Seasonal Treats

There seems to be an abundance of green tomatoes from our garden, as well as friend's garden's.  So, this past weekend I whipped up a batch on 'Janie's Green Tomato Jam'.  It was super easy, and very tasty, especially with cheeses.  It filled up five very small mason jars.  With a little bit of fabric tied on top of each jar, it made a nice little housewarming gift for some good friends of ours.  If you'd like to make Janie's Green Tomato Jam for yourself, or as gifts, here is the recipe, out of one of my favorite cook books:  Forgotten Skills of Cooking.

Ingredients:

18 oz. green tomatoes

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

finely grated zest and juice of one organic lemon

Wash & slice the tomatoes and put into a large pan with 1 1/2 cups of h2o.  Bring to a boil & simmer 50-60 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients over low heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.  Once sugar is dissolved boil rapidly for 10-12 minutes.  Fill into sterilized jars, cover and store in a cool dry cupboard.

I made this Butternut Squash Gratin for lunch on Saturday.  It will make a great dish to bring to some upcoming holiday parties.  The best part: it's made with kitchen staples!  It's also super affordable and quick to make.  I followed the recipe from simplebites, a source for many of my recipes.  Get the full recipe of Butternut Squash Gratin here:

http://www.simplebites.net/butternut-squash-gratin-recipe-family-favorite-side-dish/

quarter of a century old.

My grandmother, uncle and I all celebrate October birthdays.

 Brunch at The Seelbach's Oakroom.  Ice sculpture surrounded by oysters & artichokes & the best cheese plate i've seen in a while.

 I'm not one that is big on Halloween, but the theme at the brunch was pretty cute.

 Picnic at Bernheim Forrest.

Mulled Wine, Goat Cheese, Apples, Crackers, and my incredible husband, all on one blanket.  Probably one of the best birthday treats.

Making my birthday (and the cake) last.

It was a great birthday weekend.  25.  Now I can say I'm starting to feel old.  I'm no longer in my 'early twenties'.  I've now entered the 'mid twenties', and only a couple more years until 30. (which i hear is the new 20.)  Life is such an adventure, and every year is another blessing.

It was good to celebrate with family and eat yummy cake, a tradition we've held for years.  My birthday, my grandmother's and my uncle's are all in the same week, so we all celebrate together.   Sunday morning Tim and I got all dressed up and enjoyed brunch at the Seelbach's Oakroom. (Tim and I stayed a couple nights there on our honeymoon.  It holds a special place in our hearts.)  Brie on scrambled eggs?  Yes please.  Bacon AND sausage?  Yes!  Five different kinds of cheeses with oysters?  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  It was a great meal.  On my actual birthday Tim took me to a favorite spot of ours.  We've been going to Bernheim Forrest every autumn since we began dating.  We shared a sweet picnic then walked around the pond.  Here we saw a family of deer, a heron and geese migrating!  We tend to recieve these gifts almost everytime we are out on a hike.  I love coming across such grand surprises with my husband.  I would take those moments with him over pretty much anything.