Good Morning!
How are you and how was your weekend? Fall came in for sure on Saturday here in Eastern PA. It was warm Saturday morning when I got up - almost 70 degrees at 6:00 a.m.! But, while Dee and I were chatting, sipping and knitting in Panera's (no bad music, thank you very much), the winds picked up, the sky turned black and a bit of rain fell. By the time we left it was much cooler. And now, this morning (6:10 a.m.) it is just 42 degrees out. Definitely feeling Fallish.
While Dee and I were busy doing our thing, Fletch went off to the Lansdale Farmer's Market where they were having a pie contest. I was tempted, but am glad I did not go. He was very disappointed. He had been hoping for maybe some pumpkin pie, apple pie, blueberry pie or whatever. Instead he said almost everything was gelatinous or like cheese cake. Not what he had been hoping for and he came home with NONE!
We are getting ready for Fall planting! Our garlic arrived the other day.
"Music" on the left and a German Red on the right. Another type arrived Saturday, but I forgot to take a picture. The hope is to plant some next weekend at Colin & Mailing's and also to get ours in the ground. I love how BIG these are and I hope ours grow like that (the past few years our crop has yielded fairly small heads). Like everything else you grow, home-grown garlic is just so much better (plus you get the benefits of scapes in late Spring).
Sunday I managed to do a bit of cooking. First we had pumpkin waffles and bacon for breakfast. Oh yum! I did not gake a picture, but the waffle recipe I used is THIS ONE and they were quite good. There are a few left and I think they would be good just popped in the toaster and then a little bit of butter put on top.
Since I had opened a can of pumpkin to make the waffles I went ahead and made a pumpkin sauce for coffee. The sauce is just some of the canned pumpkin, some water, a smidge of sugar and a little bit of pumpkin pie spice. It turned out ok - not great, but ok. I had a cup yesterday afternoon and then added some to my coffee this morning before pouring in my frothed (and heated) milk.
It's tasty, but I think I like other flavors a bit more (peppermint, maple walnut, or caramel). And actually, just straight, strong coffee is my favorite. Next time I may just sprinkle some of the pumpkin pie spice on top of the coffee grounds when I brew my coffee. I do that with cardamom and it is delicious!
It was way too windy and chilly to sit on the patio yesterday afternoon before dinner. But Fletch donned a jacket and cap and grilled some steaks for us. Delicious! We had green beans from the garden and garlic bread (made with garlic we harvested in July). The last time I made a peach/rhubarb crostata I had extra filling that I froze. I defrosted that and made a crisp for dessert yesterday. So wonderful to have the peach flavor again. It was certainly a banner year for peaches.
I'll be heading to the office in a little bit. It has been weeks (!!) since I was last there. I need to check mail and I have some personal printing I want to do in color. Then I will head to Trader Joe's to pick up a couple of things and hopefully be home in time for lunch. I need to buckle down and do a bit of cleaning this afternoon - I spent my free time over the weekend stitching and knitting and reading. And guess what? The bathrooms and kitchen floor don't clean themselves (as much as I wish they would).
I'm hoping you all had a wonderful weekend and that the new week ahead of us is a good one - enjoy!
It sounds like a lovely weekend, except for that disappointing pie contest! (I have made pumpkin muffins for three weeks straight and now I feel like making a pumpkin pie.) Please share the secret if you ever figure out self-cleaning kitchens and bathrooms. Happy Monday!
ReplyDeleteWe had true fall weather this weekend as well -- we had to turn our heat on because it was so chilly in the house! It has been nice to need wool socks again, though. What a bummer that there were no good pies! I'm surprised that there weren't any traditional fruit pies to be had.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with your cleaning! I am also hoping for the invention of self-cleaning floors.
