Blues skies (and pussy wilows) ahead!

I know I only have a handful of followers (mainly my darling relatives and friends), but still thought I'd greet the Blogworld again. It's been a rough winter for my family, but my dad seem to be rounding the turn, and we're hoping that spring raises his spirits and improves his health. I'm back -- and I'm sure  there are blue skies, pussy willows and lots of joy ahead!

 

It's a cranberry world on Cape Cod

I haven't posted for a while; at the little church, we've had two weddings, three funerals, and a newsletter, so my carpal tunnel problems are giving me a great deal of trouble. 

But, without a doubt, it is the most beautiful time of year here on Cape Cod, and I wanted to share it with you! Many of the growers are wet-harvesting on the cranberry bogs, and, believe me, when I see all the rosy glory on a lovely fall morning, it's very, very hard not to pull over and drink it all in --the views across the ponds and bogs are absolutely breath-taking. 

If you ever have the opportunity 

to visit Cape Cod in the fall, please do come visit...

and until then...eat more Cape Cod Cranberrries!

(By the way, if you'd like this Cape Cod package sign for yourself, get in touch with my fabulous cousin, Jan, in the Buffalo, New York, area. Her business, The Traveling Picture show made a gorgeous framed copy for my kitchen.

Okay, Martha, I'm ready now

I gave our poor dear Martha Stewart a hard time at the end of summer because her blog was already posting Halloween costumes. My response? Seriously, Martha.

Well, today is October 1st, and all I can say is praise the Lord, because September was HARD. My dad has finished radiation, but the after affects have made him pretty sick, and he's been hospitalized and under medical care. And one hospital admission was the day before my mom's surprise 80th birthday party with more than 80 guests. Dad insisted that we move ahead with the party, and it did go very well (love and kisses to Falmouth's Coonamessett Inn -- you and your staff were beyond wonderful).But we've all been under a strain, especially both my parents.

That's why I'm feeling glad to have September over and to start a fresh new month. And in my book, it's now perfectly okay to go all out for Halloween. I didn't like the spaceman costume, Martha, but I am lovin on your baby get ups.

Take a look at some of the ideas (there are more on her site):

All together now: Awww.
Do you recognize the chicken feet? Rubber gloves!

Perfect for a Cape Cod baby.

 This one would work, too.

On the other hand, I do believe the folks at MS need to rethink this one: it's a bit disturbing.
Okay...it's VERY disturbing.

Those who know me are well aware of my determined dislike for Martha. I'm not enamored with her high-handed personality and I mistrust her values and her emphasis on things over people. Not to mention that my skin crawled every time she had her mother on her show (I can't imagine treating my mom that way). 

But, boy oh boy, I give the woman credit for assembling staff of creative geniuses! Their collection of costume ideas are funny, silly, creepy, and, yes, even a touch strange -- but all in all brilliant. Check out the rest of the baby costume and bigger kid costume ideas at  Halloween Central on the Martha Stewart blog here.

Cellentani pasta with roasted tomatoes and arugula

"Auntie JuJu, Auntie JuJu!"

Luciano and Mirabella were here, tumbling through the breezeway door like little puppies. They were eager to pick the cherry tomatoes I have growing in pots and tubs on the back patio, so I give them each a basket, and out they ran. Even at 2 1/2 and 5, they're darn good at choosing just the red ones. Luc eats them straight from the plant, and there was such a bounty from the rain Cape Cod finally received, he declared over and over, "It's a miracle!" His mom, my sister Sue, and I were quite sure he must have heard that somewhere, but you, know, he was right. Tomatoes certainly are a miracle!

I sent Susan and her little ones home with a paper bag full of tomatoes, but I had plenty left. My goals this weekend were to tidy my bedroom drawers (so messy!) and clean out the fridge. Late this Sunday afternoon, I took the ricotta cheese I'd discovered behind the pickles, and started cooking up vegetables. 

I decided to make a casserole with one of my favorite pastas, cellentani. Have you tried these? They're shaped like corkscrews, and cook up very chewy. They have a nice bite, and stay firm when baked.

I mixed the cellentani with ricotta and some arugula, and sauteed the baby yellow squash and zucchini I'd bought Friday. For my labors,  I had a nice little round baking dish for myself later this week, and a good sized casserole to bake for the office tomorrow. And a container of beautifully sauteed squash -- good things in store...

Cellentani pasta con pomodori al forno e rucola

(Cellentani pasta with roasted tomatoes and arugula)

2-3 pounds of cherry tomatoes, halved, or

regular size tomatoes, diced

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

1/4 cup parsley, minced fine

8-10 leaves of basil, chopped in chiffonade

l pound cellentani pasta

2 bunches (roughly 3 cups) arugula
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 pounds Ricotta cheese

Place tomatoes in a roasting dish and drizzle with oil and vinegar.

Add salt and pepper, toss and roast for one hour, stirring several times.

Meantime, chop arugula roughly, discarding root end.

Drizzle nonstick skillet with olive oil, and saute lightly, two or three moments.

Cook cellentani in a large sauce pan and drain. 

Return pasta to pot, add ricotta and stir to mix. Add tomatoes, including  juice from roasting pan, along with arugula, parsley and basil. 

Place mixture in low casserole or roasting pan, sprinkle with Parmesan, and bake until hot and bubbly, approximately 20-30 minutes.

So good!

I spy with my animal eye

Have you heard of the "The Once and Future King," the wonderful novel about the Arthurian legend on which Disney based its cartoon feature,  "The Sword and The Stone?" The story of the tutoring of the young Arthur makes for an absorbing  book for both children and adults. (I give it to young people all the time; if they liked Harry P., they'll love this book as well. So will you!)

In the story as told by T.H. White,  Merlin transforms the orphan boy Walt into various animals to teach him about life from their perspectives. The man who was to become king gains great insight into the world this way, and the descriptions of  Walt as a peregrine falcon soaring  through the sky have stayed with me since I first read the book as a teenager.

I've always yearned to have that sort of experience, and to have some sort of understanding from a less, err, human perspective -- and now, through the extraordinary resources of the  Museum of Animal Perspectives, my wish has come true.

With the help of remote controlled cameras all over the world, the Museum of Animal Perspective shows us what a chickadee sees as she brings food to her hungry nestlings, what it's like to be a prairie dog traveling down a tunnel, and what a lobster views at the dank bottom of the ocean. Give it a look -- it's really, really cool!

All photos from the Museum of Animal Perspectives