Last evening I sat down on my couch to a whiff of a lovely rose scent. I had picked a bouquet and they have lasted almost a week. I wonder if there is any philosophical concept there about the old and longevity and beauty present in this experience! I breathed in their beauteous scent and simply enjoyed it. I got up this morning to let Lucy and Sofi with her tail so long out for their morning ablutions. Lucy had had a sleep over with Sofi and they were both firmly awake! I was greeted at the door by a firm covering of frost on the chaise on my back porch and thought to myself, “those roses in my living room are my last roses of summer!” I am never ready for the cold, nor for winter and yet it comes every year, each year with more rapidity. Once again, Mother Nature is saying “Voila” - here it is again.
Drinking a delicious cup of café-au-lait and reading my morning “Fodor” board, I encountered an entry about an apartment in Paris that was “everything they were looking for”. I followed the link and saw photos of a 2 bedroom, very neutral apartment and I thought to myself “you did not see the apartment I stayed in”. It is beautifully decorated, sports all the creature comforts and it is a very comfortable apartment that is also in a safe part of town! I have not ever seen photos or been in an apartment in Paris as nice as the one I stayed in this past summer and plan on inhabiting again for a week in February! I thank the owner of the Cour Damoye apartment for her hard work, passion and generosity in sharing her space with us travelers. AND it is a heck of a lot more economical that the one the lady showed in her post! True it is a one bedroom and this one had two, but the cost of the apartment was over double as well!
I visited my Aunt in Kirkland, Washington about this time of year a few years ago; she took me to breakfast on the way to the train station. The cute little place she took me, NOT a chain, had pumpkin pancakes on their special fall menu; they were wonderfully pumpkiney and served with whipped cream. It was like sinning by dessert for breakfast. I decided that I wanted that experience again and started a recipe search. While I encountered several I have yet to try (that is for later this morning when my overnight guest gets up) I also encountered a recipe for Creamy Pumpkin Pasta. Once in my head I wanted it all week long and this past Thursday evening I prepared it to my great oral delight! IT was everything I had hoped and more! A wonderful creamy sauce with sausage, (it recommended Italian turkey sausage and here in my “progressive” corner of Indiana it was not to be found!) full of pumpkin flavor over wheat pasta. It was a singular treat to myself! It was pretty, flavorful and filling, while probably bad a hell for me. But then…….. well I won’t go there. So here is the recipe for the pasta if you try it let me know how you like it. I will admit up front that I did not create this and that I am only sharing it with you. The recipe is from a blog called Momadvice.com, in which she also recommends to serve it with apple crisp and artisan bread. I had a “you bake it” baguette from Kroger which makes lovely garlic bread and that was my meal with a glass of white wine from a small little vintner in Sonoma called Imagery. This wine is a nice crisp white that is lovely and accompanies many meals well and lasts longer than most whites in the fridge. That longevity thing is a big plus for me! She suggests an apple crisp, but I am something of an apple crisp snob and I think the recipe my mother used THE BEST!
This weekend is full, Bonfires, birthday celebrations, preparations and more, but I think all roads should all begin with pumpkin pancakes!
Oh Yes, the recipe from Momma Advice:
No comments:
Post a Comment