Summer Swan Song and a Prelude to Fall

Fall is definitely in the air. I just came in from walking and I noticed that the leaves are beginning to fill the driveway and the smell in the air has a certain crispness. The nights are cooler (which is awesome for sleeping with the windows open) and the days still have a warm feel – it's my favorite time of year.

Tuesday night we had a bit of excitement; Dan had a biking accident and we ended up in the ER. I'm grateful that he was wearing his helmet and that he was not seriously injured. He does however have a concussion and a nice collection of scrapes and cuts. He'll be sore for a few days however, the fog seems to have lifted and he's getting back to normal – even though he is moving a bit slowly.

We're still in high tomato production mode – which is heavenly although we're struggling to keep up. I'm having dinner with some friends tonight and of course I'll have to bring them each a few tomatoes – it's down right rude to show up without a gift right. And everyone loves a home-made gift – or home grown gift in this case.

As you know we've been toasting bread and consuming tomato and mayo sandwiches quite frequently this season and believe me I have no complaints. But everyone once in a while you need something a little different.

I was scrounging through the fridge and in the back I spied a forgotten cucumber an avocado, some feta and of course the large bag of cherry tomatoes. I decided to throw them together in a quick salad with a rice wine vinegar and olive oil dressing. Add baked squash with apples, onions, walnuts, cranberries and maple syrup (yes the acorn squash is from the garden) and you have dinner. Both were delicious and Dan added a side of grilled salmon to his plate. 

We've been slowly using our acorn squash. We've dropped a few off with neighbors, friends and family and Dan has calculated that if we have squash once a week we have enough to last us until early January. I've been searching for vegan mac and cheese recipes and the ones that seem the most interesting are the squash based sauces so I think we'll give that a try at our next movie night.

I'm looking forward to cooler days and Dan's famous white bean soup  We're definitely transitioning to fall and our Annual Pumpkin Carving Party – complete with costumes – let the Halloween preparations begin!