The Last Day of Summer

Do you realize that's what today is???  We didn't get a Summer (and just now I hear migrating geese honking by) and now it's Fall?  Not fair.  This morning it was cold enough for me to see my breath when I stepped out to nab the hummingbird feeder so I could refill it.  I know it seems way too cold for those little birdies but they say to put out the feeder for at least a week after you see the last hummingbird, and we're still seeing them every day.

That hawk I saw early yesterday hung around.  In the afternoon I was washing dishes before making supper and it landed on the fence and just posed.  Of course as soon as I put the camera down a squirrel came along the top of the fence for a stand-off.  I'm sad to say that the hawk was the one that backed down and flew off.  *sigh*

 

When I was getting my mise en place together before cooking the French Onion Salisbury Steak for the freezer and had a mittful of parsley to chop (although that's basil in the pictures, it was a different recipe but it's the same idea) I thought I should share my method of chopping or mincing herbs.  See, they always seem to get away from me when I try chopping them on the board.  I read a tip a few years back that has solved my problem.  I snip off the herb-y parts into a small plastic glass and then use my kitchen shears to cut them up in the glass.  Plus you can get every little bit of the herbs out of there and into your skillet or pot without dropping some on the floor during the transfer.  (I get a little messy)  I think it's a genius solution.

That Salisbury steak recipe is a bit labor-intensive but it's pretty easy and, man, are the results worth it.  I'm going to have to make sure to hide some of the frozen ones so that's not all Durwood eats next week when I'm gone--to THE CLEARING to write and commune with nature for a week in relative isolation, not that I'm eager to go, you understand, but I said I'd go and I've paid my fees and, okay, I'll admit it, I'm so eager it's nearing unbearable.  But only 5 more days to live through and then I can fling my crap into the back of the car and drive away.  Away!  Away!

We had cod for supper last night.  I sauteed some onions, celery, and red bell pepper then put the cut cod pieces on top of the veggies, salted and peppered, added a couple of cut up tomatoes, squeezed on half a lemon and tipped in a couple tablespoonfuls of white wine, clapped the lid on the skillet, turned it down to simmer and cooked it as long as it took the broccoli to steam in the microwave (about 6 minutes, or until the cod was white and flaky).  You can substitute mushrooms for the tomatoes too, if that's what you like or have on hand.  It was pretty darned good.  The reason I'm telling you this is because I learned a long time ago that the combination of lemon and wine overcomes any fishy taste or aroma from less-than-expensive fish.


September 22--Nigeria, Court of Benin, Edo Peoples, Hip Ornament, Portuguese Face.  The man at the door was very tall and stood perfectly still.  His skin was the darkest brown and his voice was deep and dark like the best chocolate.  Clara watched him from under her eyelashes as she sat in the waiting room of the embassy.  When he had asked her what she was there for she stammered that she had a letter for the Consul.  She almost kept talking.  His dark black eyes bored into her and it took all her control not to tell everything she knew about the letter and how she had been sworn to secrecy.  She even thought about telling him about stealing apples from Mrs. Mason's orchard when she was eleven but got control of herself and sat down.

Did I tell you that DD called the other day and she and DIL2 are coming here for Thanksgiving?  Well, they are.  Isn't that great?  We're so excited, we haven't seen DD since March and it's been since last October that we saw DIL2.  I keep trying to convince them to move closer but it's like I'm talking to a pair of independent grownups.  Sheesh.  But YAY!  We can't wait.

Gotta find some breakfast and get ready for work.  It's Monday again, also payday.  Yay for payday!  Yay for Monday which is the Monday before I run away to The Clearing.  Five more days.  Ahhh.
-Barbara