A is for Autumn and Apples!

 

Photos by La tartine gourmande

On this first day of Fall I celebrate the apple…..more specifically, Honeycrisp Apples. It may still be 90 degrees here in Texas but one bite of these yummy fruits and it’s automatically autumn. I like apples but I love Honeycrisps. They are only around once a year, and they are a little more expensive than your old Granny Smiths, Fujis or Washingtons, but they are definitely worth it. They are sweet, tart and the texture is just right. They are great raw or dipped in a little peanut butter….yum! Plus they are really pretty. Beautifully pink peach with flecks of yellow, green and orange. Toss a few in a wooden bowl and let them pull double duty as a nice centerpiece (before you eat them all).

A Tribute to Galveston

So. It’s been a week since Hurricane Ike smashed the Texas Coast and made a horrible path of destruction all the way up to New England (a coworker’s parents have even been out of power in Pennsylvania for days due to the storm!)

I lived and worked in Galveston for a short time and my husband attended Texas A&M University at Galveston there and lived all over the Island, including a cute little house on the canal in Jamaica Beach. His folks have a beautiful home there on the West End and we visit often (see previous post about recent trip here). It’s like a little second home for us. We are still unsure how their house faired. We have NOT been able to return. This week has been pretty stressful and hurtful and I’m not even in the middle of it all. Maybe that is why it’s so hard. I feel helpless and disconnected. I’ve been pouring over Internet and TV coverage, trying to make sense of it all. In the process I decided to make a little photo slideshow.  

 

I found a great song, “Galveston,” performed by Jimmy Webb. The song was actually made famous by Glenn Campbell and I think it’s about a Vietnam War vet, but I still think it’s a beautiful, emotional song that works here.

I also was inspired by this photo taken this week at the venerable seafood restaurant, Gaidos, on the Seawall in Galveston. The good folks there served a free lunch to more than 1,000 first responders. How wonderful. I think the sign says it all.

Keep Galveston in Your Thoughts

Fierce Models, Wack-a-Doodle fashion designers: I’m Hot for Fashion TV.

 

Hey, Girrrl, hey!!

Wednesday must be my favorite night for TV right now. With America’s Next Top Model premeiring tonight and Project Runway in midseason I’m in seam rippin, fashion reality heaven. I am no fashion queen, but I loves me some tragic fashion television programing. The wackier the better. Pre-op transgender models? Bring it on.

can you believe this chick is actually a dude?

Blue-haired dress makers who talk in third person? I’m there.  

As with my previously mentioned love of depressing TV, I too am fascinated with fashion TV. And maybe the two subgenres of reality TV aren’t that far apart.

ah, suede, you’re such a wack-a-doodle.

Depressing TV takes me away to another place filled with drug addicts, dying children, and old people ….albeit, those are not places I really don’t want to stay for very long. Fashion TV, in all its groan-inducing wackiness too is good just for an hour-long visit.

Take America’s Next Top Model season premiere. What was going on in the first hour of the two hour show? Tyra-bot and Alpha Jay and Beta Jay were just too much. Each cycle they try to conjure up some theme. This year it was technology (or the future, or aliens, or something) but all those those zaps and beeps and bad special effects during the first round of eliminations were almost enough to switch the channel. But alas, I love ANTM and stayed on to see which quirky, beauty would win over my heart this time. Will it be Elina the Vegan lesbian who is a little intimidating or Marjorie the sweet and awkward French immigrant home schooled girl?

Let the cat fights and groaning begin!

The Bounty of Summer!

Thanks to our good friends who happen to have a garden, the husband and I had a super yummy dinner tonight. Their small garden has produced tons of basil this summer and they were practically begging us to take some of it. We happily accepted a couple of bunches of the leafy green goodness (along with a homegrown red bell pepper or two) and started pondering a use for our garden gift.

I’ve never made pesto before but our buddies said we should try. So we yanked down our Cuisinart and got to work. It was super simple and has inspired us to make more pesto dishes. Here’s all you need:

 

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
• 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

 

You just put that in the food processor, pulse it a few times and there you have it! That recipe was enough for a full helping of wheat pasta. I decided to snazz it up by sauteing some cremini mushrooms, onions and red bell peppers. It was so good and I’m already looking forward to our next pesto pasta night!