Halloween Decorating

We are starting our Halloween decorating today. The heat broke...so it is full steam ahead. I got these flowers at Trader Jo's. I am not usually much of a lily fan, but these really caught my eye. The orange looked so September. And I like them sitting on my woodstove. With the orange and black, you know the feeling I'm getting off that. The little witch is part of my vintage Halloween collection. I have been crazy for Halloween since I can ever remember. As kids, we just went nuts over Halloween. We lived in Los Gatos, CA and back then there was a dime store with the wooden floors. My brother Mark and I would drag my poor mother into that store every day of the week in the month of October. It was when they had the costumes that came in the cardboard boxes. I am sure by the end of October Mark and I each had about a dozen different costumes. We could never make up our minds. Next door, was a bakery called "The Cream Puff" (how perfect is that?) We always got to go over there and pick out something for dessert that night. I usually got a .....cream puff. It is still my favorite dessert today. After we got home, my mom would call and ask Mary Alice, our neighbor, if it was o.k. for Kary and Mark to come "trick-or-treating". We would struggle to get our costumes on and after supper, when it got dark enough, over the bridge we would go for our "practice" night of trick-or-treating. And ya know what, even though about 100 years has passed, I still go "practice" trick-or-treating from Labor day till Halloween. And I still can't get enough.

Meatloaf Mode

We have shifted into high gear around here and the meatloaf making has begun. Tonight I did a turkey and basil meatloaf. My own version. I have making variations of this most of the year, really. When you hear "turkey meatloaf" I think most people think, Oh, wait a minute, it's is going to be dry, this sounds "health foodie", and while I think it is in the "health food camp" it is not dry and it is good. I always make mine in a round cast iron skillet and for no other reason than I think it looks so Maine Camp. My friend, Sharon, who is a half - time Mainer always uses cast iron for her suppers, so I have to give credit where credit is due. For me, it just oozes charm. So I guess that is why....I think it looks charming.

Kary's End-of-Summer Turkey Meatloaf

1 lb. ground turkey
1 egg
1 carrot
2 stalks celery with leaves
1 onion
1 bunch italian parsley
A few basil leaves
Thyme
3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup milk
Package meatloaf mix. I like Mrs. Cubbisons but it's hard to find. Anything else will work fine.

Cusinart the onion, celery, carrot and herbs till fine.
Place in a bowl.
Add ground turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, milk, and meatloaf mix. Stir together well.
Place in a cast iron skillet or meatloaf pan.
Bake 45 minutes @ 350.

Triple Crown

These beauties are called Triple Crown.How do you like that? I Love It ! Making a crisp with them tonight. I'll let ya know how it goes.

Mutsu

I made another run to Gopher Glen over Labor Day weekend. This time I came up with Mutsu apples. What I was really looking for was raspberries, but that wasn't gonna happen. They had 'em, but they looked bad. All mushy and falling apart. They looked old. So I took a pass on them. Next, I thought what about blueberries? I asked the kid, "Any blueberries?" "Nope, sorry, lady, the're all gone." O.K. I guess I'll check out the apples. The sign said that the Mutsu were " A Great Pie Apple". Well, that sounds good, I'll get those. To be perfectly honest, I have seen them before, but took a pass 'cause I don't like the name. I'm not sure what that's about. So I bagged 'em up and headed for home. I knew I would make the Sour Cream Apple Pie out of The Silver Palate. The First Book. I had made it about 20 years ago and I always loved it. The top of the apples get a crunchy streusel topping of brown sugar and walnuts before you put on the lattice top. I was in a cooking mood, or I would have skipped the lattice part. The pie took FOREVER to make. It looked pretty, farmy and homemade, not professional, that's for sure, and it was good, but I thought the apples still had a kinda crunch after one hour in the oven. So the next day we went back to Gopher Glen and I told the lady about the crunchy apples. She said,"Oh yea, Mutsu apples are like that, they stay crunchy." Thanks, now ya tell me.

Huh?

Looks like somebody beat me. Halloween. Already.

Morro Bay

We had pretty much had it with the heat wave around here so we headed out to Morro Bay. I'm gonna let ya in on a little secret. I don't really like Morro Bay. And I don't even have a good reason why. I should like it. It has all the things I do like. Small, quaint, it really is charming, fishing boats, family run fish and chips dives, otters in the bay, seals, seagulls, now that I think about it, I guess I do like Morro Bay. Since moving from Cambria 2 years ago, which is about 20 minutes north on Highway One, I have not been to Morro Bay. Maybe that's what it is. I was on M.B. overload. Did all my grocery shopping there for nearly 30 years. Ya know, it was good to go back. We loaded up the car with some bottles of water and Buddy. John has been having the worst craving for some decent Hass avocados. The ones from Scolaris have been bad. We knew of a little roadside stand out on Highway 41 that was "the spot" for really good avocados. The ride was nice and we did see leaves starting to turn color along the creek. We got a sack of avocados and headed back into the village. John LOVES clam chowder. I have to be in the "mood" for it. And most of the time, I am NOT in the "mood" for it. So we went to Giovannis and he got the soup and we headed to "The Rock" as it is called to eat and watch the waves. It was cool and windy, but we had a good time.It felt good to get out of the heat, but this morning we woke to cold and foggy. So it looks like the heat wave is over. I am headed to The Avila Barn this morning to get raspberries to make a pie. We are invited to some friends for a Labor Day bbq and I am dessert. I'll let ya know how the pie making goes.

Heat Wave, Hurricane and .....Ativan

We're still here, but it has been rough sailing. First off, we were hit with a heat wave. Yeah, I know, it gets hot end of August, but this dear ones, goes BEYOND hot. I am talking in the 115 degree+ range.It's the garden is all fried up and gone kinda hot. Plants crackle in the sun hot. Dirt steams hot. Birds are panting hot. (I have NEVER seen a bird pant like a dog). Poor thing, raced to give it a plate of water. He just looked at me, cocked his head, and made a break for the open skies.

And to top the whole lovely mess off, I have dental trouble and being the big baby I am insisted on being medicated for a dental procedure. So they put me on Ativan. And needless to say, I pretty much don't remember the last 3 days. I'm wondering if I should have gone Ativan-less. I might have been better off. Feeling like you're under water in a 110 degree heat wave is way too weird for me. Somebody please help me.

But, was feeling more like myself today, and between you and me I don't think I could take another Stouffer frozen dinner. And I'm bored here alone. I knew the fall magazines would be out so I headed for Borders. I got the September "Bon Appetit". The one with the flattened out chicken on the cover. About a hundred years ago my girlfriend, Molly and I spent an entire afternoon doing this to game hens. It was in the new Martha Stewart Entertaining Book. While most kids in high school were"hanging out at the mall" we boned game hens. So I did it to the chicken. It's little chubby legs look kinda sad, but...what are ya gonna do? So she is marinating in the fridge in lemon and olive oil..Is it too hot to go out and get the herbs? Or I am just lazy? Or do I still have Ativan residue?