September Saturday

Ciabatta--Poolish Version and some Pasta

The fall weather has really sparked a baking mood around here. Even John is into it.
Yesterday morning we woke up to very cold and foggy start of the day. We both felt like a pasta supper at home so we decided to make our first Bolognese Ragu of the season. "Which one should we make?" I asked. "Mario, Rao's, Marcella, Lidia or how about Biba?" We were lucky enough to go to Biba's Restaurant one summer when we found ourselves in Sacramento. The dinner was unforgetable, but what I remember most was the gnocchi. The BEST I have ever had. But today we were on a Tagliatelle with Bolognese mission. We had some carrots and onions still from that sorry garden, so we went and picked those and set off browning the celery, carrots and onion in butter and olive oil. Added in the pancetta and the ground pork then the chicken stock and tomato paste....and no the paste was not from tomatoes in the garden..I didn't even get enough to make a pizza sauce. Total waste of time and water this year. I promise ..this is the last rant I go on about that garden.....we let the sauce bubble away on the stove for the rest of the day and went onto pasta making and Ciabatta making.

I told you all that I was following the Bread Bakers Apprentice baking challenge from Nicole over at Pinch My Salt. We are sorta out of order...and are into making sourdough bread right now.

The day ended with the most delicious pasta. It was good. There really is nothing else like that homemade handcut tagliatelle. So soft and silky.And you know what? That pasta was really good this morning for breakfast.

Today I am making homemade pizza for John for Sunday Night football. More on that later.

100 years old and Halloween

Well, being that our neighborhood is rumored to be about 104 years old, this fig tree must be at least that old. It sits across the lot from me in the backyard of an abandoned old house. Neglected, unloved and uncared for...I feel sorry for it. I have had my eye on it all summer long. So today, I took a stroll over and YEP, the figs have started to turn. I picked a few, peeled 'em and ate them while they were still warm from the sun. Went back and got my camera and took a couple of shots with the figs still on the tree. I have HIGH HOPES for these figs. They have found a home with me. I'm thinking fig tart already.

Today also got the serious Halloween decorating under way. I got into the old trunk upstairs and fell in love all over again. Just like I do every year. Got a few things out..but there is more. Stay tuned.

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.