybody?

we headed out back past the witches trail to the old barn....

and it was there that we struck gold...kinda...we saw the pumpkins but they were behind a locked gate...and no one in sight....quiet, cool and windy...but no Mary. nobody.

we walked the witches trail and this was our view...a field of corn and the mountains looking towards Morro Bay.

another view as we came to the end of witches trail....the yellow and orange in the fields are marigold flowers grown for their seeds....again, the mountains looking towards Morro Bay North

we made a circle and came back to Mary's. That's the Farmhouse where she lives....but no Mary.

Slick the cat was there in the barn...already on the job...seems like he was the only one around.

looked like no pumpkins for us today so we loaded up and headed to Carlocks Bakery in Los Osos to see what they had for Fall...

as we walked into Carlocks this poster caught my eye. I wondered if that would be fun? Probably not for me...you see..i have this really weird thing about guacamole..i have to make it myself and eat it on the spot...i never order it out. how long ago was it made? how old is it? i just can't do it. But i guess i could have a margarita....

Carlocks didn't dissapoint...they had haystacks and Fall leaf cookies....

and just look at those donuts...how often do you see that anymore?

that cute little sign as we walked in the door...

and the BIG SCORE of the day...a donut from Carlocks. That's my cousin John. We see each other about 4 times a year...and when we get together there isn't one moment of silence....we talk on and on......we might not have found a pumpkin that day...but we did find some donuts..and we had a REALLY good time.

Saturday Looking For Fall

Good thing Gourmet went out of business...cause I'm not in the mood for fancy food.I want farmy and old fashioned right about now. It is windy and cool out here this late august afternoon...it's back to school and gopher glen is selling apple cider . i got my first seek-no-further apple off my tree last night. well, it fell off and i can hear my brown corn rustling in the wind. summer has slipped away. good-bye my friend.

tomorrow night we are "pretending" we are tailgating. i think football is on.

haven't opened it yet...but how could i pass it by.....

just look at that bag of candy corn. usually the bag isn't very cute... but this was darling. i don't think i am going to be able to open it.

pumpkin spice cupcake kit...bought it cause the tin was cute....

bought this cause the tin was cute too...it is filled with those really thin gingersnap cookies...the ones that i tip toe downstairs for in the middle of the night. i hope i don't regret this purchase
...it a big tin of cookies

look at that..i mean...come on...how could you NOT get this...i get one every year...

candles...the one i really like is the cupcake one..why did i just get one..you really need more than one...

this is my kitchen window...the screen and lighting makes it look bad...the sun is too bright right now as it is just starting to sink over san luis mountain...but i had to show you anyway....

i just can't help myself in the window clinger department...at least it's windy and cool today...if it was hot...these would be melting...tomorrow is the last sunday in august...farewell summer...it's been nice.

Red Plaid Recipe Box ...Recipe 1.

We're getting close to Halloween and it got me to thinking about Holiday Cooking. So I got out my mom's red plaid recipe box. I think I have mentioned it before. It's one of those"if the house was on fire what would you grab" kinda things. I treasure it. So as I was going through the box...I am thinking...all these recipes look so good..and what I really liked about them was that each recipe seemed to have a history behind it and told a story. Who's recipe was it? Where did it come from? A relative? A neighbor? An old friend? I love old recipe boxes . Each one so different...each one someone's own private treasure box.

Alot of the recipes were from Bessie. The lady that introduced me to "The Treasury Of Great recipes" by Mary and Vincent Price. My other "house is burning" grab. Bessie came every afternoon when my little brother was a baby and got supper started. Alot of the recipes are from relatives too. Since we are getting into the Holidays and winter, I thought it would be fun to work my way through the box and share the recipes with you...my friends.

The other day I wanted to make a lasagna. Not one of those all day make your own pasta affairs... I just wanted something simple and easy. So I tried the recipe for spaghetti sauce from the recipe file of Enide Allison. What a way to start. I don't know Enide.I have never heard of her. Ever. She must have been a real person..her recipe card has her name engraved right next to the little pot bellied stove.She must have taken her cooking pretty seriously to have her name engraved on the card.

So I made the the spaghetti sauce. And it was good. I just layered it with lasagna pasta and cheese. That was it. Simple.


from the recipe file of --- Enide Allison

1 onion, diced
1 large can whole peeled tomatoes (I'm on a San Marzano kick)
1 teaspoon oregano
Chopped italian flat leaf parsely (I used about 1/2 cup)
Salt and pepper

Saute the onion in olive oil till soft
Add tomatoes
Add oregano and parsley
Salt and pepper to taste. (to be perfectly honest, I just add salt, it's just a personal thing I have going on)
Simmer for about 40 to 50 minutes

Layer in a casserole dish lasagna and cheese with the sauce

Baker 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes till bubbly and hot

