Quote du jour/Hal Borland

October is the fallen leaf, but it is also a wider horizon more clearly seen. It is the distant hills once more in sight, and the enduring constellations above them once again.
Hal Borland

The Joy of Baking - Cranberry Muffins

Hooray! It's cranberry season! Last evening we had vegetable soup and cranberry muffins for supper.

Cranberry Muffins

3/4 cup fresh cranberries, halved
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted

Mix cranberries with powdered sugar and set aside. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and granulated sugar into a medium bowl. Add egg, milk, and melted butter. Mix just until dry ingredients are moist. Fold in cranberry mixture. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 20 minutes until done.

Makes 1 dozen muffins.

These are delicious!

Product placement

Some people are vegetable fans, some are meat fans, some like fruit. I am a grain girl. I do like other foods, but my basic love is grains of all sorts. They are the foundation for the way we eat. Whole wheat and bulgur and brown rice and quinoa and pasta, because indeed, semolina is a grain. And cereal. We love cereal. I've just discovered a new one and wanted to share it with you all. It is called Holly's Oatmeal. I bought the Cranberry Almond, and I'll tell you, it is delicious. I'm going to try the Goji Berry next time I order. And yes, I must get it online since my local health food store doesn't carry it, and yes, it is pricey. But, I don't smoke and I don't travel much these days. Oh, you all know the excuses we make for spending money. :<) But, I feel good food is worth it, and this oatmeal is wonderful. The package suggests cooking it with soy or cow's milk, but I just cook it in water, very, very briefly (Tom says it is raw) and add about a teaspoon of honey. Ah, perfection.

Quote du jour/Eric Sloane

A few days ago I walked along the edge of the lake and was treated to the crunch and rustle of leaves with each step I made. The acoustics of this season are different and all sounds, no matter how hushed, are as crisp as autumn air.
Eric Sloane

Growing where I'm planted

Maybe I've been spending too much time with my dead, but alive to me, gardening pals, Henry Mitchell and Charles Dudley Warner, but I feel a bit of philosophical thought coming on. Today we "put the garden to bed." We cleaned it up and pulled out what was left of the vegetables, added manure and tilled it in. I love the fresh look of the vegetable garden all tilled and tidy, quietly awaiting the coming of spring.


I've been thinking a lot lately about how, if we are lucky, we live where we belong. I belong here. I like the gardening season, though many think it too short. My "summer" is bracketed by Memorial Day and Labor Day. By Labor Day, I'm done. I'm tired of all that lushness and I'm ready for order and a long view when the leaves come off the trees. I love this time with all its color, but I'm just as happy when the riot is over and November is here.

But now in September the garden has cooled, and with it my possessiveness. The sun warms my back instead of beating on my head... The harvest has dwindled, and I have grown apart from the intense midsummer relationship that brought it on.
Robert Finch

This summer I was all consumed. It seemed like I thought of very little except flowers. I would go out and just stare at all the beauty. I would pick those daylily bouquets with the tenderest care. I mourned the flowers that didn't do well. I was sad that I didn't have more peas. I wondered (yet again) why my zucchini didn't grow. I planned to start seeds for next year, especially cosmos and cleome, to fill in spaces in the gardens. I lived and breathed gardening. I didn't want it to end, but when it did, I breathed a big sigh of relief, and said, "whew, that's over."

And this is what I mean. I live where I'm supposed to. I just couldn't take any more summer. I need the fall and the winter like I need air to breathe and water to drink. Others like a shorter, maybe milder winter and longer growing season, and that means they are where they should be. And that is good.

Sadie is three!

Today's poem - The Shining Moment in the Now by David Budbill

Another wonderful poem from David Budbill. I offered a spring one almost six months ago, and here, his setting is the fall.

This Shining Moment in the Now

When I work outdoors all day, every day, as I do
now, in the fall,
getting ready for winter, tearing up the garden,
digging potatoes,
gathering the squash, cutting firewood, making
kindling, repairing
bridges over the brook, clearing trails in the woods,
doing the last of
the fall mowing, pruning apple trees, taking down
the screens,
putting up the storm windows, banking the house—
all these things,
as preparation for the coming cold...

when I am every day all day all body and no mind,
when I am
physically, wholly and completely, in this world
with the birds,
the deer, the sky, the wind, the trees...

when day after day I think of nothing but what the
next chore is,
when I go from clearing woods roads, to sharpening
a chain saw,
to changing the oil in a mower, to stacking wood,
when I am
all body and no mind...

when I am only here and now and nowhere else—
then, and only
then, do I see the crippling power of mind, the curse
of thought,
and I pause and wonder why I so seldom find
this shining moment in the now.

