Peg Bracken, a humorist and cookbook author, wrote a book entitled, “A Window Over the Sink” in the early 80’s. There’s an eight foot wide window over my sink that provides endless entertainment as I observe the walkers, joggers, traffic and the like passing by. The street is tree-lined with numerous maple trees that are just starting to turn color. It reminds me of the story told about my brother who, as a small child, was looking out at the falling, colorful leaves and shouted out, “Wook at the weaves!”
An article in today’s paper talked about the leaves changing colors earlier than usual this year and a number of different reasons were considered. The theme running through the article pointed to changes in climate that may be a heavy contributor. I know our weather has fluctuated from the 40’s to the 80’s throughout the last month, which must be really confusing for plants trying to shut down for their winter snooze. The science behind the vast differences in temperature is complicated and more than likely, climate change is at the top of the list of offenders.
Regardless of the reasons behind the changes, the colors of the foliage still makes me smile with anticipation. There’s nothing like the chilly nights and warm days of Fall to put some pep in your step when out for a jog. A s’more isn’t just for a warm weather campfire and is the perfect companion to hot chocolate, especially after raking and bagging leaves. I don’t have a wet suit, but I do love to carefully take the kayak out onto a lake ringed by the flaming colors of the foliage and get the double treat of seeing their reflection in the water. The reds, oranges, and greens against the blue/gray sky of October, with sunshine streaming through never gets old.
Many trees have dropped their leaves which now lay browned and curled on the sidewalk. Crunching through them when walking Arie, or watching them swirl around our feet when a breeze picks up is a simple pleasure. I noticed an enormous wasp nest in a neighbor’s tree that had been hidden by the leaves all summer. My neighbor used to sit under that tree and read, enjoying the shade. She’s lucky she didn’t get stung.
Within a few weeks all the leaves will be down and the smell of bonfires will permeate the air. Firepits will be put to good use as neighbors eke out a few more days on their patios. Fairy lights add their twinkle to the stars that are stand out brilliant at this time of year. Fall is here and brings with it a final blast of color as we move into a winter snooze.
Recipe of the Week: This was in the newspaper the other day and looked like it would go together easily. Totally necessary one night where it was a pedal to the metal day and suddenly it’s time to throw supper together. It’s a simple meal of buckwheat soba noodles and can be made a day ahead and served at room temperature. I would think any kind of pasta would work, it’s just the buckwheat soba type has a good amount of protein in it. A nice plus when eating pasta.
1/4 soy sauce or tamari, 3 T rice wine vinegar, 2 T sesame oil, 1 C frozen edamame (don’t bother defrosting), 9 1/2 oz. dry soba noodles (our local Big Y had them; it can be tricky to find them), 2 pints of cherry tomatoes (I cut them in half).
Combine the tomatoes, soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil, stir and let sit while edamame and noodles boil (Next time I plan on quickly roasting the tomatoes first so they’re really jammy and soft).
Boil some water, throw in the edamame and noodles and cook 4-5 minutes (al dente, not mushy is my fav). Drain. Throw pasta in the marinade you set aside and enjoy! You could ad sesame seeds as a garnish if feeling fancy. It’s that easy. Enjoy!
Tip of the Week: I was thinking about the toilet brush and how it drips back into the holder. It’s a little gross cleaning out the pot every so often, so then I thought about leaving the brush between the seat and bowl for a bit to dry out before putting it into the holder. Totally works, decreases the ick factor and the frequency of cleaning out the brush holder.
Onward and upwards!