October is ....

I am running a bit late with my "October is" post but since we have had a lovely shift in weather for the cooler and I have been digging out some of my fall/winter clothes and observing the leaves, I am ready!
Autumn has always been my favorite time of year and after living in South Florida for so many years, I have a renewed love and appreciation for the seasonal cycle.

October is ...

Crisp ... crisp apples, crisp breezes & crisp, baked bread with a fluffy center ...

Last of the dragonflies in Utah ... thank you to my little dragonfly who posed so prettily for me with the autumn leaves ...

shorter days ... longer nights ...twinkly stars and seeing your breath at night ...

pumpkin!  pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup, and jack-o-lanterns ...

snow on the Timpanogos peaks ... what a surprise and a lovely one!

ghosts, ghouls and goblins ... trick or treats ... candy sacks overflowing ...

forests and mountains painted with brushes of red, orange and yellow ... piles of leaves to jump in ...

warm soup ... fuzzy socks ... hot chocolate with a side of ginger snaps ...

PINK for the cure ... time to spread awareness to the women you love & get the facts on breast cancer!

 What is October to you?

There is a Goblin in my Fridge!

Although it is not Halloween, I came across this recipe and had to post it!

Halloween is a great holiday to have a blast with food - we can give our food creepy names and dress it up too!

We do a family Halloween party and one of my Halloween Favorites is the Cheeseball Goblin - not only does he LOOK adorable but he tastes good!

• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature, plus 2 (8-ounce) packages whipped cream cheese
• 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 cups shredded mixed cheeses, such as cheeses for tacos
• Green food coloring
• 2 large tortilla chips
• 1 whole pepperoncini pepper
• 2 pimiento-stuffed olives
• 1 bell pepper, cut 2 thin strips and 6 small triangles
• 6 pitted green olives
• 20 small carrot sticks
• 3 cups shredded red cabbage
• Toothpicks

Directions

Place 2 packages of cream cheese, butter, and milk in a mixing bowl, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and combined. Add the shredded cheese and mix until well combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or up to 24 hours.

Remove the chilled cheese mixture from the refrigerator. Place the mixture on a piece of waxed paper and form the cheese ball into a head-like shape. Place 3 pieces of waxed paper around the edges of a serving plate, leaving open space in the center. Place the cheese in the center of the platter so some of it is right on the platter, but the edges are on the waxed paper. This will ensure that the platter does not get dirty while you make your goblin.

In a medium bowl, stir the remaining softened cream cheese until totally smooth. With a spatula, spread the whipped cream cheese over the head. It's O.K. if it's not totally smooth - this will give your goblin spooky skin.

Place a few drops of green food coloring in a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of water and mix well. With a pastry brush, paint the tortilla chips with the food coloring until they are the desired color. Set aside to dry for a few minutes.

Once the chips are dry, press them into the sides of the cheese ball to form ears. Skewer the pepperoncini with a toothpick and then attach it to the center of the head to make a nose. Press the pimiento-stuffed olives into the head to form eyes. Use the 2 red bell pepper strips to make eyebrows. Take the pepper triangles and insert them into the holes in the pitted green olives. The green olives will serve as toes, and the red pepper strips will be scary toenails. Once the olives are assembled, press them into the bottom of the head to form the toes.

Press the carrot sticks into the head to form teeth. Leave them sticking out a bit to make scary teeth. It's O.K. if your carrot sticks are different lengths and thicknesses. Hold the head onto the platter with a spatula and gently pull away the waxed paper. Finally, press the cabbage into the top of the head to make hair.

Serve with crackers and assorted vegetables.

Original Recipe from Paula Deen

Happy Halloween!

I love this time of the year -  it has always been a time that marks the close of the "light" half of the year and the beginning of winter and the onset of the "dark" half of the year, as well as a time to remember our Ancestors and those that have passed before us. 

Traditionally, it is also the night that many adults raid the kid's candy bags after the children have gone to bed.  However you choose to celebrate, have fun and beware of chocolate hangovers!

My Favorite Month - October

In the great silence of my favorite month,
October (the red of maples, the bronze of oaks,
A clear-yellow leaf here and there on birches),
I celebrated the standstill of time.

The vast country of the dead had its beginning everywhere:
At the turn of a tree-lined alley, across park lawns.
But I did not have to enter, I was not called yet.

Motorboats pulled up on the river bank, paths in pine needles.
It was getting dark early, no lights on the other side.

I was going to attend the ball of ghosts and witches.
A delegation would appear there in masks and wigs,
And dance, unrecognized, in the chorus of the living.
 
-   Czeslaw Milosz, All Hallow's Eve
Translated by Czeslaw Milosz and Leonard Nathan 

Samhain Cometh

I will dance
The dance of dying days
And sleeping life.

I will dance
In cold, dead leaves
A bending, whirling human flame.

I will dance
As the Horned God rides
Across the skies.

I will dance
To the music of His hounds
Running, baying in chorus.

I will dance
With the ghosts of those
Gone before.

I will dance
Between the sleep of life
And the dream of death.

I will dance
On Samhain's dusky eye,
I will dance.  
-  Karen Bergquist, An Autumn Chant

Outside the Door

Well, I got rained out today as far as the Diwali Festival.  I figured 2 days of tromping in the rain would be pushing my luck and since I have a bunch of interviews this week, I cannot afford a cold!  So, stayed in and played on Vox and did exciting things like...the laundry.  The laundry won the battle this week with the bedroom and had to be reined back in.  Our little washer/dryer combo does not quite handle that volume and made me miss the BIG machine briefly!

I popped out the door at one point and just snapped a few so here they are and then that made me think...so what do you see when you pop out of your door?? 

gloomy day

on my doorstep

my window to the world

Halloween Gerber Daisy