ROASTED RED PEPPER HUMMUS, MY WILDEST DREAMS AND SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE!......

Do you ever have one of those dreams where you wake up LAUGHING, hard, at how utterly absurd the whole stupid dream was? Well, I had one of those last night, and I'm still shaking my head about it, because it had a message, and the message was....THIS BLOGGING BUSINESS IS GOING TO TAKE OVER MY WORLD!! I mean, I really don't think it HAS taken over my life (yet)...it's all just really fun and creative, but my dream was trying to warn me......Here's how the dream went down:

So B. A. and I went to this dinner party, and when we walked in the door, Brian Williams escorted us to HIS table to dine with him. I'm not surprised at Brian being in my dream (don't know who Brian is? He's the super hotteeee anchor from the NBC Nightly News....my daughter thinks he's cute, too....I suspect we love him so because he's always impeccably dressed!), because I watch him just about every night.......

Guess who else was dining with us? Could it be....hmmmmm.....THE ROLLING STONES?..........................

And really, even THEY weren't a surprise to me, in my dream. What did totally freak my out? The fact that we were eating dinner with these amazingly interesting people, and I FORGOT MY CAMERA.....so how on earth could I tell my blog followers about the whole event? Would they even believe me?

This dream was meant to teach me one of two things. One : never, ever leave my camera at home. Or Two : Don't be so hard on myself when it comes to this blogging stuff, because it really is supposed to be SUPER FUN, and NO-STRESS, right? Sigh.

(By the way--B.A. and I saw the Stones in concert about 20 years ago, and they are still one of my all time favorite bands. BUT, I really hadn't been listening to their music lately or even thinking about them at all, so I don't know why they graced my dream. Aren't dreams just SO fascinating?)

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Big reason to celebrate this week.......my sweet little blog had its Twenty Thousandth hit! Sheesh--I feel like I should throw a party or something over here. At 100,000 hits, my brain is going to simply explode, and then I shall die of happiness.....

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Our "peak" Fall foliage season here in the Adirondack mountains has, sadly, peaked and gone, but I still find incredible beauty in the more subdued gold and brown hues I encountered on my rainy morning walk.............

These ferns are so blindingly lime green in the spring.....just look at 'em now!............

Pretty soon, all of our trees (well, except for the evergreens--thank GOODNESS for evergreens!) shall look like this, waiting for that first coating of snow.....

But this morning, well, I did find a few remaining patches of early October vibrancy.......check out these colors.....

I love the way these leaves decorate the evergreen boughs....reminds me of Christmas ornaments.....

Still some color hanging around here on Spruce Drive.....

The Barberry bush in our yard....another plant that is LIME green in the spring....check out the pretty little garnet berries....

One more thing....we planted this sweet little Red Leaf Maple tree about 5 years ago, after we had a dying Hemlock tree removed from the same spot. It is just now starting to turn its gorgeous red shade........

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One of our favorite things to eat around La Casita De Willard is Hummus. Any kind of hummus....usually I just buy it at the grocery store, but every once in a while I have a little mental freak out session over how much $$$$ I spend on the store bought stuff, and get motivated to make my own. It truly is super, super simple to make, and you can tailor it to your tastebuds. Sometimes I like it with just garlic, sometimes with sundried tomatoes, sometimes just plain! Regardless of how you eat hummus, it is extremely good for you....filled with protein from the beans, with really very little fat except a smidge of olive oil.

To begin, you'll need a can of garbanzo beans, or chickpeas (I've heard them called both).........

Drain and rinse them well. In a small dish, combine your spices.....you might want to be a little bit careful with the cayenne....I overdid mine recently and couldn't even eat it!.............

Put chickpeas in the bowl of your food processor, then sprinkle spices over......

Add Tahini, which is made from sesame seeds (my girlfriend Patty J. had to show me where to find Tahini the first time I made this...it's usually located next to the peanut butter in the organic section of grocery stores, but sometimes it's also in the middle eastern section. One jar goes a long way)................

Garlic (again, SO good for you!)...............

some lemon juice and roasted red peppers....I just used the jarred variety, but you can always roast your own..............

Blend in food processor..........

Once blended, add olive oil until hummus is the consistency you desire, and nice and smooth in texture. We like to serve ours with raw vegetables, crackers or pita chips....fantastic as an appetizer!.............

Enjoy! Here's the recipe......