That doesn't sound like much of a pie contest to me . . . I can see why Fletch was disappointed! I wish someone would invent a scrubbing Roomba that would take care of the kitchen and bathroom floors. (And maybe some kind of magic wand for everything else?) Here's to a good week with minimal time in the office, Vera! XO
ReplyDeleteI am nodding along with the voices for scrubbing roomba's and self-cleaning bathrooms! Yes, yes!
ReplyDeleteWe had quite a few beautiful pies at our Farmer's Market on Saturday but I passed them up since The Mister brought home two boxes of pumpkin and apple cider donuts the day before.
ReplyDeleteI am obsessed with the Asian Mommy videos where they can just take their shower head and hose down the whole bathroom since they have drains in the floor. I would LOVE a bathroom like that.
We were in the upper 30s overnight the past few days! I had to turn my furnace on as well. There's an unofficial rule in NEO that we must wait until November, but I refuse to be cold in my own home or dress like I'm on a Scout CampOut.
ReplyDeleteI love sprinkling different spices into my coffee basket before brewing. Currently, I'm using ginger, cinnamon, and turmeric. Penzey's has a nice blend simply called Pie Spice that I also use. I also like to add a bit of vanilla extract.
I'm in on the chorus of self-cleaning bathrooms and floors. I've often said that I would like to be able to twitch my nose like Samantha on bewitched and have a spic and span house. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt was so fun to read all of the things you made this weekend using your own produce. And how satisfying it must be for you and Fletch.
I'm glad you had a great time with Dee but sorry about the pies. Our big disappoint was our canceled trip. Again. Dennis hooked up a freshly charged battery last night and went to the camper early this morning. It was DEAD again. So right now he's pulling the trailer back to the repair shop. It looks like that's it for us this year. Just two nights. Very frustrating. But, I have lots to do here, unpacking for one! Lots of stitching and movies to watch as it's just 39 outside. I'm also going to walk across the street to Michaels and get some more embroidery floss for my Christmas ornaments for the kids. I've run out of two colors already!
I hope your Monday is wonderful Vera.
Blessings and hugs,
Betsy
I'm glad you enjoyed your time with Dee! Too bad about the pies! (or the lack of fruit pies!) The garlic looks great--
ReplyDeleteAwww, bugger about the pies. You would think SOMEONE would have made a traditional pie.
ReplyDeleteIt was so good to get together on Saturday. It was quieter that usual until our table was invaded. Good thing we were ready to go anyways.
See you at Broad Street Grind on Sat. at 9.
I planted my garlics last weekend--I used one of the ones that I had grown so I'll see how that goes. Mine came up pretty big (at least 2/3 of them). I'm also going to get some onions in to see if they'll overwinter and grow. Sounds like a good weekend! Have a good week!
ReplyDeleteI used to get German Red garlic from a vendor at our local farmer market, and it was so big & delicious! I've never tried growing it myself, though. Hm.
ReplyDeleteOopsie... that ^^ was me. :)
ReplyDeleteI'll be planting my garlic this week - I got a few heads of 'music'. I'm very excited, as I've not had much luck with garlic, but I think I can do it this time! (I've always planted in spring - I think fall will be the game changer!)
ReplyDeleteNice looking garlic heads. I hope they produce well for you. Today was beautiful so I took a drive over the mountain to get out of town and do a tiny bit of shopping. I think the pleasant Fall days will quickly be over.
ReplyDeletebeautiful weekend, I made pumpkin pie a week ago when my sister and brother in law came for dinner, it was delightful!! I was away this weekend and now I'm catching up with all that I've missed or put aside to do while I was gone.
ReplyDeleteWe've grown garlic before and were disappointed that no matter the storage method, they did not last. Whenever I've tried to sprinkle spices or cinnamon in coffee, it just floats! Never incorporates which I can't figure out.
ReplyDeleteDarn those rooms for not cleaning themselves. I often sprinkle my coffee with cinnamon or add a drop of vanilla. I never thought of adding the spices to the grounds before brewing - at least I think that is what you described. I might have to give that a try.
ReplyDelete