This and that~

 

That first photo..our 2021 calendar..got to me when I saw it this summer..Lucas is our eldest grandson..15..They were in Sandbanks when his mom snapped this pic.

It's the essence of Lucas.

I love it..so how appropriate was it for my cover page..I simply added the text.

Apart from being diligent and respecting rules..at the moment..this is life.

I don't see Christmas happening now..

If it does it will be outside in snow... in coold weather with coats, 6 feet apart.

I don't know anyone personally who has had it..Knock on wood..

And hope to God it stays that way.

But feel so bad for those that have it..or had it.

All our politicians are in hot water.

Ours are..

I don't want to talk about other countries..etc.

I try and keep those opinions to myself...who knows what should be done?:(

That little lunch we had above?

So good.

I pretended I was in a bistro in France.

The recipe was from the Lemon Apron.

You can find it here..

I could eat this often.

I used my bread..Ricardo's beautiful bread..and the rest I did the same.. a few crumbled walnuts would be very good on them too.

We are towards the end of foliage season..I judge by my 3 back huge maples.. and by my borrowed landscape where the leaves are more Burnt Sienna Indian Red.. and Pyrrol Orange:)And drift off every single day.

The She Shed..the flowering crabapple is gold now too..everything is spun gold.

I absolutely loved making and eating that chicken pot pie above..Here is the link 

I prefer broccoli..I had none left so used halved brussel sprouts..I added mushrooms ..

This is a one pan dish I added the mushrooms before everything and set aside..I also sautéed my celery w/ the shallots etc..I reduced the temp to 350 when it was browning too fast.

Such a beautiful comfort meal.

I just placed it on the table and we served ourselves.

This is the perfect time of year to watch One True Thing..the bulb planting scene is dear to me..

My bulb order has not arrived..so I think I will only ever buy in person..Too cold now to be digging and planting..so..nope ..never again.

I called them and canceled the order ..

The earth is hard and cold..

Not impressed with that company so I won't say the name..

But so impressed with one of my favorite Instagrammers..

When I saw he was selling Hyacinths I ordered.I'll force them indoors.

Hope it works♥

The DAY I ordered..Monday.. a shipment was sent w/ tracking number..Arrived today.

Without further ado..

This is the grower.:)

Antonio Valente Flowers

Photo from his website.

Follow him on Instagram..worth every click and story.

I just LOVE this show..and how they were able to incorporate today's issues was amazing..2 hr premiere was soo good.

And..we had snow falling Oct.28th AM..but it left as soon as it came..and melted immediately ..

I am a morning baker..snow or not;)

Hard to believe I have been blogging since 2008~Life was perfect!

Let's slip away to the beach k?

A Chris Petri tutorial.Love them.

Take Care~

Abs...as in absolutely delicious..:)And absolutely beautiful.

 Thanksgiving Sunday was brisk and beautiful..went to my fave covid place:) Pretty much anytime place..

A lot of baking a cooking...

So this meal is just great.Half Baked Harvest..can't go wrong..we loved everything about this meal..but I used table cream..worked fine!

Pitch dark by the time we eat..but wow.So no pic sorry..

Period.

I just wish I had a clean up fairy:)

Thanksgiving I made Ann T's Osso Bucco but with pork.. MAGNIFIQUE.Served on mashed potatoes..

I can only share the pre-baked pic..

And you know.. I always thought I had the best apple crisp recipes..from my mom's to friends..to Martha Stewart..

Nope no one had THIS recipe.

I will never make another..started ths one about 2 yrs ago?

If you go to my IG post the full translated recipe is there.

I like to bake it at 350 though..and double it if you have a family:)

I like to make the filling that goes in the apples..right IN the baking dish..then I add the apples..and then the topping.

I loved her at my market.

That's it for now.

Take care.

Carbs ..and soups..

 

I just love breads and soups..For 100 years I never ate bread.In my family growing up..bread was not something on the table at dinner.Dinner was dinner..Period lol.

In Jacques' family bread seemed to always be on the table.

Since I was evidently and clearly overweight from 10- 15..(the worst years right? For bullying?)

I stopped eating bread at 15 to stay lighter..and stopped eating Fiesta Chips:)

And this went on most of my adult life..Bread? Oh no thank you..

Unless I was out.

But then..bread became something I could easily eat one year..in my 50's and I have never stopped.

Not in a huge way..but I do make it and love a slice here and there.

Love soups too..

I made Ricardo's bread twice in 10 days;)

Because I knew I would be having French Onion Soup twice..and other ideas were swimming in my head.

A poached egg on his toasted bread is heaven.

I have shared the link many times.

Marie made a small batch biscuit recipe and J loves biscuits so I made those easy peasy ones too.

Ricardo's French Onion soup is also ..so very easy..

Make sure you caramelize those onions..and I add thyme.

I love  Bonne Femme soups..recipes abound!

I love adding maple syrup thank you very much..kicks it up a whole sweet fall notch.

Remember when you make soups..

TASTE.. not salty enough and you are eating..well nothing really..pepper..  herbs..a lovely rind of parm..in certain soups.

For the Bonne Femme soup..I scribbled it in on IG..you can find it is this post.

Just documenting what's up..

Blogging is my journal..kind of..so I keep going lol..

Hope to do my garlic bed tomorrow.

Fall has definitely arrived.

Haven't received my  tulips bulbs yet..

Fairies are in the Sheshed..tubers dug up..some..still praying for 1 dahlia flower...Not praying anymore as I finish this draft..

No Thanksgiving..watching the US from afar..curious as to the outcome.

God Bless the doctors..nurses..aides..TEACHERS.

In the words of Tiny Tim..