ROASTED RED PEPPER HUMMUS

1 16oz. can chickpeas

2 tblsp. tahini

Juice of 1 / 2 lemon

2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 / 2 cup roasted red bell pepper, roughly chopped

1 and 1 /2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. coriander

1 / 4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 / 2 tsp. salt

freshly ground pepper

good olive oil

Drain and rinse chickpeas. In a small bowl, combine cumin, coriander, cayenne and salt--mix thoroughly. Put chickpeas in the bowl of a food processor and sprinkle spice mix over evenly. Add tahini, lemon juice, garlic and roasted red peppers, and blend. Add freshly ground pepper. Once hummus gets smooth, add olive oil until it reaches desired consistency. Store in refrigerator.

TODAY I'M SO THANKFUL FOR.....

***The free time I have in my life right now to volunteer locally.

***My funny little dog who is sleeping and snoring and farting at my feet as I type this!

***One week from today.....off to Kollyfornia for me!

ELEGANT PUMPKIN SOUP, SCARY CLOWNS AND A SASQUATCH SIGHTING!...................

Just so you know, B.A. is OBSESSED with seeing Bigfoot here in Upstate New York....don't know why, and personally I think it would be waaaaay too cold around here for a creature like that to survive the harsh winters, but he still believes! Could it be because B.A. has an ever - so - slight resemblence to the fabled furry beast himself? Hmmmm....I mean, we don't call him our "Missing Link" for nuttin'. The photo above was taken on our recent Sunday "field trip" outing to the beautiful Trenton Falls area.......here are some more of the former "Big Daddy" (week 3 of the official nickname change and still not sure I'm liking it), suckin' it in and looking dashing as always...............

Why so serious, Mr. Badass? (this is his, "Honey, come ON! look)...................

The next photo is my husband's attempt at getting even with me for being a brat.....gullible me, giving him my camera while I was in the LOVELY port - a - potty......ick!.............

Why am I rubbing my hands together? Because port - a - potties now have Purel dispensers.....shoulda rubbed it overy my whole self! NOT a place for budding germ - o - phobs like me!

So I had never hiked up to the Trenton Falls before, and because we really like to learn a lot about the areas we've been fortunate enough to live in, off we went on a slightly rainy Sunday afternoon. On the way up to the falls, you get to take in a spooky old cemetery up on a big hill...just in time for Halloween! I just love the old graveyards / cemeteries on the East coast....some of the tombstones predate the American Revolution, often with their inscriptions worn off. I don't think these were that old, but still they were wicked cool.......

And check out this spooky old barn, also on the trail up the hillside...............

If you're ever in the Central / Upstate New York area and would like to take a scenic and interesting hike, you should definetely check out the Trenton Falls Park....just make sure to check out their website first, located HERE, before you go, as the park isn't open all that often. Here are my favorite photos from our hike........

Finally, some SUNSHINE!.....

Gorgeous, no? Afterwards, we drove around the lovely Steuben / Trenton countryside, and B.A. humored me by letting me get up close and personal with some grazing horses.....I am telling you that I am truly a Horse Whisperer...they seriously  (I've been told I have a way with animals) LOVE me....but B.A. thinks they just want some food......he's such a stodgy old skeptic!...............

"Oh, come a little bit closer and let me nuzzle your nose, pretty please?"..............

See, I AM the Horse Whisperer~!  LOVE.........

If you live within an hour of me, you'll know this scary face well.......WARNING : scroll past quickly if you are as scared of clowns as I am!................

EEK!!! That's right...Muncho. Brings to mind a Stephen King novel, right? All Muncho  needs are some sharp fangs to complete this terrifying picture.....I'm so gonna have nightmares tonite. See, there's a cute little Ice Cream shack called The Kayuta on our way back to the Adirondacks, and that's where Muncho "lives", a.k.a. terrorizes and eats children. Terrifies me every single time I drive by, which is about twice a week. Well, I was shaky hungry after all of our hiking and horse chasing and photo snapping, so we had to stop for some soft serve....I'v been told there are ZERO calories in that stuff....please don't tell me otherwise and burst my delusional bubble.........

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Changing the subject now, big time. Have you ever had Pumpkin Soup? Sounds funky, right? Well, I'm here to tell you that it is deeeeeeeeelish......my Mom gave me this recipe about a gazillion year ago, and something about it is tres elegant...must be the splash of Sherry at the end of cooking. The recipe just feels French somehow, and would make an awesome first course for Thanksgiving dinner, maybe served in some cute little pumpkin shaped bowls. To begin, saute a yellow onion in butter until tender.................

Stir in a little flour and remove from heat. Add chicken broth, pumpkin, sugar and salt and pepper..................

Bring back to a simmer....and some Half and Half and continue to heat (without boiling)..................

Just before serving, stir in some Sherry and garnish with parsley. Test for seasoning....we like ours with homemade croutons....................

So easy and so delicious--you will just love this impressive little soup!!! Here's the recipe......

