Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Song for Autumn



In the deep fall
   don't you imagine the leaves think how
comfortable it will be to touch
   the earth instead of the
nothingness of air and the endless
   freshets of wind? And don't you think
the trees themselves, especially those with mossy,
   warm caves, begin to think

of the birds that will come-six, a dozen-to sleep
   inside their bodies? And don't you hear
the goldenrod whispering goodbye,
   the everlasting being crowned with the first
tuffets of snow? The pond
   vanishes, and the white field over which
the fox runs so quickly brings out
   its blue shadows. And the wind pumps its
bellows. And at evening especially,
   the piled firewood shifts a little,
longing to be on its way.

                                         Mary Oliver

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Season's End



Summer has come to an end and the garden is just about finished. A few tomatoes are still trying to ripen and there are some squash and herbs making a last noble push in these short days of autumn.  I've frozen three batches of pesto for winter meals and am tired of zucchini.


Also tired of my own cooking, a couple of weeks ago I bought some magazines and chose two new soups to try.  I shopped for the ingredients at the farmers market and set out with high hopes.  The soup above, from Vegetarian Times, has tomatoes, carrots, white beans and kale. Sadly, I am not a fan of this popular wonder-vegetable and I have tried!  I tweaked the recipe and added chicken sausage-it's pretty and healthy and next time I'll use spinach.


To mark the end of summer we had a visit from dear friends Susan and Jay in September.  We lived in Dallas at the same time and have remained in touch through numerous moves on both our parts.  Coming from California they like to eat lobster-in fact, Jay makes a point to have it everyday while in Maine. That suits me just fine and gives us a chance to live it up a bit!  Above, you see Jay working on a lobster risotto.


One of our best inventions was this Lobster Nicoise-we thought we'd made it up but later noticed it on the menu at the Bar Harbor Inn.


What a treat it was to spend time around the dining table with good friends, good conversation, good food and wine.  And now, it feels good to be back to work and in a routine, and that nip in the air is most welcome.