Farmers Market: The Harvest

The farmers market has been a delight these past few autumn weeks.

Gone are the limp lettuces and hot tired bored sellers. Everyone seems rejuvenated by the golden sunshine, brisk breeze and salt air.

November is the final harvest time...the apples and pears are bursting from their bins. All these rare old varieties to try....and yet Golden Delicious remains my fav.

Add a chewy fresh baguette and some artisan goat cheese and it makes a lovely light supper or "cocktail time" snack.

The winter vegetables are in.

Look at this dinosaur spine!

Nope, nothing exotic, just the fun of seeing brussels sprouts in their natural form.

Of course I brought one home. Very crispy sweet little sprouts, briefly sauteed with caraway seeds and a smidge of sweet market butter...

And look! Purple, uh...broccoli?

Or is it cauliflower?

The guy selling it smiled and shrugged, said try it. It tasted great, sweet and savory, sprinkled with parm and black pepper.

Not so sure I love, love, love pastel food though.
What so you think?
Must broccoli stay green and safe or can it be fun?

Here's the dinner ..sesame teriyaki chicken, brown rice pilaf, and vegs. 

I haven't had a working oven since last Christmas! But a new one is to arrive in Saturday. I am really looking forward to making brisket with tiny autumn carrots, or a lentil-sweet -potato-apple soup. A friend just emailed the recipe, sounds so yummy for a cold winter night. If I have an oven I cook these onepot meals in my big blue leCreuset dutch oven, 350*/ 3 hours. Saves them from my talent of scorching on the stovetop...(No, I don't own a CrockPot.)

And oh yes! Simply roasting and loving all the winter squashes. So rich, so healthy! Yum.

Good news is---the market may be getting winter quarters!

A heated tent in loan from a wedding supplier? The [very small] lobby of City Hall? Wherever it is, I hope the market continues here all winter. No fresh veggies, but staples like apples and squash, cheeses,  pickles, wursts. Breads. Moon pies and shoofly pies from the Amish guys from PA. And maybe a yarn seller? Oh boy! How fun. I am also hoping for a Holiday bazaar thing in December....if not this year, maybe, next? I'll tell you all my ideas someday soon when we have a moment for Maybes and What ifs...


      love

                     lizzy

...gone to the beach (which, PS, has NO snow! just diehard beach lovers and their beach chairs today. So fun!)



Happy Halloween!

Hi! The snow storm raged...but then it was gone, now the beach is just expecting early frost on the pumpkins. Brrr! instead of Boo!

Some fun stuff from around my little beach cottage...
Hearts of course!

A spooky greeting...

and more beach weeds...

My best cheddar quilt!

Bowls of pumpkins...

large.....

small.....

And stripey!
This one's from a favorite vendor at my farmers market. I just loved the yellow and orange  stripes, the wartiness, the red and green "freckles"...I try to find a unique pumpkin every year.

He's gonna stay for Thanksgiving, not be a jack o'lantern...

This is a new folkart piece I've been working on for---years! He's a bobble doll, a nodder. The spring and base are beachcombed finds...

 .

...and here's an old favorite, made when my kids were very small. (their papier mache ''jacks'' ---uh---didn't survive!)...

Happy Halloween!

love

             lizzy

              gone to the beach!

The Great Candy Corn Debate?

Trick or treat!

We're gonna have snow? Is this a trick? 

(more on Halloween snow in a moment) but first...

Candy corn! This post was inspired by a blog on etsy. The esty blogger wrote about how much she hated candy candy corn as a child.

Who knew? I adore candy corn...though I've never offered it as treat for my ghosties and goblins who come to my door. (I tend to go with Reese's and Hershey bars, I just leave them in a basket tied to my doorknob: "Have some goodies" ---I've never quite figured out local T & T customs, the children may come any day, any time!)

But I always buy candy corn. It's so cute, so Halloween perfect.

I love to fill a few old mason jars with its festive happy glow...

It never occurred to me to choose sides, lol. When I was a child my mom was very much into healthy eating. No candy ever in our house,and cake only at birthdays (and my dad was capable of serving only half a cake! and freezing the rest for another birthday, later in the year.).

So I was beyond ecstatic to get that pillowcase full of candy each October. I pretty much liked any candy, as long as it wasn't licorice...

Candy corn was a definite fav, right there with the Reese's Cups and Necco wafers.

I also always loved the candy apples, caramel apples, popcorn balls and Rice Krispy Treats that some moms made for the neighborhood kids.I thought making the treats was sooo cool. (It was considered okay to take such treats from moms we knew.) My own mom was like: You gotta be kidding me! No way!
Oddly my children don't like candy at all...must be genetic, via my mom?

Now back to the Halloween snow! How is that possible? I had to go out tonight and bring in my palm trees off my deck. Okay, I thought : "frost"...never imagining.

I remember one snowy Halloween when I was about five. This was back in the Midwest, where it gets colder earlier, but still.
I was Tinkerbell!
 I was adorable.
My mom made me a tiny green leafy dress about the size of a swimsuit. I had glitter green little shoes with pompoms and bells...and a hilarious (I realise now) mask with the face of Disney's Tinkerbell, including a brown rubber topknot, like Tink's hair! Oh and---I'm sure I remember correctly---palest green gossamer wings! And yes! A wand! Fairy dust! I believe!

Well it snowed...a lot! Heavy slushy frigid deep October Midwestern snow. I had to wear snow pants under my mini dress, a puffer parka and snow boots. The wings, mask and litle green slippers stayed home.

I'll never forget the disappointment.

The candy corn helped...maybe a little...

So tell me: What was your favorite Halloween treat? Most hated?  And best costume?
(And psst! Did you do tricks? Like, uh, soaped car windows, rang doorbells, or what?)

love

     lizzy

gone to the beach....

Here's the link to the etsy blog: The Candy Corn Debate

And for the doggy lovers out there, especially lovers of pugs, you must look at this etsy shop here...you'll laugh, I promise. Pugs rule! Perfect litle goblins!