Before Sandy

I spent a couple of very enjoyable hours yesterday, cutting back bushes, pulling up the rest of the tomato plants, Mulching the upper bed. All things I had long promised myself to do. This morning we moved the pots closer to the house to give them some little protection.

Also harvested the cauliflower, which we should have picked last week, but had no time to pick and cook it. A few more peppers.

Our neighbors pumpkin

These are knee high Sweet Peas I planted the seeds at the end of August as an experiment

The garden in October

A few garden birds

I thought this was a Cat bird, but the beak is wrong?

After eating at the bird feeder and a splash or two in the bird bath the sparrows sit in the sun to dry off

A warbler this morning

Last of the 80 degree days

Today is a gray, wet, cold day. It seems a long way from last week when we had what were probably the last of the 80 degree days.

Blackberry and Apple crumble

It’s finally chilly enough to start enjoying some Fall foods. Soups, stews, casseroles and fruit crumbles. In England we would have been picking wild blackberries for a month or so, for jams, jellies and to freeze for the winter crumbles. I don’t see the hedgerows full of blackberries here, and when I was looking at fruit farm catalogues and websites for Blackberry vines to plant, I was confused by the varieties. Ours had always just been wild!

Picking the berries could be hazardous too; not just the thorns, but wasps (lots of them) would be flying around the ripened fruit. One time there was a Viper sitting in among the vines, still, silent, coldly watching where I was putting my hands. His forked tongue protruding, tasting the air, it’s movement what alerted me to his presence. A small scream escaping my lips, I removed my arm immediately. The Viper never moved, he was in the sun just where he wanted to be.

In France it had to be explained to me that no one picked the wild blackberries, which were also every where because of the Fox and rabies. Funny because in England when we picked and dropped a few, it was always for Mr. Fox. The windblown apples had been turned into Apple and ginger jelly, Blackberry and apple jelly. Blackberry and apple crumble 3 - 4 apples - I like to mix them up, Granny Smith, Fuji, Honey crisp, russets for the mix of flavor and texture. Peeled, cored and sliced 2 punnets of blackberries or one bag of frozen juice and zest of 1/2 lemon 1/2 cup organic sugar a little water 2 cups of all purpose flour 6oz/12 tablespoons butter Pulsed together in food processor Add 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, 3/4 cup oats, 1/2 cup hazelnuts Pulse briefly. Mix the first 5 ingredients together in oven baker layer the crumble mixture on top of the fruit Bake in 350 degree oven for 25/30 minutes, turn the oven down to 300 for another 10 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream. Although I prefer plain runny cream and sometimes custard.

Union Square Market 10/6/12

A few hors d'oeuvres

Chicken Almond Rounds

Corn pancakes with wasabi cream, smoked salmon and salmon caviar

Croque Monsieur

Mini Hamburgers "Brother Num" slider rolls