Taste of Fall

Gainesville

Good to hear of the help Sandy and Charlie were able to provide. I know that having your fridge purged will make a big difference in finding things you want to eat. I spent some time doing that myself, though just dealing with leftovers. Since I'd done it recently, it wasn't so bad, only about 2 weeks worth of stuff-- 8 containers, only one of them gross. Bill snatched a 9th, a chicken stir fry I was ready to pitch, miked it, and wolfed it down. So far, he is alive and well. I know I toss lots of perfectly good food, but I'm of the better safe than sorry mindset.

Haphazzard day here. Never did get a weekly menu planned, went out to shop with only a list of what we were out of and a vague notion of restocking the freezer with Plan B's. Grabbed what looked good fresh, so we'll see what comes of an eggplant, Brussels sprouts, a butternut squash and an English cuke.

Since it was so late, I was looking for something in Publix's ready-to-cook area of the meat counter and drawing a blank. One of the fish counter guys who knows me came around and advised me to get the crab cakes, told me how to fry them in garlic butter, and said he'd be happy to come around and eat any leftovers. And they were pretty good, for industrial prefab stuff. But it makes me want to make some REAL crab cakes. As a Maryland expat, I know what those are. Needed to use a bag of cabbage, so made Bill's fave, Texas Two-Step Slaw. Had thought one of the squash recipes in latest FC would be perfect, but too late to do that. Found a viable can of sliced peaches in my decluttering, so had that with cottage cheese, which I've been eating lately with salt, pepper and Cholula spice mix.

We are having another tantalizing taste of Fall-- upper 50's last night, clear and dry today, lower 50's tonight. And suddenly the yard is covered with dry leaves, only three days after the yard guys were here. Supposed to last only another day, then get warm again. Such a strange season-- we still have not had the sudden dramatic cold snap that I love so dearly and celebrate so ecstatically, remembering my first year in Gainesville. Maybe it's the AC that blunts the contrast and makes the change seem more gradual than it actually it. At any rate, I put away the brand new short sleeved light-weight blouse I was planning to wear in favor of a mock t-neck, about right.

Before I forget, I want to remember that Sonia, a gregarious latina and long-time staffer friend looked at the Barks print during the party and said, "There's Hugo, Paco y Luis!" -- then asked me what their names were in English! This made me quite unreasonably happy.