Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween

Carving Pumpkins
I'm starting to think Mother Nature has a vendetta for trick or treating because this is the second year in a row we've been hit with a mother of a storm in October. But after a fair amount of sulking, my kids have realized that we have it really good right now compared to many folks, and we've got nothing to complain about.
We walked to our neighbors houses tonight collecting candy (not many because of the situation here), and stayed up late carving pumpkins since there's no school this week. I have much to share here, but my Internet has been out. I hope to catch up soon!
Hope all of you are safe after the storm, and that you and your little ones had a great Halloween!
Pumpkin
Little Guy

Friday, October 26, 2012

Happy Weekend //

Sunflower
We are expecting to receive the {possibly intense} remnants of Hurricane Sandy early next week. Even though I'm usually not one to fall prey to all the hype, a phone call from our Mayor warning us to prepare for the worst has added a few more to-do's to the weekend. Storms can be fun, as long as no one gets hurt, and we don't lose electricity for too long. Another thing to look forward to - it will mean there's something else filling the airwaves besides the latest election poll results.
I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that the storm won't be bad as Hurricane Irene, or spoil our Halloween again. We'll be hoping for the best and going about our Halloween pumpkin carving and decorating as planned. It will be a busy weekend! Hoping yours is a bit more relaxed and you can spend some time cooking up something ghoulish...
{1.} spooky fried mozzarella eyeballs | foodie crush {2.} baked pumpkin oatmeal | the faux martha {3.} petite pumpkin spice donuts | blue-eyed bakers {4.} chai concentrate | a dash of faith {5.} roasted butternut squash & red onion with tahini sauce | the flour sack {6.} roasted acorn squash & black bean tandoori enchiladas | good things grow {7.} butternut squash & pancetta orecchiette | spoon fork bacon {8.} fresh apple cake | a cup of mascarpone {9.} meringue bones | bite delite {10.} pumpkin whoopie pies | chasing delicious {11.} voodoo doll cookies | sprinkle bakes via etsy blog {12.} how to carve a pumpkin | food52 featuring maniac pumpkin carvers
Enjoy!

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Butterflies & Dahlias

Dahlias
My yard has always been something I've dedicated a lot of time to. I take great pride in my gardens - I love having my boys grow their own vegetables, keeping herbs close at hand for cooking, and planting an assortment of flowering perennials, so I always have something in bloom. However, not unlike everything else in my life, I've been so busy my yard has been neglected. I had so many weeds to deal with, they were beginning to outnumber the desirable plants!
Painted Lady
This, combined with the fact that I had my Mother coming to stay with us, motivated me to finally dedicate a weekend to tackling the yard. It was no easy task, and it's still not completely done, but I got enough accomplished that it feels good to step outside and admire the yard.
Sunset Dahlia
In Connecticut, we've had a very wet and unseasonably warm Autumn so far. Because of this, many of my plants are still colorful. The bugs, especially the bees and butterflies are enjoying this Indian Summer we've been having as well. Towards the end of the day last Sunday, I grabbed my camera to capture the show Mother Nature was putting on outside - most abundant of which were the Painted Lady butterflies and Dahlias.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Savory Roasted Tomato & Manchego Clafoutis

Roasted Tomato & Manchego Clafoutis
This month's issue of Whole Living magazine has the most exquisitely delicious looking spread of healthy breakfast recipes - all of which are gluten-free and written by Aran Goyoaga, of Cannelle et Vanille. I have a feeling I will end up making every one of them at some point, but I started with this recipe, which had me instantly intrigued by the list of ingredients alone.
I am not very well-acquainted with French cooking, but I did know that a traditional Clafoutis {pronounced klafuti} was a cake-like dessert made with fresh cherries. This savory, and eggier version was new to me, but reminded me of one of my favorite egg based casseroles - a strata.
Cherry Tomatoes
I also have a few cherry tomato plants that have managed to remain alive and producing fruit, even as we enter October {I didn't have quite enough for this recipe, but I supplemented with some store bought grape tomatoes I had hanging around}. I was eager to use them as the main ingredient in something special, and this was the requisite recipe.
Instead of making mine as one larger casserole, I loosely halved the recipe and divided it among a pair of 4-inch skillets. This produced two main-course sized portions, but could have easily been stretched to four if being served alongside other brunch fare.
Roasted Cherry Tomatoes