Category Archives: What A Dish

Sep22

Autumn and Its Fruits

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Autumn and Its Fruits

“Autumn came, with wind and gold.” ~ Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Ahhh! The change! The weather changed! We have had weeks of hot summer temperatures, and little rain to boot. Wondering if autumn is ever coming?! Early morning of August 30 I thought I felt the air change. But if it did it was short lived and back to full blazing summer until now. Today is officially the autumn equinox, and it feels like it! Autumn clothing like jeans and a 3/4-length shirt worn. And the flavors of autumn are on the menu. I am celebrating by preparing a stuffed squash dinner for this evening. My daughter gave me a big-sized homegrown spaghetti squash last month, but it has been too hot to prepare an oven dish. If all goes well with this new recipe, it will be added to my What a Dish Recipes page tomorrow. Dean doesn’t mind me experimenting with our dinner! Shhh! Besides it is another recipe for another book I have in the making.

“Flowers are but colored leaves, fruits but ripe ones. The edible part of most fruits is, as the physiologist says, ‘the parenchyma or fleshy tissue of the leaf,’ of which they are formed.” ~ Henry David Thoreau, Autumnal Tints

Hot tea graced my morning after my swim at the Y pool and a writing lesson with an online literary group. Participants were encouraged to pick a few of our favorite authors to dwell on. Henry David Thoreau is one of mine. Words for poems seem to be on my mind these days. A silly poem using plays on words came out yesterday. Another one is festering. While in my atelier I gaze out the front window and see the ruby-throated hummingbirds are still feeding at our feeders. We could have them with us for another 3 weeks depending on the temperatures of the autumn air. This mild 60’s weather is so perfect for outdoor work and play. Much colder our tiny, feathered friends will move further south. Every week for months Dean has been faithful to make the sugar water, then cleaning and refilling the feeders for our entertaining friends. “To everything there is a season,” the book of Ecclesiastes tells us. The first frost comes soon after the hummingbirds migrate south.

“Perchance amid these groves might arise at last a new school of philosophy or poetry. It lasts all through September.” ~ Henry David Thoreau, Autumnal Tints

May1

Happy May Day!

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Hermann Missouri Maifest dancing
The first day of May, May Day was met with the chilly wind and overcast sky in Missouri. Don’t you picture children and women dancing around the maypole of ribbons with flowers on their heads and in baskets? Whatever happen to the old tradition of leaving a May basket of goodies and flowers on your neighbors’ doorstep? The good ole’ days! We could use such gestures to return. Maybe a tradition for me to keep alive. Next year I will gift someone with a May basket. Shhh! It’s suppose to be a secret! It may be you! This celebration has many variations, with the original celebration dating before Christ. Pagan in nature, with Christian influences along the way. The German origins of May Day supposely came when St. Walburga brought Christianity to Germany, and it is referred to as “Mai Day”. The old world picturesque town of Hermann, Missouri still has a MaiFest celebration every year.
May Day was also a day to celebrate for the laborers, as most seeding was completed by May 1. This year of 2014, farmers and gardeners are challenged by this date. Farmer Dave on the 550 AM radio program said this morning that only 45% of the United States corn crop is in the ground already. This cold air lingering around does not help matters, and for others the drenching rains keep the farmers from completing their seeding. A group of farmers gathered for the first Thursday farmers’ market of this season in Clayton, Missouri this afternoon. I am excited to have them just down the street a 1/2 block from the building I work in. I will patronize them every Thursday after I finish my day at the office. Tonight I baked some fresh organic kale sprinkled wth olive oil and kosher salt. My recipe is on the What A Dish page of this WordPress blog. RampsWhile at the farmers’ market, I picked up some ramps, a wild variety in the allium family. Some refer them to “wild garlic” or “wild leek”. These are an Appalachian delicacy that have made their way into upscale restaurants more recent years. My ex-husband’s family was from West Virginia, where ramps were skillet fried with potatoes and eggs. The house smells like ramps for days afterwards. Veggie season is in! This locavore is so excited!

Apr30

Soup du Jour

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The enticing aroma of homemade soup filled my kitchen and home on several occasions those chilly days of winter, with Chicken Noodle-Vegetable and Italian Stone Soup the most frequent two. A big pot of soup goes a long way with just Dean and I, and always plenty if we have company for lunch or dinner. Spring finally arrived this month of April, but yesterday the air turned cold as the day progressed with more rain. With the cold dampness, soup was in order for dinner. Soup du jour was Roasted Red Potato and Cauliflower with Leeks & Garlic. A warm pot of all organic, plant-based ingredients even the stock. Yes, a vegetarian recipe. And organic tastes better. It is what I had in the kitchen. Accompanied was toasted ham & cheddar on fresh rye bread I picked up at a St. Louis local Bosnian bakery. Please feel free to try my soup recipe placed on the What A Dish Recipes page found on this WordPress blog. Bon appetit! Soup du Jour