Fall

I have fallen in love with this season again. Completely, in an over-my-head sort of way. And remember: I'm the girl who, when in an argument about what's the best season, would always take spring's side. Who would want a season when everything dies? (Of course the fact that my birthday is in May brings no bias to the table). But now, I'm considering ditching the pink and sprightly season of spring and embrace something more mature and bountiful and beautiful. Seriously, is there anything that this season can't do?

My first real encounter with fall this year involved our wonderful backpacking trip to the Whites, which I'll tell you more about as soon as I get my hands on some of the pictures my compatriots took. But in the meantime, a teaser: It involves golden, yellow, and orange leaves still on the trees and on the ground as far as the eye can see and remarkably comfortable beds of leaves everywhere you choose to sit. The air is crisp and the sky is clear, revealing an almost-full moon. There is a warm fire next to you, with a pot of couscous containing fresh onions and mushrooms bubbling away. Chris and I agreed that this must be the prettiest campsite in the world.

Oh man, the fall foliage. It's somethin' else.

Now I'm back at Swat, feeling the full force of nature and endorphins withdraw and spending too much time in lab where there's no sun and too many Dana bugs. The only good thing right now is how much I'm buying food and cooking for myself. It's nice feeling a sense of control over what you're putting into your body.

I went to the co-op right before it closed tonight and fell in love with the amount of fresh local produce it had.

From Edacious Eatings

Asian pears, bok choy, spinach, heirloom (?) cherry tomatoes, big tomatoes, and (not pictured) apples of every variety (I got Jonagold, Winesap, Gala, and Fuji).

Of all the things I got, the pears, apples, spinach, and tomatoes are all local. Talk about carbon footprint-reducing and delicious.

And the tomatoes. I have to tell you about the cherry tomatoes.

Not only do they look absolutely gorgeous and smell exactly the way all tomatoes should smell (even though few do these days), they are some of the juiciest, tastiest, sweetest tomatoes I've ever eaten. They have a really thin layer of flesh enveloping all the tart, sweet juices and seeds, so thin that you really have to consciously make sure your mouth is closed when chewing. I told myself I'd save some for later, but ...oops.

I love fall.