Picking quince.
A true sign of autumn around here.
Even though the garden is still warm and green, the night air is chilly…
Telling quince, it's time.
It seems, even the jewels I am working with are shades of quince.
As they turn a mixture of green and chalcedony yellow.
Chalcedony and citrine are on my jewelry making bench.
But peaches and corals beckon with dinner plate dahlias.
Everyone's out for quince day.
The amount of insects these days are astounding.
(is he sticking his tongue out at us?)
The endless butterflies always take my breath away.
I meet the boys down the path that goes round and round our yard, stopping at our quince tree.
It lives way in the front part of our garden.
Miley, whipping around to meet us.
We only take the ones that are heavy and dragging on the ground today.
(the gypsy wagon lives under that big tree to the left)
Everyone seems interested in quince today.
And proud to help.
The fur texture of the quince scrubs right off.
The insides are tart and firm and astonishingly dry.
But when cooked down they become sweet, honey like.
And the extra wonderful part, they take on a pink blush tone.
I make them into freezer jam.
Just sugar and quince, and water, cooked into jam.
Then put in jars and frozen.
Perfect for hand pies and all sorts of baking needs.
The air is turning slowly.
There are so many butterflies, I stand in the garden and let them fly all around me.
Giant dahlias bob around, happy to not be scorched by the sun.
As I do too many projects at once.
I seem to have turned into this person, who juggles a lot.
I need to bring out the sergeant in me and start wrapping projects up.
Because it's about time to start baking.
And making.
And munching.
And I need to get organzied to pull it all off.
That's Vanessa as a little.
Happily eatin' baked goods.
I have sooo much pumpkin I have to get baked up in the next couple days.
Before more pumpkins come in.
I roast and freeze it, but I have to make things too, or I will have waaay too much frozen pumpkin.
The fairy tale pumpkins are the best for eating.
And some of them have the most intensely perfumed scent.
It's unreal.
Glorious really.
I have jewels I want to share and clay pieces too.
I have basil that needs to be frozen in oil and pesto and sauces.
I have tomatillo madness going on.
I made a HUGE pot of red spicy salsa Friday night.
(the cooked kind)
So it was a good reason to make Mister all sorts of goodies with it.
He had the best eating weekend ever.
Soft tacos, huevos rancheros, chiles rellenos, enchiladas, tostadas, Mexican rice etc. etc.
(Used up left over tortillas for huevos rancheros and tostadas, made Mexican rice once that lasted all weekend, had a couple extra chiles so made rellenos, used a rotisserie chicken that I cooked with sweet onions and red bell peppers for enchilada and tostada filling, a great way to use up things in the kitchen easily and deliciously. Sounds like I worked hard, but it was real easy and painless)
He was a happy camper.
He said, boy oh boy did I have a lot of good Mexican food this weekend.
(as he finished off his leftover enchiladas with a fried egg he made himself this morning)
And I said, helllloooo?! Whilst pointing at myself.
Shouldn't I be able to make good Mexican food?
And he said (in his cheeky playful way)…
So, you can make good Mexican food, but can you make a good kielbasa?
Ha.
Cheeky little mongrel!
(which, I am not even sure he would eat because he hates sausage).
Anywhooo we have leftovers.
I love leftovers, do you?
I have a friend who detests them, but I always look forward to them.
Does anyone even care about this topic?!
Hahahaha!
It's so wonderful to use all the garden produce.
This morning I ate arugula right out of the ground as I watered.
It was so spicy, and sooo good.
Very horseradishy.
I think I will make some plain pasta with it.
I am into corn pasta, have you tried it? It's amazing.
It doesn't make me feel rotten like regular pasta does.
But some pasta with arugula, olive oil and fresh tomatoes sounds good.
I am thinking of even putting some arugula in the pesto?
Ever tried that?
I am up to my elbows.
But it's good to be busy.
I have to think up all sorts of things to use up the garden treats.
I can't believe October is upon us.
I just can't.
Can you???
Love, V
ps: You know how I always say that I live where the desert meets the forest?
