first day of fall

Happy first day of fall! While summer is my favorite season, I do admit that fall can be beautiful. 

Fall gets a little depressing for me though because my oldest son, Philip passed away on September 25th (2009). My dad, grandpa and mother-in-law also all passed away in the fall. I also hate seeing all the flowers dying and perennials withering, packing away all the summer yard decor and covering up the patio furniture...all reminders that the dreaded winter is right around the corner. (Ignore the bag of potting soil, plant pots and gardening gloves lying on the porch. I repotted several houseplants today.)

But back to the good stuff: Brian bought wood and stained it, and built a raised bed in back of the house for an herb garden. I had herbs back there in the ground for years, including mint, which I was always having to prune and dig out. The little area served us well during the past years, but with the french drains being put in the ground a few months ago (you can see one of the drains behind Brian), the area was looking scraggly. And I was sick of taming the mint. So Brian dug out all the herbs except for what I wanted to save ~ chives and red veined sorrel. I'll plant other herbs next spring.

Some color still abounds around the yard. Black-eyed Susan in the butterfly garden is drying up, but still lovely.

Plenty of color on the north side of the house with hosta blooms, coleus and impatiens.

I picked the last of our tomatoes today ~ even the green ones ~ and roasted them until they were saucy. Added to my pot of chili for dinner.

Another snapshot of my day: Clementine is my loyal companion. She follows me all over the house. I was making dinner, so she had to supervise, of course.

Even though it was warm and sunny today, I was craving chili. I don't use a recipe. This is my own creation. I taste and add things as I go along, though I do use some basics: half ground turkey, half ground beef (organic, grass-fed), onions, red and orange bell pepper, poblano pepper, garlic, a can of black beans, tomato sauce, dark beer, a little chicken broth, seasonings (chili powder, cumin, Mexican oregano, salt, pepper, chipotle red pepper), a tablespoon of cocoa powder. I doubled my usual recipe so that I could bring a container to a friend whose Significant Other just got home from the hospital.

Whatever you choose to do this weekend to celebrate the Autumn Equinox, I hope it brings you joy.

PS ~ still having trouble with my blog header. Designed a simple graphic through a website (can't even remember which one now), but I can't get it to center. That's what I get for using a freebie site, I suppose. I'm still not wanting to pay for a photo editing site since I will rarely use it, but I might have to bite the bullet.

snowy new year's day, reading pile, and a couple of recipes to keep you warm

I mentioned in my last post that we were wanted to get in our traditional New Year's Day hike in the State Park before the snow hit. We did it! It was only in the 20's, but we bundled up and went about two miles. It was actually invigorating. The snow started right as we were leaving, so perfect timing.

The great thing about walking in the State Park on New Year's day is that we have the whole park to ourselves ~ except for the animals, of course. No humans in sight the entire time as the park is closed on New Year's day. The main gates to drive into the park are closed, but you're allowed to walk in through the side walk-in only entrances. 

I don't always love where I live, but when I walk in the State Park, I feel very grateful to live here.

"I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees." (Henry David Thoreau)

So now that it's officially January and we're experiencing true winter weather; i.e., cold, and the omicron variant has a lot of people sick with Covid, I'm doing more staying indoors. I did go to the library today (only three other people in there besides the few employees) to return some books and pick up a few others. This is my January reading pile. I've been reading Simple Abundance every year for many years. January is my favorite month of her writings. I've always been curious about A Course in Miracles but it's quite lengthy and involved, so I thought I'd try what I call the Cliff Notes version ("Made Easy").

No Time to Spare by Ursula K. LeGuin is a collection of her blog posts which she began writing in her 80's. (She passed away in 2018.) From what I've read, she's a wonderful writer and this book is a gem of her deepest thoughts.

