An autumn morning . . .

As early morning sunshine spills
Her light upon the day,
The silver mist in ghostly gown
Steals silently away.
And in the air a hint of frost . . .
Embroidered Autumn leaves,
And here and there pearl dewdrops glint
Amongst the barley sheaves.

Autumn makes her presence felt
In colours bright and gold,
And on nature's canvas splashes
Amber, russet, gold.
Just like a rustic tapestry
Spread out across the land,
She paints her pastoral masterpiece
Untouched by earthly hand.
~Kathleen Gillum

Oh, I do love the autumn so . . . the colours, the smells, the textures . . . I do believe it is my favourite time of year . . . at least when the sun is shining! I think when the sun is shining you can forgive almost anything, don't you?



It is supposed to snap very cold this week . . . I think winter's in a hurry to arrive. They are calling for anything from frost in some areas, to snow in higher areas, and cold temperatures all around. Unheard of I think! At least it seems to me it is pretty early anyways . . . or maybe I am just dragging my heels in autumn . . .

I think I saw on one shop doorway the other day that there were only 110 days until Christmas. Can it really be so?? And then I think . . . but of course! Every year I say I am going to prepare myself well ahead of time, and then every year it sneaks up on me! C'est la vie!



I am enjoying these autumn days though . . . it's fun to take Mitzie on her walks through the neighbourhood. I know that if we were in North America right now the gardens and doorways would be filled with Halloween and autumnal decorations . . . but we are in England and people don't go out so much for that sort of thing . . . we let autumn be it's own decoration I suppose . . . it is very rare to see carved pumpkins on a doorstep or a pumpkin man sitting in a chair . . .

Things like a spider's web all glistening with an early morning dew, or the skeletenal remains of some fallen leaves beginning to disintigrate into a lacy outline upon the dewswept ground . . . the dusty dried heads of the hydrangea, all edged in the gilt of an early autumn frost . . .



Beauty is where you find it, and I see it all around us. I am so grateful for a heart that seeks out these simple gifts and that embraces them for the treasure that they are . . .

I baked Todd some delicious friands as a treat yesterday. He is coming down with a cold I think . . . all shivers and sniffles. It is that time of year . . . I suppose that is one of the downsides of autumn . . . we wait for a good frost to kill off all the bugs that would keep us tied up in sniffles and snorts!



*Raspberry and Almond Friands*
Makes 6
Printable Recipe

These delicate little oval cakes have a wonderfully light, yet rich texture. I love the tart sweetness that the raspberries give.

Melted butter for greasing
¾ cup icing sugar
½ cup plain flour
½ cup ground almonds
Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
3 egg whites
90g butter, melted (about 6.5 TBS)
75g raspberries (about 3/4 cup)

Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400(F. Brush the muffin slots in the friand pan with the first amount of melted butter. Sift the icing sugar and flour together into a large bowl, then stir in the almonds and lemon zest.

Whisk the egg whites together until they are foamy and then using a metal spoon, fold them into the flour mixture. Fold in the melted butter until just combined, then gently fold in most of the raspberries.

Spoon the batter into the greased friand cups, filling ¾ full. Push several of the remaining raspberries into the top of each one.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and tests done. Let cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling. Serve dusted with icing sugar. If you don’t have a friand pan you can bake them in normal muffin tins. They really are delicious.



And over in The English Kitchen today, there's a lovely Cauliflower Soup with Gorgonzola and a Pickled Pear Relish.