Autumn arrives, crisp and cool. Craving warm, cozy drinks and quiet Sunday afternoons in tiny bookshops, rummaging through shelves stuffed floor to ceiling for the next read.
Glass Gems
Glass gem corn is a rare heirloom variety of corn with translucent, rainbow-colored kernels. Learning about its history and cultural significance is a fascinating read, but the simple truth is that I just find them so visually striking. There’s a market in my neighborhood that sells glass gems every fall, displayed next to the pumpkins, squashes and decorative gourds. I’m not really into harvest decor, but when these guys make their appearance, I just stand and gawk at them; it’s like looking at endless rows of cabochon rings snugly packed together.
Smoke and Fire
Slayer of Silverfish. Destroyer of Ant Trails. Chief Mischief-Maker between the hours of 11pm and 5am. The best cat in the world.
September
September–with its warm, golden light and cloudless skies–has one foot still in summer, at least for a few more weeks.
Elevenses: Green Tea with Elderflower and Matcha Swiss Roll
A lovely friend gifted me with a tin of Fortnum & Mason Green Tea with Elderflower. I don’t know how to describe it except that it has a beautiful, delicate perfume that stopped me in my tracks when I took my first sip. Funny how some fragrances waft in and out of your life and you take no notice until you come across it again years later and it has such an effect on you.
Gifts from the Sea
Last-minute jaunts to the beach for the quiet drama of discovering what the ocean waves carry to shore.
Chioggia and Other Beets
A scene-stealer, that Chioggia, sitting there on your countertop like any other beet. Until you start slicing it and get caught off-guard by its stunning candy-striped interiors. If you want to preserve that saturated color and pattern, serve them raw, like in a salad or as crudité (once cooked, that color fades). My preference? I like to roast beets and then marinate them in peach balsamic vinegar—it’s like candy.
1 ½ pounds beets (about 6 medium-sized)
3 tablespoons peach balsamic vinegar (or your favorite vinegar), or to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Remove the tops of the beets, leaving about ½ inch of the stem. Wash thoroughly to remove any dirt/debris.
Wrap each beet in foil and place them in a baking dish.
Bake for about 1 hour, or until the beets can be easily pierced with a sharp knife.
Remove from oven, and cool to room temperature.
Cut off the tops and bottom tails of the beets. Rub the peel gently with a dry paper towel to remove the skins; it should slide off easily.
Cut beets into bite-sized wedges. Sprinkle with peach balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste
Small Plates: Zucchini Tart
A summer favorite, especially when the zucchini haul from the garden becomes unwieldy.
1 sheet puff pastry (thawed according to package directions)
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 cups gruyere, grated
2 medium zucchini, sliced to 1/8” thickness
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
Roll the puff pastry out to a rectangle, about 16×10 inches. Score a line around the puff pastry about one inch from outer edge. Brush mustard over the surface inside of the scored line. Sprinkle gruyere over mustard. Arrange zucchini slices on top, overlapping slightly. Season with salt and pepper and brush the outside inch of the pastry with olive oil. Bake in a preheated 400F/200C oven until the zucchini is cooked and the pastry is golden brown, about 15-25 minutes.
Monte Bellaria Lavender Farm
Discovered this stunning farm in Sebastopol several years ago while searching for a local source for lavender products and have been visiting every summer since. The day I visited was the first sunny day of the season, and the bees were buzzing with excitement, literally. It was like being immersed in a head-to-toe humming sound bath.
When you see photos of lavender fields, you don’t really think about the bees. But they’re there, doing their thing alongside you. Stay along the paths, walk calmly and slowly, and you’ll be fine. As I walked around taking these photos, the occasional bee would bump into me. Maybe it was sheer luck I wasn’t stung, but I’d like to think they were just too happy to notice me.
Summer Getaways
Wide-brimmed hats and cold drinks in hand. Meandering conversations that start during lunch and run straight into dinner. Impromptu card games and afternoon naps. Days sprinkled with popsicles and cherries and vows to stop and enjoy the moment more often.
