This and That - November

We are early in November, but it has been glorious and my dahlias are still blooming. 

I have had a garden at our home for 30 years. When I bought the house, the previous homeowner was also a gardener but I started digging up her plants and left some.  At the beginning of my journey, I just purchased what I loved and planted it wherever I wanted to plant it without giving much thought to the shape of the garden, the soil, the sun, proper location, or the mature size of what I was planting. So it was no surprise when I found myself constantly moving things around. Thirty years later, my small fenced yard has evolved into my dream space; it’s organically grown and is a habitat to birds, insects, and all things living. Now that the growing season is over, I look back at the rabbits, woodchucks, etc. that receive nourishment from my garden against my will LOL. One thing I learned is that due to the wildlife "pruning" my zinnias over and over again, they are one of the the last beautiful blooms showing off in my garden. 

We had the most beautiful October. Even the local meterologist said it was the best in several years. 

My niece took me to a wonderful new cafe recently, and I enjoyed the stack of gluten free waffles with chicken and bacon. 

Another Halloween honoring my mom. She loved Halloween and carved hundreds of pumpkins in her lifetime. When I saw the idea for pumpkin bagels, I knew I had to make them. 

Apple cider is a great fall treat. I mixed a 1/2 quart of NY apple cider with 3 cups of sparkling white grape juice and let it chill for 2 hours. I've also made Fall-Mosas and substituted champagne for the sparking white grape juice.  

Another Halloween photo, we had a charcuterie board while passing out candy. 

One of my favorite shows on the Magnolia Network is Erin French from @thelostkitchen in Freedom, Maine.  Season 3 just started on 10/30 and I’m excited to savor each episode as they are released. She’s a warm, resilient chef who has a destination restaurant in tiny Freedom, Maine. She has a unique reservation system, and I have not been picked to have dinner there (yet). The next time we visit Bar Harbor we will try to visit her cute new shop.

On the most recent episode, Erin’s husband Michael was ice fishing in Maine, and it was a joy to watch. The beer battered fried fish that Erin makes inspires me to give it a try this winter at  my camp. 

It was time to use my fall veggie harvest, and vegetable mash is always a winner. I served it with Chicken Marsala and had leftovers the next day with short ribs. The mash consists of carrots, potatoes, leeks, kale, butter and cream. 

Thanks for stoppig by!

Deb