CAROL'S ELEGANT PUMPKIN SOUP

Serves 4

2 tblsp. butter

4 tblsp. chopped yellow onion

2 tblsp. flour

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups canned pumpkin

1 tsp. brown sugar

salt and pepper

1 cup half and half

4 tblsp. Sherry wine (or more!)

minced fresh parsley

Saute onion in butter until soft. Stir in flour ; remove from heat. Add chicken broth, pumpkin, sugar and salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add half and half and continue to heat. Do not let boil. Just before serving, stir in Sherry wine and garnish with parsley. Taste for seasoning.

TODAY I'M SO THANKFUL FOR......

***The wonderful day I've enjoyed with my husband, doing just about nothing!

***The cooking class our daughter is TEACHING today at the Food Collective at her college. You GO, Little Miss Thing!!

***Less than 2 weeks away from going to Berkeley myself...SO looking forward to hugging and hanging out with our daughter and her friends and spending lots of time with family. Uncle Joe, you are SO taking us out to dinner!

MOM'S SHRIMP LINGUINE AND A LITTLE GIRL CHAT ABOUT MISE EN PLACE.........

Crazy, crazy busy around here this week ; in fact, I didn't think I'd have time to blog at all until maybe Sunday, but here I am, typical Leslie (and really, typical WOMAN, right?), squeeking one more thing into my already jam-packed day. To be truthful, I'd much rather be working on this blog, anyways, instead of  soooo many other boring things on my To-Do list, like vacuuming, buying stamps, washing the car, picking up prescriptions--this is just so much more fun!

The next two days are pretty tied up for me, because I'm helping my friend Jimmy O., a well known local florist, with a big outdoor Autumn wedding! Pretty excited....Jimmy is super talented, and so I'm sure he'll be teaching me a thing or two (or eight!) about wedding flowers and decorations. I just hope my energy level can keep up with his!


My mom, Carol, sent me this recipe a while back, and she said she prepared it when my in-laws were visiting her and my Dad and that everyone just LOOOVVVEEEDDD it. She thinks she found it in Prevention magazine or Health magazine or one of those publications that old people read (hee hee) religiously, like the Bible. My parents also watch Dateline and Wheel Of Fortune...nuff said!


Before I give you her recipe, I want to chat a bit about a subject that is near and dear by my heart--"Mise En Place". Don't know what that is?  Well, the literal French translation is "Putting in Place"...which can also be read as "Everything in Place".  All restaurant kitchens use Mise En Place....all foods are always prepped and ready to go by prep cooks. This is a photo of my version of Mis En Place....everything is super RTG (ready to go!)..................

If you watch cooking shows on television, you know that most ingredients that need chopping or measuring are already prepared and neatly contained in little glass dishes or bowls for the super star chef. Wouldn't it be nice if we ALL had a sweet little prep person in our kitchen, doing such things (and the dishes, too?)? Well, in the real world, I've learned that when I prepare and measure all of my ingredients for a recipe in advance (whenever possible), it just makes cooking so much easier, and so much more pleasant! Nothing worse than following a recipe to the minute, and having the recipe say, "Now add chopped garlic and saute for 1 minute",...........

.......... And then realizing, gasp, to your utter horror that you haven't even chopped your garlic yet, or anything else for that matter, and the pan is hot and all ready to go! That would just make me feel totally frazzled and unprepared, two emotions I absolutely loathe.....just sayin'! Anyways, if you haven't already, give Mise En Place a chance....it'll change the way you cook.

To begin today's recipe, cook linguine (whole grain, doncha know) per package directions...drain and set aside. I purchased frozen medium shrimp with the skins and tails still on, and de-skinned and de-tailed them myself. Heat oil in a large pan and add shrimp, garlic and red chili pepper flakes (adds a wonderful heat!) and cook for about 2 minutes...........

Add tomatoes, white wine, lemon juice and salt--cook until tomatoes start to soften, about a minute longer................

Add spinach and parsley (is this meal healthy, or WHAT?) and cook until spinach starts to wilt...............

Add drained pasta back to pan--toss to coat, and serve with grated parmesan cheese. A delicious and nutritious dinner----thanks, Mom!

Here's the recipe.........

MOM'S SHRIMP LINGUINE

Serves 4

1 pound whole wheat linguine

2 tblsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 lb. medium peeled shrimp, tails off

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 / 2 or 1 tsp. red pepper flakes, to taste

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

1 / 2 cup dry white wine

juice of 1 lemon

1 / 2 tsp. salt

3 cups packed baby spinach leaves, washed if necessary

1 / 4 cup chopped Italian parsley

1 / 2 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

Prepare pasta per package directions; drain and set aside. Heat oil in large frying pan over medium heat while pasta cooks. Add shrimp, garlic and red pepper flakes; cook until shrimp starts to turn pink, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, wine, lemon juice and salt. Cook until tomatoes start to soften, about 1 minute. Add spinach and parsley ; cook until spinach wilts, about 1 minute. Add drained pasta to pan, toss to coat and serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

TODAY I'M SO THANKFUL FOR......