God Bless Us Everyone.

And hopefully ..Christmas en famille is in the cards.

In garden terms..this sums up 2020.

Not having the opportunity to check out my fave nurseries..I bought 1 dahlia..I had stopped growing them because of earwigs and slugs..

But caved for Café Au Lait♥

I started it INDOORS so it had a head start.

This CAL was babied..staked..watered..like an only child..

many nights a sheet in case of frost because I had buds.

Even the night this happened.

C'est fini.

Good news..no slugs no earwigs this year..wow..

But no flowers.

And here you have 2020.

So I will dig up the tuber..and try again next year.

Still..

I prepped my garlic bed..ripped out all the tomato and nasturtium plants..

And thanked God I had had this work to do this summer...

And thought..winter..please be kind to all of us.♥

The beauty of my town~

 I went for a walk yesterday morning~ Some trees are prime some fading..

All our charming restaurants are closed for business apart from takeout.So instead of posting commercial stops w/ people w/ masks at take out..I concentrated on nature.

And we have CHARMING restaurants.I feel so bad for them.Open/close/open/close.

Last week another movie was shot here..it happens a lot..

Years ago this tourist town bustled with small shops.. then a huge city developed close by w/ mega stores and box stores..and the quaint bookshop let..the beautiful iconic clothing store left..I could name you stores many don't even know existed because I have been in the area over 40 yrs..many have spent their lifetime here..like my daughters.

Online shopping happened..

But we have special stores we will never do without.. hardware and food..specialty food and pharma.Doctor's offices and dentists.

A yacht club..

We once had a small movie theater..I saw Saturday Night Live there..then it was a fruit and veggie shop ..now a bicycle/spa place.

A cute clothing store..a specialized British Shop..Paint shop.. 4 churches at least:)

Cafés ♥

3 thrift shops.

2 libraries.

Real Estate Offices..

It is a movie scene..and I get to live in it.

It's not Provence..:) But it's home sweet home.

Wide open spaces..green..water..fresh air..

After dinner I went for another walk..

What's beyond?

Far better I hope for everyone♥

Meanwhile..I will thank God I live here.And will appreciate it while I can.

Take care everyone.

Madeleines~October~Partial Lockdown.

 

You can find where I got the idea and technique Here..for the chocolate..meaning 5 mins in freezer and her pics got to me♥

I did go to the recipe she refers us to..she has a link there..

But I ended up varying it.

What I love about this recipe is that it is equal parts everything.

So..

For us..only the 2 of us..I don't need a ton.

I used my smaller silicone mold I have had for yrs.I will do again with my larger metal one..You won't believe the mess I made w/ it the first time:(

So equal parts..

1 egg  weigh it

same amount of sugar

same amount of flour

same amount of melted butter

I added a tsp of honey

I added baking powder and a pinch of salt

I added orange zest.

Mix all..cover w/ saran touching the mixture refrig overnight.

Then I baked gleaning this article here.Probably the best post on madeleines I have read.

I refrigerated my pan w/ the mixt in each cavity while my oven warmed to 425F.

I baked for 3 mins.

Turned oven off

Let sit in oven 7-8 mins..

I was then supposed to heat oven to 320 and bake 3-4 mins..

But after the resting time in oven OFF.My little madeleines were humpy and perfect.

Then I did le chocolat♥

Everything you wanted to know about madeleines is here..♥

I did try this same recipe in my coated larger molds and they were not the same at all.Deep is the trick and my small silicones are deep.

This was a great recipe from the book Baked..Suzie Durigon's book.

I have learned so much from her..

Her blog is called Just Crumbs~

And the Best Banana Bread Squares recipe is on it.

I find even plain..out of the oven..the scent is magical.

Fall is definitely here and like all heartbreakingly beautiful things..it's only here for a time..

I can't believe the tomatoes are still here..

I made tomato jam again..  my favorite recipe is the jam in her Nordstrom's Jam Jar..

I just made 4 little pots..I am not canning any..just ready to serve here..we like it on many things.

I still really enjoy my 10 yr old car.

When I left real estate..I did not have to worry about a client car..that was  one of the only good things.

I delivered hydrangeas and I hope they got them..impromptu drop off.

If ever I need another car I will be hard pressed.

Funny..I did curbside one day..and the person said "Oh you have a Fiat?" You know what it stands for ?

Fix It Again Tony..

Hmmm..

But as I prepared to leave he said:"If ever you want to sell your car..get in touch with me? ""LOL.

He was nice..just being funny..

I like small..parking is easy..I never go anywhere but just saying;)

Hands down the best meal I made ..in the last few weeks..was this.

I renewed my subscription to Ricardos magazine for 5 issues (long winter ahead) and it gave you permission to see the digital version..well  not this issue the issue before this was in it.

As soon as it's published I will share.

Footnote  I see it was published in French yesterday..

Let me just say it's A General Tao variation♥

GREAT sauce,I impromtue'd the chicken though and baked it.And I did flour..egg..panko.

Spritz w/ evoo.

Spiralized zucchini and shredded carrots on top..I didn't have any edamame..next time..because there will be a next time:)

I always say I don't really eat sweets..I just taste..but sweet meals..I can favor easily.

Done deal partial yet again lockdown for 28 days.

What's up w/ Québec?

:(

People should think further than the end of their own nose.

This means..restaurants bars socializing and visiting someone is out of the question.

No one can enter your home unless they live there.

OK a plumber etc..yes..

But my daughters? My Littles?

Nope and nope.

More to come Monday  on the plight of my QC.

So much going on..did you see the awful floods near Nice?

Homes falling into chasms..

Very sad.

Next post perkier:)

Take care..take care..take care...