Chilling on the California Coast
Neither of us are poets. Yet our hike on a blustery fall day through trembling Aspen groves in the Gunnison National Forest at Crested Butte, CO, inspired us to give poetry a try. And so, with a nod to junior high English teachers everywhere, we present: “Ode to Autumn at Crested Butte.”
Continue reading “‘Ode to Autumn at Crested Butte’ – A Fall Hiking Adventure in Verse & Images”
Gravenstein season ended months ago. “U-pick” opportunities are over. But the Bay Area apple harvest doesn’t end officially until Nov. 30, and fresh late-season varieties are available. So go ahead, schmoosh some apple butter! Recipe included. Continue reading “As Bay Area Harvest Ends, Apple Butter Season Begins; Time to Schmoosh!”
We met in the Midwest, where October means crisp leaves, warm apple cider and that first cold snap. It was classic. For 20 years in suburban L.A., fall meant hot winds, choking dust and fires. It was miserable. Now here we are Coastside enjoying a whole new fall tradition. And it’s amazing!
Continue reading “A Letter to The Coastside: Thanks for a Spooktacular October! We Needed That”
Love it. Hate it. Hide from it. Everyone living Coastside has an opinion about the annual Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival. Our opinion? Embrace the madness. And here are a few tips for enjoying next year’s gourd gala. Continue reading “How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival”
October makes me crave hearty braised meats, warm stadium blankets and scary stories. Lots of scary stories. So I am celebrating October with a vampire novel and a culinary trip to Transylvania. My novel of choice is Baltimore, or the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden (impulse Amazon purchase). This book is a well written gothic horror novel, interspersed with dozens of illustrations by Mignola, the talented comic artist.
My food choices just had to be traditional Transylvanian fare. Paprika Chicken (Csirkepaprikas) and Romanian polenta (Mămăligă Cu Smăntănă) are pretty much the national dishes of Romania, even earning mention by the hapless Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker’s famous Dracula. Continue reading “Paprika Chicken (Csirkepaprikas) and Romanian Polenta with Sour Cream (Mămăligă Cu Smăntănă)”
I have noticed that there aren’t a lot of persimmon recipes out there, compared with apples, pears, squash, etc. Not that many people like them? Not readily available everywhere? I don’t know. For whatever reason, people seem to mainly make puddings, pies and salads with them. Continue reading “Persimmon Crostini”
Persimmon season has started and I found some delicious fruit at the Coastside Farmers’ Market this week — a farmers’ market that I had to prod myself to go to. I tend to approach farmers’ markets with both excitement and annoyance. Actually, farmers’ markets trigger a planning neurosis in me. Here’s why: Continue reading “Persimmon Refrigerator Jam”