***The brisk fall air (well, more like frigid 28 degree fall air this a.m.) for Willie's and my early morning jaunt--invigorating!

***Warm flannel sheets!

***My conversations with dear old BFF Marty on the phone this past week. I have known Marty for over 30 years now--he is such a delightful and naughty little stinker!

PUNKIN PIE FUDGE AND THIS AND THAT....................

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This is going to be sort of a rambling post, because that's just how my mind is working these days, so puhleeze bare with me! Hey, check out these photos I've taken over the past few days...first one's on the Moose River by our home, and the rest are on the Old Forge Pond....I thought these were too good not to share.....

Don't these just put you in the mood for, say......some PUNKIN PIE FUDGE??? Well I thought so.....please be patient, just a few more pictures to share!

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So, in case you've missed it the past 14,741 times I've talked about it, our daughter, Little Miss Thing, is a junior at Cal, or UC Berkeley, in California. Awesome, awesome school for an awesome girl. ANYWAYS, one of the things we love best about the school is the racial diversity of its student body. Kids come from all over the world to study there. Most of Abbie's friends and roomies were not born in this country, and talk about wonderful, brilliant, interesting people! Little Miss Thing feels very, very blessed.....

One of Abbie's roommates is named Priya Patel, and she is from India. Recently, she invited Abbie to a Hindu celebration in Berkeley called, "Raas Garba", which is just like a big Eastern Indian version of a good old fashioned Ho-Down! Here's how Abbie explained it to me in the e-mail that accompanied her photos of the (well, getting dressed for, actually) event : "Raas Garba commemorates the slaying of a demon by Hindu gods, and represents overcoming obstacles in your own life." Wow, couldn't we all use a little Raas Garba, every now and then? Sweet Priya's mother actually brought ALL of these traditional dresses for the girls, so that they were properly attired for the festivities..........I SO wanna be 20 again!.....

Looks like great fun, no?

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Since you've been so patient with me, here's my Punkin Pie Fudge recipe, at long last. WARNING : you will need a candy thermometer for this recipe, but don't be scared, sweetie pie......if I can use one and get the fudge to the soft ball stage, ANYONE can! To begin, line a 9x13 inch baking pan with foil, leaving some hanging over the sides. Combine white sugar, brown sugar, evaporated milk, canned pumpkin, butter and pumpkin pie spice in a medium saucepan...I just used my dutch oven.............

Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring CONSTANTLY. Continue, stirring CONSTANTLY, for about 12 minutes or until thermometer reads 240 degrees.............

Quickly stir in white chocolate chips, marshmallow cream, pecans and vanilla.......I beg of thee, use only GOOD vanilla in your baking...makes a world of difference.......never, ever use that artificial crap......

 Stir for another minute until the chips are melted...immediately pour into prepared pan. Let stand for about 2 hours or until completely cool. Refrigerate tightly covered overnight. Cut into 1 inch pieces.......

I seriously sent the WHOLE pan to Little Miss Thing in her Autumn care package....I cannot be trusted with that stuff in the house!............

Here's the recipe......

PUNKIN PIE FUDGE

Makes about 3 lbs.

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

3 / 4 cup butter (1 and 1 / 2 sticks)

5 oz. can evaporated milk

1 / 2 cup canned pumpkin

2 and 1 / 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

2 cups white chocolate chips

1 7oz. jar marshmallow cream

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1 and 1 / 2 tsp. vanilla

Line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with foil or parchment paper, leaving some hanging over the sides for easy removal. Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, evaporated milk, pumpkin, butter and pumpkin pie spice in a medium saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, for 10 to 12 minutes or until candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees to 240 degrees. Quickly stir in the white chocolate chips, marshmallow cream, pecans and vanilla. Stir vigorously for 1 minute or until the chocolate chips are melted. Immediately pour into the prepared pan. Let stand on wire rack for 2 hours or until cooled. Refrigerate tightly covered overnight. Cut into 1 inch pieces. Store in the refrigerator.

TODAY I'M SO THANKFUL FOR.......

***The fun day I had with B.A., exploring the Trenton Falls and Steuben areas. A glorious day, with pictures to come shortly....

***My ability to see and appreciate the beauty all around us, every single day!

***The nice chat I had with my sweet Aunt Jan in California this afternoon....Aunt Jan, you totally ROCK!!