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.

The Smell Of Meat

Lookie there ! Yep, you're seeing right. Those are meatballs. It's official. I am over the vegetarian thing. I only lasted 4 days. 4 days. What was I thinking? Little Miss Beef Dip Sandwhich Queen. I knew it wouldn't last. It's October for Pete's sake. Fall. It's pot roast in the crock pot..and swiss steak and chili with the football games on. Not to even mention Thanksgiving. Can you imagine smelling a turkey roasting in the oven and then come supper time saying "Oh, no thanks, none for me." And Christmas Dinner. My favorite subject of the year. Planning the menu. Which for us is always prime rib (rare..hello) and yorkshire pudding. The recipe from my beloved Vincent Price "The Treasury Of Great Recipes". The greatest book ever written.

So I tried, but it's just too hard. Too complicated. John is a "meat and potatoes" kinda guy. A "lover of the bbq" kinda guy. And me, "I'll have mine rare".Come on. I didn't stand a chance.I found myself making 2 suppers each night. One for him and one for me. Taco salad night was such an ordeal...something I don't care to repeat. Two salads...one with meat and one without. And tostado night. One with meat and another with beans. Forget it. And the look on John's face when I asked him if he wanted a spinach and mushroom tart for dinner. HUH? "What did you say?" "Spinach and mushroom tart?" "You mean here, at our house...for dinner tonight?" The look on his face said it all.

So yesterday morning on the Today show..Frank from Rao's is making meatballs. John's eyes glistened with delight. "Oh, look at those...boy those look so good." And I had to admit..they did look good. So there you go. My "hipaterian" /"vegetarian" kick is over. Maybe vegetarian just sounds cool. Whatever the case...it's over. And those meatballs smelled good. And tasted even better.


Anna And Frankie's Meatballs
Polpettini

Adapted from Rao's Cookbook by Frank Pellegrino

Makes 28

1 pound ground lean beef
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
2 large eggs
1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 1/2 Tablespoons italian parsley, chopped
1/2 small clove garlic, peeled and minced
2 cups bread crumbs
2 cups lukewarm water
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup fine quality olive oil

1. Combine beef, veal and pork in a large bowl. Add eggs, cheese,parsley, garlic and salt and pepper to tats. Using you hands, blend ingredients together. Blend Bread Crumbs into meat mixture. Slowly add water,1 cup at a time until mixture is quite moist.

2. Shape meat mixture into balls ( about 2 inches ).

3. Heat oil in a large saute pan. When oil is very hot but not smoking, fry meatballs in batches. Let cook till brown and crisp. remove from heat and drain on paper towels.

4.Lower meatballs into simmering Marinara sauce ( any of your favorite sauces will work here ) and let simmer 15 minutes. Serve over pasta or on their own.

I add grated Parmesan on the top.

Ride With Me

Yesterday afternoon John had to drive to Cambria. We lived there for nearly 30 years. Moved back to San Luis Obispo in August of 2007. We are both from San Luis, so it was like going home. San Luis is 30 miles south of Cambria on Highway One. If you kept going north up Highway One you would go to Hearst Castle and in about another hour and a half....an hour and a half of winding and winding ...you would find youself in beautiful and beloved Big Sur. We both LOVE Big Sur. Who doesn't?

It felt kind of funny being back in Cambria yesterday. I have only been back twice since we moved and both times I was in the village. Not our old neighborhood. Driving through a place where you used to live feels odd. I have never really had that feeling cause we have lived in Cambria all our married life. We moved there right after we both graduated from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo.Got married, moved to Cambria and never gave it another thought. We drove past our old house and I remembered how much I loved living there. There are alot more houses now, but other than that it felt the same. I remembered the giant vegetable garden that I had. All the pumpkins and tomatoes and corn and herbs galore. Even with the deer, I managed to have a wonderful garden. I guess there was enough for everybody. I looked up at the porch and remembered how I had it covered... top to bottom with all the pumpkins I grew that year. 57 of 'em. I looked at the window that our Christmas tree stood in. Remembered getting ready to go to a Christmas party across the street. All excited, all the houses glowing in their Christmas lights. Woodsmoke in the air. You could see it curling through the pines from the houses on the hill.I remembered sitting on top of my bed during the late afternoons waiting for the sun to sink into the Pacific ocean....my kitty Schuggie laying next to me...and I was always reading a cookbook. My crockpot on the drainboard bubbling away with something ...and a can of cream of celery..my favorite at the time. Come to think of it..cream of celery is still a
favorite.
Cambria is remote...and small. There is no Safeway or movie theaters or Starbucks or Jamba Juice or Barnes and Noble or Trader Jo's or Food 4 Less. But what is there is peace and quite and nature. It is a different way of life. And I liked it. And I like it here too. I remember my mom used to say to me.."wherever you are...just make your spot." And she was right. If I live in Cambria or San Francisco or Los Angeles or..San Luis Obispo...wherever I have lived..I've loved. Cause you just "make your spot."

