Fall Is In the Air - and the Minutiae of My Life

Happy Me!!

Well here we are October 1, fall is here, the leaves are changing, the weather is cooling, the colors are beautiful.  As I took my walk today I was treated to many splendid sights.  The colors are wonderful as the leaves begin to change. One tree was so beautifully red and gold it took my breath away, it's beauty was so intense I felt as if my heart might break.
As I walked I was accompanied by a chorus of crickets interspersed by chirping grasshoppers, the occasional birdsong, the plaintive honk of a lone goose, and the gobbling of a wild turkey scurrying through the woods.
I clambered down an embankment to take a close up picture of some wild aster, I heard a rustling and scurrying in the long grass, then saw a very large ground hog scurrying as far away from me as he could!

This morning as I read our local paper online I noticed a recipe for a quick soup dinner, I investigated further as I love soup, and was pleased to see that I had all of the ingredients to make the lentil soup.  Do NOT be turned off that it is a lentil soup, I made a pot and it is amazingly good, so robustly flavorful, so perfect for a fall day.  Here is a link to the recipe  http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20121001/FOOD01/310019919/1001/FOOD

Yesterday I made an Egg Plant curry, I however prefer the pretty name for egg plant so will refer to it as Aubergine curry!! I was reading a post on BLDinMT, link on the right side of my blog, a few weeks ago and thought the recipe sounded interesting.  I added mushrooms, and used garam marsala rather than curry powder. While the curry was cooking, I made a small batch of basmati rice and added it to the curry - wow was this dish ever good.  I will be enjoying my Aubergine Curry and my Lentil Soup over the next few days.

On Saturday evening I made the family Beef Stew Pie, this is a favorite. I simply make a hearty beef stew with lots of potato and carrot and thick, rich gravy like broth.  Once the stew is cooked I make pastry and line my largest cast iron skillet with it, then add all of the stew, then put a top on the pie and pop it into the oven at 425 for about 30 minutes.  Yummy - although the pie is large we never have much left over.

O