Hello Autumn....

Autumn arrived yesterday with a lot of rain and fog...

It was pitch dark when I arrived home last night just after 7 PM....the days are dramatically shorter and on a stormy night the darkness comes so early---too early!

I always think I don't mind winter, I enjoy the bright cold days...but the short days and sudden nightfalls of autumn require a real adjustment in one's mindset, don't they?

Apropos of autumn and harvest time, my weekly farmers has been busy and fun, the growers stalwart in bringing their produce to us here at the beach.

H. Irene and other late summer storms and floods destroyed some field crops, especially upstate. No late corn, no more summer squash...and I 've read no pumpkins! Unless the greenmarket relaxes its rules and lets our guys sell pumpkins from Indiana and Ohio.

I'm not a big fan of gladiolas but they were the only flowers at the market this week.

When I was designing in NYC I had a friend who was a lace sales rep, he lived on a farm way out on the Island. And he'd bring us armloads of glads every summer! My city loft was all black and white and art deco and I love the glads at that time, the bigger and brighter the better, even if I did have to tote the 4' stalks home on the crowded subway. Now I choose the softest pinks and put them in a large ironstone pitcher, hoping for a more cottage-y look.

They're very pretty, aren't they? Like old fashioned little girl's party dresses....

And also from Long Island, really spectacular lettuce right now. Butter (or Boston) lettuce is so delicate, so fragile...amazing that it looks this perfect despite the heat and rain. Yummy with a sweet raspberry vinaigrette, early pears cut in slivers, walnuts, and crumbled goat cheese, a lovely late summer ( we stubbornly pretend! Sometimes til Christmas!) supper.

Then I fell in love with these teeny tiny heirloom eggplants!

Aren't they the cutest things, miniatures!

They were so sweet, the insides white and seedless....a few I sliced into disks and dusted with cornflour, sauteed in olive oil, an indulgent treat, first course...

The rest were diced with fresh tomatoes and tossed with farmers market fresh ravioli...

 I find I really enjoy the small adventure of choosing the unusual, the fresh, the perfect in-season items at the outdoor market each week, then bringing them home and making interesting, fresh, healthy (usually!) meals for my family. I know I am lucky that my family love vegetables! They happily gobble up each effort....which makes me feel like a good cook---my culinary aspirations are fortunately small.

And soon, I hope---applesauce!

Have a good weekend!

love

                 lizzy

             [ gone to the beach]