And how, the mountains I see from my house are forest on top?
(Called Mt. Lemmon)
Alia was there and took some great shots, see here.
Quince, quince, quince…you’re taunting me aren’t you? I swear I’m going to take a plane down there right now & see what these things are all about! :0)
You sound very busy indeed! At least it’s ‘good busy’, fun things!
I love leftovers, I hate to waste food! Plus you get a day off from cooking.
I don’t know if I’ve had corn pasta yet. I sometimes get rice or quinoa pasta.
I planted dinner plate dahlia’s for the first time this summer. The ones that bloomed are beautiful! Some of them didn’t bloom yet & they’re running out of time.
It was sunny & 82 yesterday, today it’s cloudy & hasn’t gotten out of the 50s. That’s a fast 30 degree drop!
It’s nice though, feels like fall!
Dearest Dear Vanessa,
Your quinces are so beautiful! Can you believe? Neither Mr. V or I have ever had them!!! Someday…!
Hugs to you!
Betty
Thanks for the shout-out Miss V! I went to look at my blog and it had like 50 views for one day when normally it has like 2 (and one of those 2 is probably my mom), haha, I was like what the?! Oh, and I forget to mention the last time I commented that I got you a little gifty. I think you might be “a-buzz” (that’s a clue) with delight when you see it!
You are making my mouth water with all of the details of the Mexican food you prepared. I love Mexican food, and definitely leftovers too. The ingredients tend to mellow overnight and meld into deliciousness for sure. Yumm!
I love this time of year with the cooler evenings and still nice during the day time.
I just emptied out unused food in my garage floor freezer. Making pies and freezing them sounds good. I know what you mean about pasta not agreeing with your stomach, mine too. I love spaghetti but it doesn’t like me. So? How do you make the corn pasta? Just with corn meal? Sounds like a plan! I love tamale pie! My husband is not into Mexican food 🙁 We have it about twice a year, usually when we have company over for dinner. I am looking for a good empanada recipe with shredded beef, masa, onion and Mexican spices, probably made with beef broth too. In high school, in the snack line, they served beef empanda’s that were hot on a cold day…so yummy! I have tried to invent my own recipe with no luck! The empanda dough was so flaky it melted in your mouth.
Love the butterflies and flowers…what a wonderland you live in!
hugs and magical wishes!
Miss Teresa
Miles is snoring so loud I can hardly type from giggling. My baby is
turning into a man! hahaha!
So, the corn pasta is gluten free and its soooooooo amazing. I love
corn, but this doesnt taste like corn or take away from the pasta
experience. I have never liked pasta because it always made me feel
bad. I tried making regular pasta myself and it was delicious but still
made me feel bad. This pasta did not, it was sooooooo amazing. I
cant find it in person anymore, although I am sure some store has it, but you
can buy it online here… this is the one I love – http://www.glutenfreemall.com/catalog/mills-spaghetti-corn-glutenfree-pasta-doro-p-1599.html
Okay so, I am going to send you a few. They are not golden yet but still ripe enough, you can’t really ever eat them without cooking them. I will send you enough to boil with some sugar and water and make a tiny bit of jam, maybe one or two jars, what do you think?
Oh no!! Well, you have to make them into something because they are too dry to just eat as such…… But they are tart like a really tart apple without the juice. If I have some leftover I will send you even just one for kicks 😉
A gifty for me??! Oh you are too kind sweet lass!! I loved your pics!!
Have you and Lovee every made a trip to Mount Lemmon? Looks beautiful! Love leftovers for one reason…….it means i don’t have to cook!! Hugs! deb
Oh yes! Its beautiful up there. I used to go all the time
actually. There is good pie at the top 🙂 And its sooooooo chilly
and pretty. I used to go with friends to the snow too. But now that
we live on the opposite side of the drive up, we go less. From the side we
live on you can hike up and go up bumpier trails etc.
I could never get past the fuzzy outside of the quince. You know me and texture, Sis.
Everything looks so lovely in your garden and on the property! The boys look great, too!
