Tiny Tomato Parade

Man, I must have tomatoes on the brain.  With our little garden razed for winter, I'm already mourning the idea of moving back into the land of the supermarket variety tomato.  It's just not the same.  But, since the last peach received a memorial, so shall the tail end of the tomatoes.

In case you couldn't tell by the earlier shot, these suckers were tiny. Here's some perspective.

Farewell tomatoes. I loved you and shall do so again.

Sincerely,
Eightch

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Revisiting | Timber Timbre

I must say the falling leaves have sent me back into fond memories, they seem to be unearthed by the air of the changing seasons.  Fall is my favorite.  The season is short lived in these parts.  But the days and nights can bring about great things.

A few years back I had a night I'm surprised I haven't attempted to recreate.  Two friends (Hil and Will) bundled up with me on my front porch.  We brought along some candles, some drinks, and Timber Timbre's Timber Timbre.  We sat together in the breezy night.  We drank and talked and listened.  And Timber Timbre offered the perfect Autumnal accompaniment.  So before October ends, I would like you to spend a bit of time with my memory.  It took me forever to dig up these photos, but finding them made the revisiting even more bittersweet.  Which, in my opinion, is the best way to receive memories of a particular variety.

Timber Timbre has subsequent albums. But nothing has stuck with me quite like this self titled masterpiece has. I stumbled across it in my all time favorite now closed record store, Slowtrain. So I thank them for their part in this and so many other things. From start to finish this may just be the perfect record for October. When I listen to this album I feel like I'm spending time in an abandoned mansion in New Orleans.  Spooky and amazing.  Magic Arrow and Lay Down In the Tall Grass may just be my favorites.  Have a listen here.*

*Sorry, I'll fix this as soon as Grooveshark allows me to make a multiple song widget.  Looks like they're under construction for now.

What's your favorite Fall time record?  I want to know!

Best,
H

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Six Things I Must Bake

My intention was to write up something working out, maybe the must-haves that can make a workout exciting.   What really happened:  I worked out, came home, started watching the presidential debate and started thinking about food.  Totally natural for stress eaters, right?  I joke.  The debate didn't make me think about food, it was the blustery clouds rolling across the sky, the fresh smell after the rainstorm, the colorful leaves blowing around.  For me, and probably for most across the nation; cool weather = turn on the oven.

I want to bake.

I was in Rochester for a wedding last week, where I found myself eating a lot of biscuits and corn bread (hence my reason for hitting the gym).  While baking is completely unrelated to records, unless you listen to records when baking, this list of six inspired me to collect six recipes I've come across and have categorized as things I must bake.

These recipes come from my favorite food blog, Smitten Kitchen.   Deb is a charming writer, a great photographer and incredibly creative in the kitchen.  Her first book is about to hit the shelves and while you can search the web for recipes, nothing beats a solid book on your counter top.  Every time I use one of her recipes, I'm the hit at the potluck.  Seriously, you can't lose.

Spiced Applesauce Cake, Gingersnaps, Whole Wheat Apple Muffins, Sweet Potato Biscuits, Homemade Wheat Thins, Apple and Cheddar Scones

I hope to successfully bake these items over the season, especially the apple cheddar scones.   Are you too planning on baking this season?  If so, what's top of the list?

xoxo stacey
  
All photos from Smitten Kitchen.

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Tracy Aviary

Remember how a while back I planned a night out on the town for Hubby and myself to enjoy?  Well, I'm happy to report the favor has been graciously returned.  Arie planned a super cute surprise evening for us the other night, and part one took place at Tracy Aviary.  We are beyond lucky to have the only free standing aviary west of the Mississippi within walking distance from our home (one of two in the nation).  We both took trips there in our youth, but neither of us could remember the last time we had visited.  Now we already want to go back.  It was the perfect Fall evening to enjoy the aviary. 

My favorite bird of the evening was the Saffron Finch (seen sitting inside the square window).  Neither of us could believe how peaceful and removed we felt considering we were inside an aviary which is inside a park which is very close to traffic filled roads.  We had walked Pup in that very park the night before, but the memory seemed far removed from where we were at the moment.

Stay tuned for part two!

t.t.f.n.

H

P.S.  There were many spooky guests in attendance that evening.  Another reason why I love Fall.

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Fall + Fairs

I can't believe it's already state fair time.  Time to harvest your bounty, pull out the closed-toe shoes, hoodies, sweaters, and eat some deep fried foods.  It was also roughly a year ago today that T and I decided to get married (which was also state fair time). We did, but we can talk about that later.  Right now I want to focus on the fair...fair enough?

First, it was food.  Corn dogs, hot dogs, elephant ears (fry bread), corn on the cob, lemonade and washed down by something that shouldn't be deep fried, deep fried.  From the following choices- deep fried Oreos, Snickers bar, Twinkie, green jello or peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Heather and I chose the sandwich.  It was quite good, sort of like a doughnut.  Overall, I liked the corn best. The Original Corn Roast was built by the vendor and can cook 40+ ears of corn in seconds.  I'd never thought to put lemon or garlic salt on corn, let alone hot sauce or Parmesan cheese.  Delish!

We wandered around and checked out the sideshow attractions. It was the first time I've ever paid to see the side show "freaks" and it was really disappointing. Also for the first time I really noticed the vendors. Fair people. Can you imagine traveling around from city to city peddling random food and wares? Maybe I should read Geek Love to get a fictional glimpse into the lives of fair folk. Maybe that's a stretch?

Then, time to get our goat on. When you were a kid do you remember the goats wearing turtlenecks? This bunch looked like they were headed to the library and there were others in flashier smocks, much more club/rave appropriate. The goats were naughty; I tried to snap photos of them eating chairs and boots left near their stalls but they were too quick. Heather kept scratching one on the head between it's horns. The little guy reminded me of a puppy. Goats are cute. Last but not least the lights of the fair. I hate to use the word magical, but there's something about them against the dark sky, in the crisp, cool fall air. To me, a true sign that fall is here.

What kicks off your fall season?

 xo stacey

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