Rain & Fog Softly Slip the Forest into November
A stormy All Hallow’s Eve gave way to a soft, dove-grey dawn; bare treetops shrouded in luminous mist and wet roads strewn with bittersweet leaves. Lost in the sheer delight of driving foggy backroads home to my Vermont studio, I had to stop here and there just to breathe in the scent of autumn musk and listen to raindrops as they fell through November’s sweet, first morning stillness . . .
Dove Grey Voile Drapes Above the Forest’s Bittersweet Carpet
Photography & Textⓒ Michaela Medina Harlow/The Gardener’s Eden. All photographs, artwork, articles and content on this site (with noted exceptions), are the original, copyrighted property of Michaela Medina Harlow and/or The Gardener’s Eden and may not be reposted, reproduced or used in any way without prior written consent. Contact information is in the left side bar. Please do not take my photographs without asking first. Thank you!
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The Magical Moment of First Snow
It seems that suddenly the world is all a’swirl with a dizzying array of frozen, white flakes. Just now running out the door with a million things to do, but I simply had to share the magical moment of First Snow…
Cornus alba ‘Siberica’ – First Snow
Cotoneaster and Juniperus horizontalis – First Snow
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Stone Wall with Candle-Niche Detail by Vermont Artist, Dan Snow
Article and Photos are ⓒ Michaela at TGE
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Penne with Roasted Potatoes, Arugula and Rosemary from Alice Waters’ Classic Cookbook, Chez Panisse Vegetables
Ah, New England and the sudden changing of seasons. It really feels like late fall now… There’s even snow and sleet in tomorrow’s weather forecast. S-n-o-w. I feel chilly just typing those letters. The word always has a certain weight to it, doesn’t it? And although the wunderground.com weather report indicates no more than an inch or two of frozen, wet precipitation, I realize that it’s time to finish buttoning things up in the garden.
Mulching beds in the potager with compost and straw
Last week I spent quite a bit of time readying the potager for winter; testing and amending the soil, and adding a thick layer of compost to the mounded vegetable beds. My late autumn check-list also included mulching the newly planted garlic and root vegetables —including carrots and beets— with clean straw. I am in the habit of sprinkling a bit of greensand —as well as necessary supplements— into the beds as I shovel black-gold atop everything in a thick, dark blanket. While turning over a couple of planting beds, I unearthed some little jewels – more late-season potatoes. As I slowly lifted my shovel, I was surprised and delighted to find a few shocking-pink Desiree (beautiful pink/red- skinned potatoes) nestled in the loose, dark earth. I gathered the colorful loot, along with some fresh arugula from the hoop house, and brought them indoors for dinner.
The last of the late-season gourmet potato harvest, pulled from the ground
Arugula in the Hoop House
Gourmet Potatoes, Including Desiree, Pink Fir, Purple and Yukon Gold
Long one of my favorite cookbooks, Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Vegetables, includes a delightful recipe combining pasta, roasted potatoes, onions, garlic, rosemary and arugula. Right now, my garden and root cellar are filled with these crops, making this pasta the perfect late-fall dish. And although delicious in its original form, I also enjoy the sauteed vegetables served alone, or with a piece of crusty, French bread. I like to add a bit of balsamic glaze (a balsamic vinegar reduction) to the onions as they cook, but other than that, I usually follow Alice’s recipe…
Newly harvested potatoes gleam like rough-cut gems, pulled fresh from the earth
Penne with Roasted Potatoes, Arugula and Rosemary
– A long-standing favorite from Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Vegetables–
Ingredients:
1 Pound small, firm potatoes (I used gourmet red, purple and yellow varieties)
1 Small red onion
4 Cloves hard-neck garlic (I used German red)
1 Sprig of rosemary (leaves from a roughly 6″, freshly harvested piece)
1/2 Pound of arugula (in this instance, the mature, firm leaves are best)
3/4 Pound of penne
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar glaze (optional)
1/2 Lemon
1/2 Cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Directions:
Preheat an oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Wash and slice potatoes into 1/3″ rounds. Toss with a bit of olive oil, salt and black pepper and spread the potatoes in as single layer across a baking sheet. Place in the oven and roast for about 15 or 20 minutes, until golden and tender.
While the potatoes are roasting, thinly slice the red onion, chop the rosemary leaves and peel and finely chop the garlic. Set aside. Wash and drain the arugula leaves (pat off with paper towels or run through a salad spinner), lightly tear them up and set aside.
Fill a large pot with water, lightly salt and bring to a boil.
Remove the roasted potatoes from the oven and set aside to cool…
Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a saute pan and add the sliced onion. Cook and stir for 15 minutes or so, until soft and a light, golden-brown color begins to appear. Drizzle lightly with balsamic glaze, and add the potatoes, garlic and rosemary while lowering the heat. Stir until well mixed. Add the arugula leaves.
Drain the pasta well and slowly add to the vegetables, tossing with olive oil and the juice of half a lemon as you go.
Serve warm in shallow pasta bowls.
Warm, Beautiful, Fragrant and Delicious – The Perfect Autumn Pasta
The Muted Beauty of November Skies
White ‘Spooktacular’ Pumpkins from the Garden
Wild Milkweed (Asclepias) Blowing in the Meadow Wind
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Article and photographs ⓒ 2010 Michaela at TGE
Recipe source: Alice Waters – Chez Panisse Vegetables
All content on this site, (with noted exceptions), is the property of The Gardener’s Eden and may not be used or reproduced without prior written consent. Inspired by something you see here? Great! Please give credit where credit is due. It’s a small world and link-love makes for fond friendships. Stealing makes for bad dreams…
Do you enjoy visiting The Gardener’s Eden? You can help support this site by shopping through our affiliate links. A small percentage of any sale originating from The Gardener’s Eden will go toward web hosting and maintenance costs. Thank you for your support!
Young American beech (Fagus grandifolia) and eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides) trees in the November morning mist
November. Beech and cottonwood trees —colored butterscotch and rum— warm the misty hills and blue-grey clouds. The season has changed -almost overnight. At night the wood stove flickers and glows and the smell of pumpkin pie and mulled cider fills the air…
American beech (Fagus grandifolia) in delicious shades of golden butterscotch and rum
Firelight
Flame grass shifts to burnt orange (Miscanthus sinensis purpurascens)
American beech (Fagus grandifolia)
Lingering maple leaves in a sea of orangey beech, along my country road
Autumn Brook, Filled with Leaves
October Swirls Away…
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Article and Photographs ⓒ Michaela at TGE
All content on this site, (with noted exceptions), is the property of The Gardener’s Eden and may not be used or reproduced without prior written consent. Inspired by something you see here? Great! Please give credit where credit is due. It’s a small world and link-love makes for fond friendships. Stealing makes for bad dreams…
Do you enjoy visiting The Gardener’s Eden? You can help support this site by shopping through our affiliate links. Advertisers do not pay for editorial placement here, but do remit a small percentage of any sale originating from The Gardener’s Eden affiliate links to this site. All proceeds will go toward web hosting and maintenance costs. Thank you for your support!
