Summer's Swansong Supper

It seems that summer has definitely chosen to ease on into fall, saying fairwell...see you next year, wish we could have spent more time together...it was lovely while it lasted...and so on. On it's way out though, it gave us two more glorious days of eighty degree weather and being that I was in the process of finishing up my last summer camp of the season (another jungle one, btw), I thought it would be a wonderful idea to make our last true summery supper. A meal that we always enjoy so much when the weather is warm, and the time is short.


It's a recipe I've adapted to our region...the base of it coming from one of my favorite summer cookbooks fittingly titled " The Summer Book" by Susan Branch. I can't even begin to tell you how much we love this cookbook...it's the epitomy of summer, with all the wording and artwork done by Susan herself.

Susan writes, draws and paints all of her cookbooks, as well as her other books, by hand. The art work is beautiful, sweet, and fun. It also inspires a "Mayberry" feeling in me...an all American, old fashioned, light and airy, small town feeling.



And the recipes are absolutely delicious! This is my take on her Lemon Linguini~

Cook 1lb. of your favorite pasta (Linguini, Penne, Rigatoni...whatever you feel like at the moment!) in boiling, salted water and drain.

In a large bowl whisk together 1/2 Cup Olive Oil, zest of 1 Lemon - juice of 2 Lemons, chopped scallions (4), and 1/4 cup chopped parsley.

Add drained pasta to the lemon sauce. Now you can play around. I usually add one package of chunky smoked salmon (broken into bite size bits), 2 oz. goat cheese (crumbled over warm pasta), either cooked asparagus or green beans (boil in water 3-5 min., drain, run cool water over), grape tomatoes (left whole), salt, pepper and a pinch of cayenne.

It's so easy...extremely yummy, makes great left-overs, and it can be made in half an hour tops.

Wishing you all a beautiful, golden end to your summer and a warm, yet crisp & lovely beginning to your fall. Bon Appetit!

The Garden Lollipops Are Here

Our delightful dahlias have decided to show us their beautiful faces again, which is a miracle considering they've been in our little make-shift nursery these past four years and haven't really recieved the care that they should have during that time.

Usually we would have dug them up, separated the tubers, marked them, stored them and then in early spring, replanted them. But sadly, with the building of the house, they along with our other nursery plants and flowers...have been pretty much on their own with only the ablsolute bits of care needed being provided for them.


Some of them had even been taken over by the aforementioned jungle that our back yard has become...and still managed to pop through! Only a few haven't graced us with their presence yet...

but I imagine they will show their faces soon enough...and if not, we'll just dig them up this time around and give them the proper attention and care that they deserve.

All of our dahlias are at least 10 years old and are very special to us. The yellow one in the picture above was a gift from a friend who was visiting from Holland (isn't it glorious ?), and the rest...well they're even more special.

They were a gift from an elderly couple in the neighborhood who were known as Mr. and Mrs. Dahlia. They grew rows and rows of the most amazingly beautiful dahlias (hence the name) and since their garden was visible from the street (corner lot - chain link fence), the whole neighborhood was able to enjoy them every year.

Sadly, Mrs. Dahlia passed away, and Mr. Dahlia wanted to keep her legacy alive in the neighborhood, and since I had on many occasions stopped by their house on my dog walking excursions and had developed a relationship with them over the beauty of their gorgeous flowers, he gave quite a few to us, hoping to keep her memory firmly planted in the neighborhood...and in our hearts.

Mr. Dahlia is no longer living here either, he's still with us though last I heard...and we feel so grateful and blessed to be able to carry on the tradition that he and his lovely wife started so many years ago, to care for, share (we've given away so many tubers), and to just enjoy the prettiness of these floral lollipops that bring such happiness and smiles to those that get to see them.

(all images - 24corners)

Pretty & Not So Pretty

I've been diverting my attentions to outside lately...and a few days ago, on one of our rare sunny days, I was walking around Edmonds, a quaint little town not far from where we live. This is where the ferry terminal is for traveling to the Olympic Peninsula. Two ferries are always traveling back and forth....it's about a thirty minute ride so you're sure to see one on Puget Sound no matter what time of day it is.

On this particular day, I also caught a hazy view of Mt. Baker in the distance...as usual, always white with snow.

And across the street street from all this watery, mountainous beauty, were these...

roses, nasturtiums, lavender, poppies...and so much more, it was beautiful and just what my soggy soul needed to take my mind off of the...

NOT SO PRETTY!

This actually is the tamest of all the pictures we took when the wall containing our new leak (gush) was broken into. I couldn't bare to show you the others...a moldy moisture ant farm is not something I would wish on anyone to see...except those who must.

It was discovered that three years ago, an itty-bitty nail was un-knowingly shot into one of our pipes when the backing for the shower tile was being put up...and this pipe wasn't used until very recently...so we had no idea. It seems that the damage may have traveled as far as the dining room...we're not sure yet, but those pesky moisture ants have shown up there now...only time and demolition will tell!

Onward and upward!