The Autumn Leaves

 The fall colors are stunning this year.  I think I appreciate them even more after last year's dull season.  Mother Nature sent an early October cold snap that killed all the leaves and turned them a dead brown.  No color was left in any of them.  But, this year She is making up for it.  Everywhere I look there are gorgeous reds, oranges, yellows and greens. And they are hanging on the trees late into the season.  That may be good or bad for us.  We have several trees and many, many, many leaves.  I have been tempted to go out and start raking; however, Paul is of the 

 philosophy that one should wait until they've all come down and do that raking job just one time.  He's probably right.  When we do start raking, it's an all day job.  We rake the piles of leaves onto a tarp and drag them over to the compost and garden.  We cram as many as we can into the compost bins and the rest make winter blankets on the raised beds.  And, often, there are still leaves left over.  They get scattered out into the prairie and we let the wind take care of them.  

But as I look out at all the beautiful colors now, I don't really think about all the work they will become.  I just thank Mother Nature for the amazing show.  

Fall Food

Even though I seem to go kicking and screaming from summer, I really do like fall.  Especially fall food....like these luscious looking chanterelles.  I remember the first time I ate chanterelles, sautéed in a bit of butter.  They were like eating something golden and I was hooked.   Every fall I begin to look for chanterelles at the Co-op.  I was so pleased this week when they were there in the produce section beckoning me.  They ended up being roasted with shallots and fresh thyme and added to a lovely risotto for dinner last night.  

Another fall food I always look forward to is pomegranates.  This one fell into my cart at Safeway, of all places.  Isn't it gorgeous?  Some people don't like to deal with seeding a pomegranate but I rather enjoy it.  I just push up my sleeves and hold it down in the sink to catch any errant splatters.  I like how it feels to tickle those gelatinous little seeds from the pulp.  We ate some on a fresh spinach salad along with the risotto.  Delicious!  With a freshly baked apple pie for dessert, it was a perfect fall food meal. 

The "F" Word

No, it's not what you think. Well, it could be but it's not.  Around here, at this time of year, the "f" word is "freeze."  Our first freeze of the year was just a few days ago.  As you can see, some of the garden looks a bit worse for it.   The average first freeze in this part of the country is September 23!  Luckily for us it was later than usual and we got a couple more weeks of growing season to make up for the short summer this year.  But the first freeze means the end of the real growing season.  The only tomatoes that will ripen now are the orange ones we picked and brought inside.  No more fresh basil or squash or cucumbers.  The root vegetables and parsley and other herbs carry on like the hearty troopers they are but everything else is winding down.  It's always a bit sad, I think.  At least I'm not saying the other "f" word!

The Bird is the Word

This is what we had for dinner.  It may look like any old roasted chicken but it's not.  This chicken is from Mary and Duncan MacDonald at Turnbow Flat Farms just outside of Palouse.  Mary and Duncan started Turnbow Flat Farms because they are "dedicated to providing superior quality food using practices that heal the land, respect animal welfare, and strengthen the local community."  Lucky for us that they are.  We got our first chicken from them in July.  It was amazingly delicious.  When we picked up this one yesterday, they said it would taste even better. It was also amazing.  This chicken tastes more chickeny than most chicken, if that makes any sense.  I have pretty high expectations for the turkey we ordered from them for Thanksgiving!  It is encouraging that there are more and more people like the MacDonalds in the world, people who care about the land and animals and what we eat.  We are more than happy to support them and eat their great chicken!  Next year we're ordering six!  Yum!  By the way, all those lovely potatoes, parsnips, and carrots are from our very own garden.  A truly "local" meal.