Birthday Night

Well, we had the 4oth birthday party...and we had a lot of fun.

We sat outside under the arbor..it was 90 degrees here yesterday..but by 5:30 it was just perfect. We drank cold beer and had almonds, olives, gouda and crackers.

The days are getting shorter, so as it started to get dark we moved indoors and started with a mozzarella and tomato salad..the tomtoes were from our garden and they are so good. After the salad I had John start the bbq and for dinner we had bbqed wild Alaskan salmon. I served the fish on top of mashed potatoes that were finished off with olive oil then topped the fish with an herb sauce that I got out of Alfred Portale. And for dessert, birthday cake . Devil's food with a seven minute frosting. It was a fun family evening...just wish we did it more often.

Party Planning

Just in case you were wondering where we went...is anybody out there? we are in heavy party planning mode around here..Have a 40th birthday coming up..so we are up to our ears in cookbooks and recipes. I'll let ya know what we come up with..it's tomorrow......

Channeling Julia Child

Channeling Julia Child

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BLUE

What a way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I had a dental emergency and I was feeling blue. After I got home, I needed some serious comfort for an August afternoon. I had picked up some blueberries at the farmers market just cause they looked so well, summer. I had no idea what I was going to do with them..probably just eat 'em fresh. But after the dentist situation, I wanted something cozy. The fog was rolling in and I felt like building our first fire, but being our neighbors were bbqing..and we were going to be too....the fire just didn't seem right. But what did seem right was a fruit dessert bubbling away in my baby cast iron skillet. My friend, Julie and I took a trip to New England a couple of years ago and on our last night we were in Portland, Maine...the beloved Portland, Maine I might add.
Our last dinner after a 14 day long trip was at "Fore Street" in Portland. And it was the best we had the whole time..and we had some pretty good food on that trip.But when the waiter came out and sat down on our table tiny individual cast iron skillets with a warm jumbleberry crisp...we nearly cried. It was beautiful and it was delicious. And I have never forgotten it. And neither has Julie.

Cannelle et Vanille: My Food Styling and Photography Portfolio

Cannelle et Vanille: My Food Styling and Photography Portfolio

Stillwater Sampler

Adapted From The Book "Stillmeadow Sampler" by Gladys Taber

" The turning wheel of the seasons rolls slowly now, in August. People walk without hurry. Cows seek the shade of oak or sugar maples in the pastures and chew their cud dreamily. The wild country cats tiptoe along the stone walls at dusk, instead of racing with tails flat out. The hounds bark in halfhearted fashion when they tree something. Even the haying lacks the feverish haste of early summer, for most of the barns are full. Pumpkins and squash are ripe, corn silk darkens in the corn patches. There is a hiatus between the hard work of midsummer and the brisk days of woodcutting, filling woodsheds,chopping kindling, to come. Weeding in the garden is about over. From now on, the vegetables can hold their own, weeds or no. High time too, says Jill, after all the tending they have had all summer. Nature and man both seem to move on a light rein for a short time, a restoring time."