Quote du jour/Chinese proverb

I have this neat little book which I gave to Tom way, way back when all things Eastern were so popular. My handwriting, well, really handprinting, in the inscription is so small and so very self-conscious. :<) Anyone seeing it would know it was that of a young college girl.

The Joy of Baking - Orange Cake

Here's another recipe from Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters. I thought this would be a good use of the many eggs Tom brought in from the barn this morning.

Mrs. Tate's "Old And Tried" Orange Cake, 1890

We found this recipe as we browsed through a pile of cookbooks we had bought in central Massachusetts. It literally fell into our laps. We were intrigued by the simple little recipe and the reference to "old and tried." This delicate all-natural cake flavored with the zest and juice of an orange, is very "Southern," and we still wonder how it made it all the way to New England. We'll never know!

For Cake:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar, sifted (I didn't sift)
1/2 cup water
5 egg yolks
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 egg whites

For Orange Glaze:
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice, if needed
1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Set the oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat an 8-cup tube pan with vegetable spray or butter. Cut a piece of parchment paper or wax paper to line the bottom of the pan. Insert the liner, coat it with vegetable spray, and dust the pan with flour.

2. To make the cake: Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. Beat sugar and water in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time. Add orange zest and juice. Add sifted dry ingredients and combine until mixture is smooth. Add butter. Put this in a bowl.

4. Place egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat until stiff. Fold egg whites into batter.

5. Pour batter into tube pan. Bake approximately 45 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool on rack for 20 minutes before removing from pan. Cake will have pulled away from the sides of the pan.

6. To make the orange glaze: Mix together confectioners' sugar, orange zest, orange juice, and salt to a glaze consistency. Slip a sheet of wax paper under rack to catch drips. Poke tiny holes in top of cake with a cake tester and liberally spoon the glaze over the cake. Let glaze harden before serving. Store under cake dome or loosely wrapped in wax paper at room temperature.

As Mr. Monk says, here's the thing. The batter is so good, you may never actually bake the cake. :<)

I didn't have a orange, hence no zest. Also, my "glaze" was really more of a frosting. If you want it thinner, you could add water. I did use the parchment paper but it probably isn't necessary. This cake was so easy to make and so delicious, that I plan to make it again and again.

Today's poem - Soap Suds by Louis MacNeice

Soap Suds

This brand of soap has the same smell as once in the big
House he visited when he was eight: the walls of the bathroom open
To reveal a lawn where a great yellow ball rolls back through a hoop
To rest at the head of a mallet held in the hands of a child.

And these were the joys of that house: a tower with a telescope;
Two great faded globes, one of the earth, one of the stars;
A stuffed black dog in the hall; a walled garden with bees;
A rabbit warren; a rockery; a vine under glass; the sea.

To which he has now returned. The day of course is fine
And a grown-up voice cries Play! The mallet slowly swings,
Then crack, a great gong booms from the dog-dark hall and the ball
Skims forward through the hoop and then through the next and then

Through hoops where no hoops were and each dissolves in turn
And the grass has grown head-high and an angry voice cries Play!
But the ball is lost and the mallet slipped long since from the hands
Under the running tap that are not the hands of a child.

Louis MacNeice, (1907-1963) in honor of his centenary last month

My favorite movie and music of the past summer

The movie and musical love of my summer was Once. I saw the preview, and went right out and bought the soundtrack, something I've never done before. I was so taken with the unique sound, the achingly beautiful voices, the tunes. And I have played it over and over ever since. Then I saw the film. It is a real original. It is a musical, it is a love story, it is quiet and simple, and to me, just perfect. I plan to buy it when it becomes available on dvd. I loved the setting, the story, the close family relationships, Marketa Irglova's clothes (!), and of course, the music. The movie takes its time to tell this little story, and there are long scenes which I thought were wonderful.



The song playing is Falling Slowly, sung by the stars of the film, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova.