Saw the Barefoot Contessa make an easy French-inspired apple pastry yesterday. Maybe it would be good for the Quince. I will find the recipe and email it to you. It looked real simple, but real delicious.
I love leftovers when they are tasty. Your leftovers sound tasty. Leftover pizza is always the best, though… ALWAYS!
Oh my you are making me hungry with this post! Oh Vanessa as a wee one, so flipping cute. What a beautiful time of year this is. How I wish I could be strolling with you in your garden!
I just LOVE Ina Garten, love her! Don’t worry the fuzz washes right off and they are then firm, but too tart and dry to just eat anyways.
I love leftovers!
It is soooooooo delightful out there these days. Autumn here is so lovely. Like a mild summer or late spring in other places. Although it’s going to be hot again this weekend. So, the tan lives on, haha!
I loooove enchiladas for breakfast like others love pizza….. A midnight snack…a midday snack….. I honestly requested for Christmas this year that we do a traditional Mexican spread rather than turkey and ham….it’s much more enjoyable to me….
Janel, hellllooooooooooo there!! SO great to see you! Well, you
can go to my Grandmas for Christmas and get your fill of Mexican food 😉
She does Mexican, my mom does her fancy ham/scalloped potato dinner on Christmas
eve. But on X-mas day, all you can eat tamales etc and grans….
🙂
Vanessa, your picture of Miles and Matty is just FABULOUS!!! It looks like they are having such a wonderful conversation over a lovely day during there picnic. Your DAHLIAS are such a dainty lovely color. Do you have many preying mantis in the gardens? I had two show up and stay for weeks on a couple of my plants and then they just left. I was bummed, cuz I enjoyed watching them and how they waited to catch there prey.
Sooo how do you make your huevos rancheros? Yummo!!! I have never tasted quince before. I love the pic of the basket of quince too!
This is fun seeing your photos as a child! Good luck with all your projects……WOW!
Mr. L. is a lucky guy with all that good cooking! Yum!!!!
Love the first picture – that is most certainly a magical storybook path!
And, let’s see… ah yes…
Love leftovers, love that impertinent praying mantis, love the pic of you eating baked goods (that is one blissfully contented little person, there), love the sound of all those foods you made this weekend (sooo hungry now), love October, and… and… Well, pretty much love all the things in this post!
: )
Glad you are enjoying the bounty from your hard work in the gardens, and glad you are having good days with good things to be working on. (And if you figure out how to be an effective sergeant for getting all your stuff done, pretty please, let me know how to do it! )
Mmmmm . . . arugula pesto! I like arugula everything! 🙂 Always wish I could take a stroll around your lovely garden with you! Lovely, lovely, lovely!
Your photos are amazing, I love what nature is showing you and you are showing us. Excellent views of the insects, you have a great eye. Natures beauty is so magical and amazing, you captured it so well.
They are such good boys, I asked them to sit next to the basket for a
picture. I wonder if the fact that they are with me 24/7 means they
understand me a lot or something, I dont know? They seem smarter than the
average bear, hee heeeee. Or maybe I am just biased, yes yes, that must be
it!!
Oh yes, did you see the praying mantis in the 5th pic down I think it
was? I had one inside on my curtain too, I took him outside, he was so
annoyed with me. Dont know how he got inside.
I also have this HUGE canary yellow grasshopper in my garden. I call
him Taymar to myself. But the other day I was talking to him
quietlyand he escaped the conversation, and then Mister Lovee calls out,
Look there goes Taymar. So either he is psychic, or when I think I am
speaking to myself in my mind I am talking out loud, which is a whole other set
of issues, hahahahaha!!
Okay then, arugula in the pesto it is 🙂
Isnt nature just unreal lovely Miss Linda??? How could we ever want
for anything more with gifts from the earth as such? But then
again…….. I did see the most unconventional pair of shoes I might
need, hee hee 😉
Thank you! I will try to remember to send it soon, but that is a thing I am very bad at, so no promises on prompt arrival…
Dont worry Alia, I am horrible at getting things to friends, its a
problem for me hahaha!