Happy New Year!

 

Ever See a Rock Snake?

 

One of the places we enjoy trekking is the Lake Elsinore levee, where a kind person came up with the creative idea of a rock snake, that currently slithers down the trail for over half a mile.

The white birds are pelicans and egrets

Carefully painted, decorated rocks adjacent to the path, pull attention from ducks, pelicans, hawks and egrets like a display at a modern art museum. There are also rabbits bounding across into wild scrub brush, lizards sunning themselves on warm rocks, and who knows, maybe real snakes? Yikes. The rock snake is good enough for me.

Not only cute and entertaining, we have even added a rock from my personal Desert Rocks Collection. (Long story, but I painted rocks of the Coachella Valley and began freelance writing as The Desert Rocks, after leaving the newspaper business.)

The levee is a simple, flat walk with rest stops and fresh ocean breezes that swirl over nearby mountains from Orange County beaches. It’s the perfect place to stretch your legs and catch up on some local art!

Maybe it's a crow?

 A real turkey vulture

Watch out, is that a turkey vulture?  

Vulture at rest

Painted rocks....

as far as the eye can see.

Autumn's Warning

 

  

Crisp autumn seems to

gently negotiate with those of us used to warm climes.

Bold winds and light sprinkles advertise coming times.

New shows on the marquee,

mannequins with coats,

candy sales and baked brie.

January and February will be nippy,

she whispers among falling leaves.

Is your wine chilled or are you tipsy?

Craving hot appetizers on cool platters,

we want al fresco dining ‘til our teeth chatter.

 

Prepare yourself autumn seems to say.

Before everything turns gray.

Fix the furnace before it’s too late.

Shorter days are worth the wait?

Stock up on tea bags and cocoa,

there might be snow.

You never know.

Time to dig out sweaters and socks,

hide the shorts--ditch the flipflops.

Trade lemonade for pumpkin lattes--

and secretly pray for long summer days.

 

 

Eve Gaal

Another Part of the Circle-A is for Apple

 

With a name like Eve, it may not be surprising that we have an apple tree out back. Adorable, pale green apples sway in the autumn breeze, just waiting to be put into a pie. I seem to remember these are the Fuji variety. 

 

I was tempted.

What’s your favorite apple? Macintosh? Gala?

 Red Delicious? Honeycrisp?  

The Circle of Life Heats Up with Pickled Peppers

 

Remember Peter Piper and the famous tongue twister that’s been around since 1813?

I think I like tongue twisters as much as I love peppers!

Say red peppers-yellow peppers, five times fast!

As far as peppers go, I prefer jalapenos. They are readily available around here, and they add flavor to almost everything. I have a friend who makes jalapeno jam, and it’s delicious. Really.

I’m not sure if there’s a difference between Hatch and Anaheim peppers, but they are both as mild as bell peppers.

If you like a kick, there are poblanos, habaneros, serranoes, Hungarian peppers, ghost peppers and Scotch bonnets, just to name a few. The heat of these varieties is measured on something called a Scoville scale and measured in heat units that go from 2000 to over 2 million. Ever hear of a Carolina Reaper? (I’d turn back if I were you.)

Anyway, here are the tame little peppers from our garden. 

They have no heat whatsoever. 

I think they are banana or shishito, but it doesn’t matter, because they are delicious in this pickled salad recipe.

 

 

Do you have a favorite pepper?

The Circle of Life- Believe in the Tomato

 

 

To be honest, I LOVE this series on the circle of life, because none of it would be possible without seeds of faith.  Just when we thought the hundred-degree heat, and drought conditions in California, would dry up our garden, there are tomatoes on the vine, almost ready to be picked.

Tomatoes, are wonderful in salads, sandwiches, soups and sauces.  The ones in our garden, after what seemed like forever, turned bright red, are super juicy, and have the fabulous taste of summer in every bite. 

Since most of us like pizza and spaghetti, it’s not surprising to know that Italy is one of the top tomato producing countries in the world, after China, India, Turkey, Spain and the U.S.

In Italy they are called POMODORO

In Germany, Spain, France and Portugal, the word is TOMATE

In Hungary they call a tomato a PARADICSOM—which also translates to Eden and Paradise.

In Turkey they are DOMATES

In Holland and South Africa, they say TOMAAT.

Finally, I was able to make a Caprese Salad with avocado. Delicious and worth the wait!

Filled with antioxidants, tomatoes are grown all over the globe and are classified as a fruit, but are also called vegetables. The reasons seem mysterious, but it has to do with the seeds. Those little things that move mountains. The stuff empires are built upon. Tiny little seeds.  

Another Circle of Life-My Neighbor's Figs

 

During a normal, non-pandemic summer, we might go somewhere and miss out on all this glorious fruit! Harvesting, cooking and baking reminds me there's an upside to staying home, in our personal Eden, surrounded by friends, neighbors, and beautiful trees.

 If you've tasted fresh figs, you know how sweet and delicious they can be. The flavor is hard to describe, but I'd say it's like a bite of apple, plums and strawberries all mixed together into one incredible morsel. Magical! 

My neighbor's fig tree

That's not Eve, but my neighbor, picking figs from her tree.

Fresh Figs

Fresh Fig Bar