Flowers in the Sandy house

No I'm not at the beach. Wish I was though; instead we're preparing for "Frankenstorm", "the perfect storm", "the mother of all storms"...whatever it is it's not pleasant. It's just plain nerve wracking. Last year we had Irene which was pretty bad and I erroneously and innocently thought this year that once we passed the I names we were sailing smooth waters. Boy was I wrong...S? I've never ever ever ever heard of an S named storm, uch! So here I am the girl who grew up in Florida and thought that I had left any worries of hurricanes behind when I left there 30 years ago. Well here's the scorecard: Miami 1, New Jersey 5-the higher number is the loser in this case. Lesson learned, or taught. What can you do? FITH party at Jane's who's getting hit worse than me.

the last of the zinnias and the most beautiful leaf/herb ever-sage

 mums,

and pumpkins

which wound up in the house for fear of high winds.

So batten down the hatches, hunker down, eat something stewy, drink some (lots)  wine and hope for the best.

Or maybe I'll just follow Max's example

take a nap until it's over, and don't open the basement door for three days.

Good luck to everybody in the Mid Atlantic Northeastern US.

Pumpkin Patch

I actually debated whether to buy a pumpkin this year which is not like me at all since I usually get several. But last year the squirrels just obliterated the one pumpkin that I did buy which was destined for Halloween carving. It never made it anywhere near Halloween. So I decided they would only be indoors and got some cuties at Trader Joe's.

But then driving home the other day I passed the church that covers their front lawn every year with pumpkins

and I came to a screeching halt. How could I resist?  Considering they had only been out for less than a week and this is all that was left, I better move.
So I got 6.

warty ones...

little,  medium, and big

...and sprayed them with hot sauce! he he.

Max approves.

October

October is my favorite month. I'm biased, I was born in it. I was really thrilled when I got old enough to bypass the birthday party present part of it and see the beauty of it. All those incredible colors of the changing leaves never cease to amaze me because regardless of how many times you have looked at the same exact tree and watched it go from green to yellow/orange/red/brown, it is never ever ever the same shade and it always glows in a different way. That is just beginning right now and hopefully it won't come and go in the blink of an eye as it has at times. This weekend we spent it cleaning out the fading garden; pulling out dry and spindly tomato plants yet leaving a couple that are still holding on with fat green fruit. The peppers are going real strong right now

these poblanos which didn't show fruit all year are suddenly full. Hopefully they'll mature enough to reach full size before the nights get to cold.

The Portugal peppers are also making a second showing, the first wasn't much but now they are teeming. This is the first time I plant them and I'm a little afraid of them; I mistakenly thought they were piri-piri and then found out they are super duper hot. We'll see.

I already have jars full of jalapenos and bags of frozen ones but they just keep going and going. Some people will get presents!

Most of the flowers are gone or fading, there's an occasional zinnia

here and there but the morning glories are making up for it

and since the days are cool they stay open way beyond the morning.

Day glories maybe?

We harvested all that was left of the basil and made pesto

which made the kitchen smell yummy

and made us a little dizzy.

And what's the best thing about this time of year? Stewy stuff!

Chili Verde, adapted from I Made That

2 lb tomatillos
6 garlic cloves, not peeled
3 Anaheim or Poblano chiles
3 Jalapeños, seeds removed, chopped
1 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
4½ lb pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1 to 2-inch cubes
Olive oil
2 small yellow onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBSP dried oregano
3 cups chicken stock

- Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well. Cut in half and place cut side down, along with 6 garlic cloves, on a baking sheet. Place under a broiler for about 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken the skin. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

- Roast the Anaheim chiles over a gas flame or under the broiler until blackened all around. Let cool and remove the skin, seeds, and stem. Roughly chop.
- Place tomatillos, skins included, into a food processor. Remove the roasted garlic cloves from their skins and add them. Add chopped Jalapeño peppers, Anaheim chilies, and cilantro. Pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed.

- Season the pork cubes generously with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed dutch oven over medium high heat and brown the pork chunks well on all sides. Work in batches so that the pork is not crowded in the pan. Using tongs, lift the browned pork out and place in bowl. Set aside.
- Pour off excess fat, leaving 1 or 2 tablespoons. Place the onions in the same dutch oven and  season with salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until limp, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute. Add the pork back to the pan. Add the oregano, the tomatillo puree, and the chicken stock. Bring to a boil and reduce to a slight simmer. Cook for 2½ – 3 hours uncovered, until the pork is tender.

- Adjust the seasoning to taste with salt. Serve with rice and warmed flour or corn tortillas.