I was delighted when I showed my son the cd, and he immediately said it reminded him of the Bob Dylan cover, for this was my first thought when I saw it. I always loved that cover. I wanted to be that young, in-love couple, walking around a city. Well, that was in Greenwich Village in the 1960s, and Once is set in Dublin, which I think can be compared to that earlier place and time. It is full of young people and music and life. And my boy noticed something further, which I had missed. They are walking on a guitar!

At this moment - indoors

I thought I would offer an at this moment in an indoors version. This is what I see:

The computer screen

The telephone table and view out the south facing windows.

Books, pottery bowls made by a friend, my mother's desk.

And behind me is our built-in bookcase.

I hear the washing machine going.
I smell bread just baked.
I taste that bread. :<)
I feel the afternoon warmth of the room.

And again, I would so enjoy reading about your moments.

Quote du jour/Anthony Trollope

This habit of reading, I make bold to tell you, is your pass to the greatest, the purest, and the most perfect pleasure that God has prepared for his creatures. It lasts when all other pleasures fade. It will support you when all other recreations are gone. It will last until your death. It will make your hours pleasant to you as long as you live.
Anthony Trollope

Quote du jour/Charles Dudley Warner

Here's another wonderful quote from one of my favorite gardening books.

I like to go into the garden these warm latter days, and muse. To muse is to sit in the sun, and not think of any thing. I am not sure but goodness comes out of people who bask in the sun, as it does out of a sweet apple roasted before the fire. The late September and October sun of this latitude is something like the sun of extreme Lower Italy: you can stand a good deal of it, and apparently soak a winter supply into the system.

Charles Dudley Warner, My Summer In A Garden

Sunday Supper - Custard and Coffeecake

This is a perfect fall supper, and as comforting as one could wish. The custard recipe is my mom's. I copied it out years ago, and that piece of paper has all sorts of squiggle marks on it from my now 25-year-old daughter who was "helping" me bake it one day when she was very small.

Usually custard calls for scalded milk, but I never bother.

Custard

In the mixer:
Beat 4 eggs until light and fluffy.
Add 3 cups milk and beat some more.
Add 1/4 cup honey.

Pour into eight custard cups.
Sprinkle with nutmeg.
Add maybe 1/2 inch or more water to a 10 x 15 pan.
Put custard cups into the water.
Bake in preheated 325º oven for about 45 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

1 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs

2 cups flour
3 t. baking powder
3 t. baking soda

1 cup sour cream

Topping (and filling):
1 cup chopped nuts
3/4 cup sugar
2 t. cinnamon

Grease a 9 x 13 pan. Preheat oven to 350º.

In the mixer:
Beat the butter, add sugar and eggs.
Add the sour cream.
While this is mixing, combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda and add to mixer.
Mix well.

Pour 1/2 the batter into the pan, sprinkle with nuts, sugar, cinnamon combination, add the rest of the batter, and top with the mixture.

Bake for about 40 minutes.

September 30th at the Farmer's Market

Gosh, it doesn't seem so long ago that I posted about the Farmer's Market starting for the year, and yet today is the second to the last Sunday. Aren't these apples and peppers just gorgeous?! Because of our short growing season, it is such a thrill to get the colorful sweet peppers.

Today's poem - Grown-Up by Edna St.Vincent Millay

Grown-Up
by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Was it for this I uttered prayers,
And sobbed and cursed and kicked the stairs,
That now, domestic as a plate,
I should retire at half-past eight?

Quote du jour/Epictetus

There is only one way to happiness, and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.
Epictetus
(circa 55–circa 135) Greek Stoic philosopher

The Joy of Baking - Apple Tapioca

Slow Cooker Apple Tapioca

8-10 apples
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup Minute Tapioca
1/2 cup water

Pare and core apples.
Slice and place in slow cooker.
Mix together sugar, tapioca, and water.
Pour over apples.
Cook on high for two hours or less.
Serve hot or cold.
Top with whipped cream or eat plain.

Makes about 2 cups. Very delicious! It looks a bit like applesauce in the photo, but it has a completely unique flavor.

Note: the original recipe said to cook for 3-4 hours on high. Mine was done in less than two. It may depend on the crockpot. If you make it, I would suggest you keep an eye on it the first time to get a sense of how long it takes. Perhaps it could be cooked on low for a longer time.

Further Afield/Sitting Pretty

This was taken at a nearby hotel. Don't the chairs look inviting?

And these are the views you would see if you were sitting there with your afternoon tea and a good, good book.