Wednesday 23 September 2015

Penne With Creamy Roasted Sweet Red Pepper Garlic Sauce...and the early autumn potager

Our sweet red peppers are coming in. And coming in. Did I say they are coming in?  They are and they are all gorgeous!


My Roasted Sweet Pepper Spread/Dip (recipe here) is not only a wonderful way to enjoy these scarlet delights but also to process any surplus as it freezes well.

Contains olive oil, roasted sweet red peppers, roasted garlic, cream cheese, fennel the herb, lemon & salt

Though tasting great when slathered on all manners of delicious breads and crackers, it also takes to pasta with ease. All that is required is to put a couple of tablespoons, along with a little bit of the pasta cooking water, onto a pile of penne. Add some freshly grated Parmesan if so desired and mix well. Garnish with a sprig of fennel (the herb, not the bulb).


As the days are now cool, I have harvested most of the green tomatoes, leaving a few on the plants to take their chances.


Broccoli, by leafing out with a vengeance, is adding a subtle blue to the autumnal palette.


Mornings tend to be somewhat misty chez nous as we are not that far from the Atlantic Ocean.

Bee-loving abelia in the forefront and asparagus festooned with red berries in the background

Few of the rose bushes are putting out buds. The jewel-coloured dabs eventually opened up once they were inside the sous sol's potting room. My looking through the window which confirmed a wintry chill is soon on its way only accentuated the joy of brushing my nose against soft, fragrant rose petals. 

The coral buds have a captivating Old World Rose scent, though the others are pas trop mal 

Dahlias last through early autumn. The many varieties offer great versatility. They can be as tall as five feet with blooms the size of dinner plates...


...or demure and dainty when dwarf.


An early rising of a half moon etched in the late-afternoon sky is one of the prettiest sights.

The cranes soon will be migrating towards North Africa, usually right over our house!

From the link below:  Here’s what happens. On average, the moon rises about 50 minutes later each day. But when a full moon happens close to the autumnal equinox, the moon (at mid-temperate latitudes) rises only about 30 to 35 minutes later daily for several days before and after the full Harvest moon. Why? The reason is that the ecliptic – or the moon’s orbital path – makes a narrow angle with the evening horizon around the time of the autumn equinox. The narrow angle of the ecliptic results in a shorter-than-usual rising time between successive moonrises around the full Harvest Moon.

Around September 27/28, depending where you live, look out for the full Harvest Moon, which will be also super-sized showing off a Blood Moon eclipse!

À la prochaine!

RELATED LINK

Comprehensive explanation regarding the up-and-coming Harvest Moon
September Equinox (day and night are approximately equal in length)