Then take a nap, with the warm October sun streaming through

and dream of pumpkins and mums next weekend!

Vienna waltzes

Many many many years ago, I think somewhere in the early '70's, my aunt took a 3 month trip to Europe. Those were the days when you could take a leave of absence from work for no discernible reason and when you boarded a plane you could bring tremendous amounts of luggage and packages and all manner of stuff. I can't remember all the places she visited. There was Italy, France, England, Austria, and Spain; several cities in each. I do remember that her trip started in London and ended with 3 weeks in Spain, 2 of which were in Madrid where she stayed with relatives we hadn't seen for many years. When she returned the living room was full of opened suitcases and boxes of gifts that she had brought back...lots of them. I, who had always loved dolls, lucked out with at least 5 dolls from Spain as well as castanets, "peinetas", and "mantones" for my flamenco classes. However until the day she died if you asked her what place she liked most on her trip, her answer was not what one would expect as the daughter of a Spaniard. Her answer was always, Vienna.

I have not visited every city in the world, not by a long shot, but I have been to quite a few; some considered the most beautiful in the world. Hell, I practically live in New York and it ain't too shabby. But after a 2 1/2 hour train ride from Budapest and as of now I have to agree with my aunt. Vienna is the most beautiful city I have ever seen.

Horse carriages in the square by Stephansdom

Stephansdom

the tiles of Stephansdom

more tiles

our corner

carriage through Hofburg

Reflection of Stephansdom on Haas Haus

Palmehaus

City Hall

Demel, or what I like to call it heaven

the kitchen at Demel

Frank enjoying his free champagne at Skopik & Lohn

Holy Moly! on the Danube

only dessert left at Holy Moly!...ah poor me.

...one more of Stephansdom.

auf Wiedersehen.

Flowers in the (computer) house - September

So we arrived from vacation, after a week and a half away, on the last day of Summer only to find Fall. The garden is a mess, weeds, crazy tomato plants, wilting herbs. The only flowers are those starting to dry out on the pegee hydrangea. I don't want to miss Jane's flowers in the house party so I'll just cheat a little with the flowers I found on my trip.

and technically, they are in the house. I'm sure there will be much beauty to see at everyone else's house.

Hot Night(s) in Budapest

Well not really, I'm just quoting Jethro Tull because despite our thorough and relentlessly constant pursuit of the weather channel which promised beautiful days and day temperatures in the perfect mid 70's and nights in the high 50's I stared out the window of the plane as we hovered above the city for our landing and turned over to Frank with a look of absolute horror and said "EGAD, IT'S RAINING!" Well, not really, I don't ever say egad. Anyway, raining it was, a cool and drizzly rain for which I was not prepared and has ruined our perfect record of landing in European cities on perfectly gorgeous magical mornings after long uncomfortable sleepless flights. I stare out the window of our airport transfer van and see the ugly remnants of a city that was under Communist rule for too many years but then we suddenly pass into a whole other place and despite the gray ugly day it shines in it's beauty. We finally arrive at our hotel, The Gerloczy Cafe and Rooms

which is in a quaint and lovely little square in a beautiful part of town and it doesn't disappoint.

from it's spiral staircase to it's stunning stained glass ceiling

and it's warm and welcoming staff, it is perfect. Since the day is so dreary and we are so tired, we do something we never do when we arrive, we take a nap. Two hours later though, wearing layers of clothing for warmth we go exploring.

Eventually we buy ugly hoodies at a second hand store for warmth and shelter and begin to feel a little better. We have two days of rain...but on the third day...Perfection! The sun shines, the birds sing, I look out our window

at the rooftops of Budapest.

It's a good day for a wine festival! So off we go and walk a few blocks to the Danube

 

and cross the river over a beautiful bridge

to Buda, and climb the steep stone steps to Buda Castle

and to the Budapest Wine Festival.

where they give us this lovely little accessory

and we go a-tasting...

in awe of this incredibly magnificent setting with the most amazing views of Pest

then there's this wonderful regional parade

and this is worth it all.

The weather stays beautiful for the rest of our stay so we can do more exploring

and marvel at the architecture

and take too many pictures of parliament, just because...and enjoy a little cafe life

and chicken paprikash

and goulash

in this beautiful city that lights up at night like a Christmas tree

with it's warm, friendly people who all speak English because nobody, and I mean nobody, can speak their impenetrable language and their crazy drivers,  through those tiny little cobblestone streets, who seem to speed up and gun it when they spy a pedestrian; and their hounds everywhere

which makes not having this guy around

a little easier to bear. So after four days, which is not enough, we say goodbye because there are other places to go. Think we'll be back though, maybe next year's wine fest...