Giving Thanks

This is the Thanksgiving long weekend in Canada. My vegetable garden has provided in a very sparse way over the summer but it must have felt a harvest celebration coming as it has ended the season quite splendidly.  My big tomato plants did not thrive this year but the vines against the house produced a big bowlful of sweet, tiny cherry tomatoes.

I brought the tomatoes in on Friday because of heavy frosts predicted over the weekend. For the plants on the ground, I have covered them with sheets the past few nights with the hope of prolonging the season a little longer. The temperatures are supposed to be quite mild this week so I'd like to enjoy the garden as long as I can.

Yesterday, we ate our Thanksgiving dinner and I was able to pick sage, parsley and this sweet bouquet of baby swiss chard to use. I also picked some turnips and was absolutely delighted to pull out a gigantic turnip heart! Isn't it magnificent? I couldn't stop smiling and then had to run into the house to show everyone.

We made a traditional dinner of turkey with dressing and gravy along with roasted carrots and turnips, shredded brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes. For Emma's vegetarian main course and a side dish for the rest of us, I made a 'Roasted beet salad with wild rice, goat cheese and chickpeas'. It was so good! You can find the recipe I used here. Did I mention that Emma was home from university for the weekend?!? We were also very happy that she invited one of her friends from residence, a student who lives near Boston, to share Thanksgiving dinner with us.

Emma made one special request when she confirmed she was coming home for the weekend. She asked me to make a pumpkin pie. I was happy to say yes as I love to make pie although I don't make it that often anymore. Was it a success? Um, well. It's possible you heard me yell 'Oh no!' as I pulled it out of the oven. The filling had swollen like a balloon and then returned to its normal level but not before cracking in a million places.

Was I disappointed? Yes. Very. I tried to think about Leonard Cohen's 'Anthem' lyrics as they help me sometimes.

Forget your perfect offering 
There is a crack, a crack in everything 
That's how the light gets in.

But here's the thing. Leonard wasn't singing about pumpkin pie. I considered remaking it but that wasn't an option as the turkey was already in the oven. Finally, I heard a murmur from the garden. What was that? Did someone say they could help me?  I do believe I heard the nasturtiums whisper something about coming to my aid. And they did.

So this Thanksgiving, I am giving thanks for my family, my garden and its harvest, with a particularly warm nod to my nasturtiums who saved the day (or at least the pie). Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating this weekend!

Nasturtium original watercolour on Twinrocker paper

❤  ❤  ❤  ❤  ❤

I did some research on pumpkin pie cracking and apparently it can be due to overbaking and/or cooling it too quickly. I might have done both. One suggestion is to slightly undercook it by five minutes and then to leave it in the oven, turned off, with the door propped open with a wooden spoon and let it cool gradually. I will definitely give that a try next time.  

Pause and Enjoy

More than a week since my last post. Oh my. My sister-in-law emailed me today to ask if everything was okay as I hadn't posted in a week and she reads my blog on her lunch hour. Nice to know I'm missed. ♥

Yes, everything's okay but where did the time go? Bits and pieces:  getting used to back-to-school routines, dentist appointment for me (yuck), insomnia (yuck again), weeding the garden (I will win!), some new prints for my shop (here's one...I really like how it turned out).

And then there were new photos of some items for my shop (Christmas cards, yes already), walks with Meeko, a new painting, a visit with a wonderful friend drinking rosé slushies on the back porch (I left the rosé in the freezer too long but I plan to make this 'mistake' again), cool evenings and surprisingly hot, humid days.

Nothing all that earth shattering but the time went quickly and when I look back, I am happy with the week (maybe not the dentist and insomnia part).  Well actually if I'm being truthful, due to the dentist appointment which led to the insomnia, I saw the most beautiful crescent moon with Venus shining just to its left in the wee hours one morning. Silver linings.

Here's the painting I worked on this morning (still in progress but almost finished):

Based on these wonderful tomatoes from my garden:

Aren't they beautiful? Two of my pepper-shaped Opalka tomatoes decided that they destined for each other.

I thought of adding the heart-shaped rocks and berry and acorn pairs to the painting, but I'm liking the tomatoes on their own.

My garden is certainly showing the changing seasons. There is more green, some brown, less blooms. I like this time of year in the garden:  less boisterous, more subtle.

Picea abies 'nidiformis' - Bird nest spruce with dew drops

Grass and other weeds in the backyard with dew drops.

The garden is still beautiful and has about a month and a half before it goes to sleep. I was glad I spent all of the time weeding in the front yard. It looks so much better. Now I need to spend a day or two weeding in the back or maybe not. The weeds look pretty nice with the dew drops on them.

Meeko adores this time of year too. He enjoys walking on the days with cooler temperatures and just loves the smells in the air. When he goes out the back door, he pauses and sticks his nose straight up as if to drink in the lovely smells of the changing seasons. He spent hours lying beside me while I weeded in the garden, enjoying our companionship and the changing seasons. We should all take moments to pause and enjoy too. ♥

And My Garden Said 'Welcome Home'

On Sunday night, we arrived home from a lovely two-week vacation in Ontario--most of it spent on Lake Muskoka at my parents' house. Returning from vacation is always difficult--there are the normal internal questions as I approach the house: 'Is it still standing?' (yes), 'How is the garden?' (weedy but well-watered, thanks to our thoughtful neighbours), 'Anything new and different?' (well yes--just look at those tomatoes!).

The green tomatoes that I left behind two weeks ago have turned into the most glorious harvest. The plants were so heavy with fruit that they were toppling. In the photo above, you see pale yellow 'White Queen', red 'Opalka' (don't they look like peppers?) and 'Green Zebra' tomatoes.  I have grown tomatoes for the past 12 years here, but the plants have never been taller or more laden. It is very exciting.

Look at the gorgeous flesh of the 'Pineapple' tomato (also shown on the plant just above)

Gardens teach us many things but one of its most important lessons is patience. Two months ago, I read a wonderful sounding recipe on my friend Sonia's blog for a traditional French savoury tomato tart. But in June here, tomatoes only can be bought in grocery stores, either imports or grown in greenhouses. They're okay but not all that tasty.

So I waited until today to try Sonia's recipe. I made two tarts because we have house guests at the moment--two of my nieces.

The assembly stage, just before adding a final layer of cheese and herbes de Provence.

This one was made with honey mustard, tomatoes and gouda cheese.

In this one, I used whole-grain Dijon mustard and a little espelette mustard, tomatoes and Emmental cheese.

The tarts were a tremendous success. The round one was made in a quiche pan with a removable bottom so it was super easy to cut. Because this pan was a little deeper than the rectangular sheet, I added more tomatoes and it took a few more minutes to cook.  I used a quick food-processor pastry recipe for the crust. Here's the recipe link for the tart from Sonia's blog again.

A little tip: I hummed 'Thank you Sonia, thank, thank you Sonia' to the tune of 'Help me, Rhonda' as I baked them. You don't need to, but it added to the experience. :)

And a very big thank you to my garden!