Waiting And Watching

Out here in on the Central Coast of Califoria we are waiting for our first BIG STORM of the season. And we are ready. It has been one long hot dry summer. We need some rain. So in anticipation of the big event, I decided to make my Julia Child French Onion Soup. I go back and forth between Julia Child's and Vincent Price's recipe. And back and forth on the beef stock or chicken stock thing too. I can never decide which I like better. Truth be told, I like them both the same. Cause when you get right down to it...for me anyway, it is all about the cheese..Went to Scolaris this morning praying they would have Gruyere cheese. It is a small neighborhood market and I was worried that anything beyond swiss and cheddar might be out of their reach. But I got lucky. I scored. They had some gruyere. It is really the only one that will do here. And I needed the vermouth too. I have used white wine before, but I don't know if it's in my head or what, I just like it better with the vermouth. Maybe it makes me feel like I am really doing it Julia's way. And at the very end...right before you serve it..it has got to have a wave of cognac. It's got to. I was watching PBS on Saturday...they had on those vintage shows of Jacques and Julia from like the 70's. And it made me remember how much I love her. So tonight when that big storm slams in from the Pacific...we will be all cozy inside with our bowls of soup and to go with it...grilled prosciutto and cheese sandwhiches. A cozy autumn night, by the fire.Soup and grilled cheese night. Julia-style.And YES..that is scotch tape holding that beloved book together.....

I Have A Crush !

There he is. Isn't he adorable? I have to admit it..I have a crush on him. I couldn't resist taking pictures of him from all angles. He is just so cute. Yesterday we took a drive out to The Avila Barn. All the pumpkins are stacked. The barn is filled with apples and pears and nuts of all sorts. We played around, got ice cream cones, watched the kids on the tractor rides, and fed all the barnyard animals. With extra helpings to the donkey. It was a beautiful October afternoon. After we came home I rolled out our pizza dough that had been rising on the drainboard. John called and said he was going to be late. So I built a fire in the woodstove and read my Gooseberry Patch cookbook. You see, today I am pretending that I am on a farm in Vermont. My gate is bolted shut. I have a pot roast with Lipton Onion soup in the Crock Pot. No Thomas Keller or Alice Waters fare tonight. Just pure comfort. My kittys are laying in the early morning sun...all stretched out getting all that warmth. Butterscotch is laying by my side. I am going to go upstairs and put on my red plaid flannel L.L. Bean sheets on the bed. Might make a chocolate pie this afternoon. Newspaper says a big rain storm is on the way Sunday night from Alaska. That means COLD ! Finally. Pot roast sounds just right. With gravy. I wonder if I should make biscuits?

Treats

We had alot of fun this first full weekend of October. And with a full moon to add to the fun. We were invited to my brothers for a Full Moon Party and my assignment was dessert. I wanted something fun and kid friendly so went with the traditional cupcakes and caramel apple. I got lucky and scored some darling lady apples earlier in the week at the grocery store. I asked her where they got them and the lady said a little old man brought them in from his tree up in a town called Harmony. Population 18. No joke. That's what the sign says. And they aren't kidding. It is small. On Highway One here on the Pacific Coast of California, about 15 minutes south of Hearst Castle. Well, that was all I needed to hear. I was sold. Since then I think I have been back to that store everyday, stocking up on those apples. I have also heard them called Christmas Apples. Whatever you you call them..they are charming.

So we set up shop and made the pumpkin spice cupcakes that were in the October issue of Bon Appetit. (btw all you fellow foodies out there, I just heard this morning that Gourmet magazine is folding...the beloved..after all these years.)

On Saturday I took a ride up See Canyon in the apple orchards looking for apple branches. I was wondering if I was going to have any luck. I took a side road called Pippin Lane (I'm not kidding..that was the name of it.) and I got lucky. There lying on the side of the road ...was a pile of old apple branches. I loaded them into my car and headed home..delighted in my treasure of old apple branches...even the car smelled "apple-ey".

So Sunday morning was our fun cupcake and caramel apple day. And we all had a good time. And it did...feel like Fall.

Mary's

I have been so excited about getting to share my TRUE LOVE with you all. It's a pumpkin patch. And it is run by the sweetest lady who ever walked the earth. Mary. It's a family effort. Mary's husband, the sweetest man who ever walked the earth and her children all work the farm. That's the farmhouse. Can you take it? It makes me so HAPPY to just see it every year. My friend, Julie and I used to sit in the car under the pear tree..yea, that's right...I said pear tree.... and we would like to guess what they were having for dinner in there. Meatloaf with gravy? Swiss steak and mashed potatoes? Roast chicken with stuffing? Spaghetti Bake with cheddar cheese on top? Is there a pot roast in the crock pot to have after a hard day in the pumpkin patch. Julie and I took a trip to New England a few years ago in October, and while we did visit alot of great pumpkin patches, Mary's ranks right up there in the top 3. We used to joke about it....3000 miles.....and Mary's...right in our own backyard.

Today my brother Mark and Julie and I rolled up the driveway, but we could see they were just setting up. All hard at work, decorating, stacking the pumpkins in neat rows.... so busy...working so hard...there is even a witches path with a cemetary, a corn maze and and animals to feed and pet.

They should be opening this weekend. Stay tuned.