Feeling Overwhelmed

 

I am feeling overwhelmed. Today is officially Autumn and I wanted very much to post something, anything, for the first day of my favorite season of the year. 

I know I had files on my desktop ready for Autumn in late September but in a spirit of creativeness a week ago I practically covered up my desktop with possible future files to post and my screen is wall to wall files.

Do you ever do that? It drives my son Daniel crazy when he sees Mama do this! 

It's been a busy and yes, stressful week, but also one that makes me feel that one of the roads back to normality and enjoying this special time I look forward to all year is NOT dropping out of the blog world this time. 

And so my way back and out of feeling overwhelmed is to at least post a fall picture and this one from Autumn at Valley View where my kitchen looked serene and simple was the one.

Maybe another day soon I'll be able to untangle my desktop files and find something to blog about. Meanwhile I wish peace and serenity to everyone in this beautiful season called Autumn.

What is it?

 

 

Care to take a guess before reading further?

 

It was our supper one July night of 2022 that I never posted. July is past again but I'm posting it now as July of 2024 is too far away to risk waiting again.

 

 

We had this odd meal with french bread and smoked salmon leftover from the salmon RH usually smokes for Independence Day.

 

That's a tiny oil painting I did almost 50 years ago inspired by Childe Hassam's flag paintings. It comes out every July and goes back in the cupboard in September.

But what is in my glass soup bowl?

 

The soup is cucumber and the two red circles in it are Watermelon Gelée, both recipes by Greg Atkinson, chef and proprietor of Restaurant Marché on Bainbridge Island, Washington.

I couldn't find a recipe link for the typed copy I've had in my files for years and can't remember where I first found it. The Watermelon Gelée was delicious but the next time I make the cucumber soup I'll use Vincent Price's recipe as it really needs Vincent's cream, chicken broth, and a leek to enhance its flavor. 

The gelée--pronounced huh-ley--has 3 cups of watermelon chunks, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice pureed, strained, 1/2 cup of the liquid put in a saucepan and 1 envelop of gelatin sprinkled over it. Soften 5 minutes then put saucepan on high heat and stir until gelatin is dissolved and juice begins to boil. [I stirred in some Trader Joe's Chili Lime seasoning.]

Put a pinch of black sesame seeds in each of 4 paper cups [or foil cupcake liners] then stir the hot gelatin mixture into the remaining juice and distribute evenly between the four cups, over the sesame seeds. Chill till firmly set then tear the foil away from the gelée and put on top of the cold cucumber soup. 

 

 
This was a fun and pretty meal so I hope you'll understand why I didn't want to waste my year old pictures. My room in the picture above has had some small changes this summer when I began taking some things away from it. I moved all the Blue Delft and Royal Copenhagen out of the room and put it all into the 10 x 12 room outside our bedrooms that I call the antechamber where I have more blue and white china.

Two more pictures  to show. You can't have a light meal such as this without having a good dessert.

 

 This delicious thing was a Lemon Cornmeal Cake with Lemon Glaze and Crushed-Blueberry Sauce from Bon Appetit that I did find a link for. Here!

Be sure and notice the pretty vintage silver spoons I used. They're monogramed but I've never been able to figure out what the initial is. 

 

 Are you ever tempted to cook an odd recipe? I do it all the time even though sometimes they don't turn out well and RH says: "Why don't you just cook your old recipes that we know we like?"

I ask you, "Where's the fun in that?"

 

"No Time Like the Pleasant"

 Once again I've been inattentive to my dear old Window, something that always seems to happen in the summer. 

While I had stacks of posts meant for June, July, and August, it's always difficult to know what to post when I do return.

And so this time, at the end of the summer months, here's a Kitchen Window picture that exemplifies sunshine at this favorite place in my home.

 

My large kitchen window is the view I try to picture when the 2 a.m. gremlins do their best to keep me awake after a bathroom trip. 

I know this window will be there waiting to welcome me when I get up in the morning to let BreeBree and James Mason out to go potty, where I stand drinking a glass of water while they're outside in the garden.

It will mark another day made exceptional by the sheer grace of being alive.

Take that, you nasty 2 a.m. gremlins!

 

I'll leave you with wishes that your summer has been full of pleasant days and with this quotation I love that I found in one of my vintage magazines:

There is no time like the pleasant.

I found this delightful sentence by Oliver Herbert in Ladies' Home Journal of August 1952. 

Mr. Herbert, a true gentleman author of the early 1900's, a gift from England to America, was known for his pithy bons mots, and Amen to this one.

Being completely absent to that talent I very much admire those who possess the talents of brain and tongue issuing a bon mot. After learning about Mr. Herbert's books that he both wrote and illustrated, I would like to become more acquainted with him.

My very best to my family and friends who visit here, all of whom are the pleasantest!   

There truly is "no time like the pleasant," right?