Linguine With Chanterelles and Leeks

Well, I have made it to day 4 on my vegetarian kick over here. And so far, so good. But, I have to admit that I am starting to get nervous. It's fall...and that means soups and stews and pot roast and meatloaf and swiss steak and chili and sloppy jo night....I don't know how long I am going to make it. I'm a foodie. I love to shop for food, plan meals around the food I just got,read about food, cook food, eat food....how is this going to work? For now, I am taking the "one day at a time" approach. It's not really a health thing with going vegetarian...you see, I am still reeling from the fair last summer..seeing all those pigs and cows and chickens..looking at you with those eyes...little name tags above each stall...yikes...so for now..at least for today..it is vegetarian..
And in keeping with my new theme..last night I made a pasta dish that I have to tell you about. I am going to just say it here and now. It was a winner ! It was so good ! Even John ( who has been known to be kinda picky....gee I wonder how that happened ) was falling in love with it. So here it is. Make it. You won't be disappointed.

Linguine With Chanterelles and Leeks
Adapted From Field of Greens by Annie Somerville

This elegant pasta is easy to prepare, and the flavors are so well suited to each other that it comes together quite effortlessly. If chanterelles are not to be found, you can use cremini or white button ( I did ), though the sweet, earthy wild mushroom flavor will be missed.
Serves 2


1/2 pound chanterelles
1 leek, white part only, cut in half lenghtwise, thinly sliced and washed
2 Tablespoons butter ... I used really good butter here..Kerrygold
Salt and Peppper
1/3 cup white wine...or more to keep it loose
1/2 pound linguine
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme...I added some italian parsley too
Grated Parmesan cheese....use the good stuff



Wash and slice the mushrooms.In a large skillet melt the butter and saute the leek with salt and pepper till soft..3 to 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook till brown and soft. Add the white wine and simmer 10 minutes or so. If the sauce gets tight...add more wine.

In a large pot put on the water to boil for the pasta. Add a good Tablespoon of salt.
Cook pasta till just tender. Drain. Add to mushroom sauce. Add a little pasta cooking water if the mushroom sauce is not loose enough.Toss all together. Add herbs and parmesan cheese.

I didn't do it, but I think some wilted spinach would go good in here.

Obsession

With summer now gone, I have been making and freezing alot of pesto. And I don't know why. It seems silly, really. You can get basil all year round now at stores like Trader Jo's who get it from hothouse growers.

And maybe that right there is the point. It comes from Trader Jo's and it is grown in a hothouse. It's not picked from my garden, leaves still warm and then turned right into pesto.

But lately, there is a problem lurking. Pesto that turns dark. And it drives me crazy. I want that bright emerald green pesto. The kind you see in Gourmet. And at those fancy restaurants. What's the deal? Why does mine go dark...so fast. I tried the mortar and pestle route. Grinding and grinding by hand.This is sure alot of work I thought to myself, but if it works, it will be worth it.Things looked like they were going pretty well for a while and then....everything went south. OMG! It turned dark. O.K. I'll try the Cuisinart. No luck there either. Is it the blade on the Cuisinart that turns the pesto dark.?. So after much research and investigating, I think I finally discovered the secret (at least it was a secret to me.) Blanching. You have to blanch the basil in boiling water for about 30 seconds to set the color, then shock it with ice water. And it worked. it was GREEN. Basil Green. Fresh from the Garden Green. That was the answer. Ta-Da ! I put the pesto on a warm baby white rose potato salad. John was horrified. 'What's that?" "No mayo?"....nope, I'm mayo-ed out. I mayo-ed my way through potato salad all summer long. And I'm tired of it. Tonight it's pesto potato.

If I was really going to do it right, I would have drug out the mortar and pestle. But it's heavy. And I was expecting company in 30 minutes. I didn't want to be standing in my little kitchen grinding basil and walnuts ( yeah, I said walnuts...not pine nuts) in a mortar. They would think I was taking it over the top. Too much time on my hands and all that. And I didn't want to hear it."You're obsessed."they would proclaim. "I know."

Just A Dollop

Well, with the first day of Fall came a mood for baking around here. Especially something warm and spicy. Something that would fill the house with that "fall-is-here-and-there-is-something-baking feeling". And what could fit the bill better than gingerbread? Anything else, really? I ask you. To me...gingerbread just reeks fall.

So I got out my pan, knew right where the molasses was..cause I just bought a fresh new bottle for all the upcoming holiday baking...and assembled all the ingredients.

I mixed and whirled. Crack an egg, measured my molasses and flour and spices. It felt so good to be back in the kitchen baking. It's been a long hot summer here, and between you and me...the thought of turning on that old Wedgewood stove was not a happy one. It really heats up my kitchen. In the fall and winter I love it..but summer is another story...it is a cooker. So once again, my beloved September is here..and with it....came my baking mood.

Oh, and the plate with the turnip on it. In case you're wondering..and I know you are, that was made by my dear friend, Julie Whitmore from Julie Whitmore Pottery on ETSY.

Equinox

Today we welcome Autumn......