Warm Comfort

It is another gray day, though no rain or snow so far.  I can't seem to gather enough energy to get things done.  Rather than check things off my long to-do list, I decided to cook a great big pot of Red Lentil and Root Vegetable Stew.  As usual, I didn't refer to a recipe (though I love cookbooks as inspiration!)... rather I wandered around pulling richly colored root vegetables and let the garden write my ingredient list. These photos give you an idea of what went in my soup pot.

A little pan of flat stovetop bread topped with olive oil, garlic and thyme paired nicely with my soup. Though I was eating alone, I took the time to serve myself in the china I inherited from my maternal grandmother, and I garnished my bowl with a spring of thyme and a wedge of beet. Aren't the insides of these Chioggia beets beautiful?   I craved this infusion of color on such a gray day.

Feeling satisfied, I sip my nettle tea and enjoy the quiet.  The house smells warm and comfortable, as the earthy aromas of the stew mix with the scent of the wood fire.

Wherever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you warmth and comfort.

Bounty

This week the emphasis on the farm is on preserving peppers and cleaning up the garden rows.  These bells are being made into stuffed peppers for instant gratification, and roasted red pepper puree to savor in the winter.  There are also hot peppers to pickle and to string up for drying.

Apparently, this is monsoon season in our neck of the woods... We are on our fifteenth or twentieth day of rain.  The extended forecast predicts rain and snow for the next ten days as well.  We get a little damp around the edges gathering our harvest, but the house is warm and comfortable... and with tomato sauce in the crockpot and peppers roasting in the oven it smells good too!

Wherever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you comfort, color, and joy!

all photos by Aisling, 10/20/2013