Fall Colors

I'm thinking of fall colors—
aubergine
persimmon
pumpkin
flame
Byzantium
sangria
Tyrian purple
thistle
Portland orange
tomato
tea rose
mahogany
Tufts blue
Egyptian blue
terra cotta
fire brick
old gold
goldenrod
citrine

Which leads me to the citrineforktail (like an oriental bamboo paintbrush used for forming perfect Zen circles), above, and the lovely little citrine warbler.

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Salad of the day: Watercress and heirloom tomatoes with hard goat cheese and bouquet garni.

image: Citrine Forktail, male, Mitternacht90

Grace Notes from Opera in the Park

* an airdale terrier wearing large sunglasses
* an apple-green balloon escaping through the streaming fog
* Nicola Luisotti’s headlong, wholehearted conducting
* on Stanyan Street a three-story Victorian the color of pistachio ice-cream
* our other salad: orzo with fresh corn, cherry tomatoes, green beans, and basil

image: Christie B. Cochrell, Victorian Rose Garden, Warwick

September Sunday

Off to Opera in the Park (Sharon Meadow), with today's salad—Chilled Pork with Walnuts, Cantaloupe, Jicama, and Cumin Raspberry Vinaigrette (Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter), and with watercress and carmelized onions. I've cut the most delicious cantaloupe I've ever tasted, and browned a pork loin to perfection. I hope the melony wine I found will be a good complement—a Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc Viognier. "Think of a spring flower garden oozing with melon and citrus blossom notes." Will it work as well in the fall, I wonder, with that soberer, bittersweet edge to the sunlight? Spring flowers are so four months ago . . . Our thoughts turn inwards, though we stay outdoors each evening as long as we can. The baby quails are big now, and migrataing birds begin to appear.

I love September, especially when we're in it.
(Willie Stargell)

image: Christie B. Cochrell, Yellow Flowers

Places I Would Rather Be Today

At Bamburgh Castle.

In a pleasant anecdote about the beach below the castle, Swinburne swam there, as did the novelist E.M. Forster—who adopted the Forsters of Bamburgh as his ancestors. (I've just adopted the apple farmers and Calvados-makers of Normandy as my own ancestors, not without linguistic cause.)


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Salad of the day: Kale with feta and onion mixed with quinoa, radish, and cucumber, and given radiant color with slivered carrots and beets.

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Iced tea of the day: Zhena's Gypsy Tea, Red Lavender



image: Christie B. Cochrell, Roses, Bamburgh

California

Happy California Admission Day.

We were admitted to the Union on September 9, 1850, as the thirty-first state. We are currently the most populous (one out of every eight United States residents lives in California).

More turkeys are raised in California than in any other state in the United States. Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge contains the largest winter population of bald eagles in the continental United States.

The Hollywood Bowl is the world's largest outdoor amphitheater. Inyo National Forest is home to the bristle cone pine, the oldest living species; some of the gnarled trees are thought to be over 4,600 years old. San Francisco Bay is considered the world's largest landlocked harbor.

California is known variously as The Land of Milk and Honey, The El Dorado State, The Golden State, and The Grape State. There are more than 300,000 tons of grapes grown in California annually; California produces more than 17 million gallons of wine each year.

The highest and lowest points in the continental United States are within 100 miles of one another—Mount Whitney measures 14,495 feet and Bad Water in Death Valley is 282 feet below sea level.

Castroville is known as the Artichoke Capital of the World. In 1947 a young woman named Norma Jean was crowned Castroville's first Artichoke Queen. She went on to become actress Marilyn Monroe.

state bird: California valley quail
state flower: California poppy
state tree: California redwood
state motto: Eureka (I have found it)
state song: "I Love You, California"
state animal: California grizzly bear
state fish: California golden trout
state colors: blue and gold
state bread: sourdough
state fruit: avocado, figs, and apricot
state salad: Cobb

For other California facts and trivia, see here.

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And speaking of salads, today's was: Baby lettuces with mint, sage, feta, lemon vinaigrette, and roasted chicken.



image: Christie B. Cochrell, Poppies

Spinning Straw to Gold

Happy discoveries of the weekend:

* Pear and Pecorino Ravioli (Santa Cruz Pasta Factory—wow!)
* the empanada cart at the end of the Ferry Building

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Today's salad:

Calafia's delicious New Bohemian Pork Salad, with queso fresco, avocado, basil citrus vinaigrette, organic baby spinach, and braised pork shoulder.

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Today's iced-tea:

Something ominously caffeinated which will keep me up all night. At least I have The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club on my iPod to keep me entertained.


image: Christie B. Cochrell, Spiderweb

A Year of Salads

Oh why not indeed! Having just read that if you eat a salad a day for a year, as either lunch or dinner, you can lose some thirty pounds. And remembering a similar story in the introduction to my favorite Mediterranean Light—in that case salades Niçoise. And finally seeing a coworker's lovely plate of carefully combined tofu and bright-colored vegetables.

Today's will be leftover wild rice with herbs, greens, and herbed chicken.

And my iced tea of the day: Zhena's Gypsy Tea—Pom and Petals (decaf green with pomegranate and rose petals).


image: Grape Tomatoes, Zeetz Jones

Bounty

I’ve got watercress, chervil, and mint to go into my wild rice salad for tomorrow’s picnic, to be flavored with a garlicky Dijon and lemon vinaigrette. And for the fresh fig tart—some tangled thyme, bacon, onions to carmelize, and goat cheese.

I must run to the farmers market now for pimientos de Padron, a wicked orange-zest scone, and more plums for our favorite plum pistachio salad with mixed greens. Maybe some heirloom tomatoes and sausage for pasta sauce. No more olallieberry jam this week; it’s too addictive (and there's just a dab left from before).

I love this time of year when the weather behaves, the light slowly turning gold.

image: Cooked Wild Rice, ElinorD