 

This past weekend, I made a couple of dishes that were yummy, healthy, warming, and easy to make, so I thought I'd share them with you. The first is from Half Baked Harvest ~ my newest favorite for dinner ideas and recipes. Every recipe I've tried has turned out wonderful. If you like Indian food with a little heat, you have to try this Crockpot Butter Chicken. I didn't have any red curry paste on-hand and this dish still turned out great. Serve over brown rice with garlic naan bread and a side of steamed broccoli. Although, in my post-menopausal foggy brained state (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it), I forgot to make the broccoli. 🙄

I apologize for this non-appealing photo (bad lighting, steam coming from the bowl, melting cheese swirling throughout), but believe me, this One Pot Red Lentil Chili was delicious. I used a poblano chili instead of a jalapeno and I only used one can of beans (black) instead of two, as I don't digest beans too well. I had leftovers for lunch today and it was even better after sitting in the refrigerator overnight.

Have a good week ~ stay warm and healthy!

catching up ~ phil's anniversary date, fall stuff, a chili recipe

Hi friends, I know it's been awhile since I posted. The 10 year anniversary of Phil's passing was September 25th and I just haven't felt like posting anything. Maybe because ten years is considered a milestone in measuring time, this year hit me particularly hard. My beautiful boy had just turned 14 years old in this photo. We were celebrating his birthday at TGI Fridays. I love his sweet, shy smile in this photo.

I don't do much decorating for the different seasons anymore. Just little touches here and there. This is as far as I've gotten with fall decor on my front porch. I found these interesting pumpkins at Trader Joe's. I liked them better than the traditional pumpkins.

I still have hints of summer on the front porch - the hanging fern and pot of summer flowers are still going strong, despite temps dipping into the 40's at night. 

We've had way too much rain here in northeast Illinois though. It's one reason why the color change is late here this year. My poor arborvitae trees in the back yard have had standing water under them for a couple of weeks now. Neighbors around us in lower-lying areas have standing water in their front yards, and even worse, there's a couple of houses down the street that are surrounded by water because of the creek than runs behind their houses. 

Inside my home, small touches of fall decor in the living room...

The heavier throw came out...

Fall pillows on the couch...

Fabric pumpkins and fairy lights...

A few fall items grace the china cabinet in the kitchen...

Lots of cooking has been going on in the kitchen, too. I've been buying the last of the tomatoes at the local farm stand and roasting them in the oven on low with fresh thyme sprigs from my herb garden and olive oil, then putting the roasted, cooled tomatoes in freezer bags and sticking them in the freezer. That way I can use fresh, roasted tomatoes all fall and winter in soups, stews, spaghetti sauce and chili.

Speaking of chili, I made my first pot last week. Tim came over for dinner and the three of us devoured big bowls of this chili on an appropriately chilly evening, accompanied with beer bread. Brian and Tim said this was the best chili I've ever made. Maybe it was because it was the first pot of chili of the season, but who am I to argue. Recipe below. The great thing about making things like chili is that it's so adaptable. You can change up the peppers for whatever kind you like. Same with the beans and the spices. 

MELANIE'S BEST CHILI

3 T butter or olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 cubanelle pepper, diced

1 poblano pepper, diced

1 lb organic, grass-fed ground beef

1 lb organic ground pork

1 clove minced garlic

1 can diced tomatoes*

1 small can tomato sauce*

1 can black beans (do not drain!)

Vegetable broth, as needed for thinning

Couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce

3 T chili powder

2 tsp cumin

Pinch red pepper flakes

1 T cocoa powder

Salt and pepper, to taste

In a Dutch oven, melt the butter or heat the olive oil over medium heat, then add the onion and peppers. Saute until just tender. Add the ground beef, pork and garlic. Cook until meat is browned. Drain fat. Add the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. *How much you use of each is a personal preference. I prefer my chili to have less chunks of tomatoes and more sauce, but you might like the texture of diced tomatoes better. I ended up using more tomato sauce than the diced tomatoes. Add the black beans (or you can use kidney beans ~ or even a can of each; again, it's a personal preference...just remember, don't drain the beans!) Start to add vegetable broth to thin as the chili is simmering. Then add the seasonings, tasting and adjusting as you want. Pop the lid on the pot and let simmer on low for an hour. Your house will smell sooo good!

Happy October. 🍂