Days Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen & Fifteen

I really lost my focus after that job interview. It's not that I was agonizing about it - going over the questions and responses in my head, second guessing myself, wondering if I would be offered the position - the whole routine I had begun to establish was suddenly interrupted by the world I have been trying to escape. It's taken me a few days to quiet down again and regain the focus. It seemed that the need to "do" had crept back in and I ended up keeping myself very busy over these past few days - not really taking the time to sit and reflect and just enjoy being and not doing. Just taking a few deep breaths helped. Right now I have my classical playlist going - Mozart's Adagio in E Major, which I will forget until I hear it again - and watching the birds out the window. There are so many starlings, sparrows, western finch, quail, dove, mountain jays and house finch. It's been such a pleasure to watch them interact with one another, bathe in the fountain and devour the birdseed we've set out in several feeders and the stuff we scatter on the ground for the birds that like to scavenge. Bob and I have enjoyed many hours sitting in our viewing chairs in front of the big windows. The fountain in directly in front of the windows and the feeders have been strategically placed to affect a good view. We have the perfect theater seats.

The nights and mornings are noticeably cooler and the early mornings are not to be missed by sleeping in. A good cup of tea, soft music, and the morning bird viewing is a real treat. I don't know what's better, the soft music or the sound of the water pouring from the bamboo tube into the fountain pot and listening to it flow out of the pot and onto the rocks. The sound of water has always been very soothing to me - whether it's the ocean, stream, or rain, it's all good. Cooler temperatures always motivate me to work in the kitchen. Cooking is never a chore anymore but something I look forward to as a creative process. After the farmer's market on Saturday, I came home and hunted for a pickle recipe as I had purchased a couple of pounds of pickling cucumbers. It was enough to pack five one pint jars for the easy task of putting up refrigerator pickles. I had some East Indian curry pickle relish that I had made about a year ago and so I put a couple of tablespoons of that in the bottom of each pickle jar, along with fresh dill purchased from the farmer's market, garlic and some hot peppers. After cooking the brine solution and pouring over the cucumbers packed in the jars, they need to sit out for a couple of days in order to sour and then they just go into the refrigerator. No need to wait a long time, they can be eaten anytime. I like them nice and cold. We'll see how they turn out. I've never done pickles before. I also bought some large stuffing summer squash which I scooped out to remove the large seeds and created a nice bowl for the main ingredients. After blanching the hollowed out squash, I stuffed them with a mixture of browned sausage, fresh corn off the cob, chopped red bell pepper and purple onion, some fresh oregano, bread crumbs and beef broth. I then layered them on top of stale french bread slices drizzled with olive oil, topped the stuffed squash with a big thick slice of tomato and finished the whole casserole with havarti cheese and olive oil. I baked it at 375 for about 45 minutes and then removed the foil to brown the tomatoes and cheese. It was delicious. I had also boiled up some beets I bought at the farmer's market and mixed those with purple onion rings, salt, pepper, grapeseed oil, balsamic vinegar and the fresh chopped dill left over from the pickles. That sat in the refrigerator for a day and wow, was a taste treat. We had a 2006 Syrah from Mt. Aukum that paired nicely. It's so wonderful to have fresh vegetables - I just wish I could get them more often as our growing season is so short!