Some Days...

Are made for drinking a margarita through a straw.  Not sure why but both Brian and I just felt like it.  Maybe it's the sunshine.  Maybe it is owning a 5 year old business.  I will chalk it up to quite possibly the last night that one can sit comfortably outside before winter.  Here is Brian's recipe.  Take caution these can make for fuzzy heads in the morning. 

2 parts Tequila (we like Silver Herradura)
1 part Cointreau 
Juice of 1 not so firm lime (use a squeezer, oh my! It makes it so much easier)
Crushed Ice 

Fall cleanup, Big Jim, my first post, and some darn cute cornbread...

I spent the past weekend cleaning up our garden and harvesting the last bits of the summers bounty.  This time of year always makes me somewhat bittersweet.  Yes, I did tire of the garden a bit late in September and wondered how big the cucumbers I just could not make myself pick would get, but I still think I might just miss my garden checks every morning and evening to chart the progress of said cucumbers.  While tidying up my fall garden a few things stuck out.  My rhubarb was still edible, the Italian parsley is still bright green and thriving (hardy little beast!), two tiny rogue strawberries shone in the sun, and one lone spear of asparagus hid under feathery fronds in the corner. Two years in the coming. With the nights coming quicker and the produce lending itself to roasting and stewing I decided to roast the final batch of Big Jim's that were plucked last week.  

It was by accident that I ended up with Big Jim's at all.  I was on a quest for Shishito pepper plants to replicate the dish Brian and I had one magical summer in Northern California.  All summer long.  But to no real surprise they were not available in our little town.  Big Jim's sounded like the next best option.  And they were prolific in their plot.  Today I made a big batch of green chili that was comprised of the chili's, a few stumpy sweet carrots, and a lot of pork.  And the pastry chef in me just had to try out my new honeycomb cake pan with a big batch of cornbread.  Isn't this the cutest?!

And just like that my garden, weekend, and first post stress is put to sleep.