Comme des Garcons

In my head, this is how I dress. (I would not go for the wig and face veil; I'd probably opt for a ponytail).

Grilled Buffalo Filet

with brown rice and roasted brussels sprouts and red peppers. Much pie for dessert.

A Great Pumpkin Pie

For dinner we had scrambled eggs and green beans, but tonight was about dessert. I'm a big pumkin pie fan, and have made versions using just about every quash I know. This latest used a lovely hubbard squash we got from our CSA. I made the Cook's Illustrated Foolproof Pie Crust, which is in all ways as advertised, and tried one of their recipes for the filling. It has various fancy touches (fresh ginger instead of ground, e.g.) but the real innovation is in method: after combining the squash pulp, spices, and sugar, one then simmers them on the stove for about fifteen minutes to concentrate the flavors and let the spices bloom. It was a pain to do (I mean, not that big a pain) but I had to agree, halfway through my third slice, that it was totally worth it.

Mustard Greens

Blanched, served with whole wheat penne, garlic, and bacon.

Frittata

of leftover roasted everything, leftover ribs, and leftover quinoa. It was scrumptious, as leftover-based meals tend to be, in my experience.

Duro Olowu

I once tried on a Duro Olowu sheath dress (at Barney's, where it was on deep sale, which is the only reason I'd even torment myself by getting that close to such covetable merchandise) and I'll never stop regretting that it was a size too small. I get near his prints and I go ape.

Roasted Everything

Delicata squash, eggplant, red onions, elephant garlic, red peppers, and shiitake mushrooms, all served over barley.

Buffalo Meatballs

made with an egg, some garlic, and lots of fresh oregano. We had them with roasted yellow potatoes and the first turnips of the fall from our CSA.

Hot n' Hot Devil's Food Cake

My favorite restaurant, Hot and Hot Fish Club, has published a cookbook. I don't actually like restaurant cookbooks, which I find to be heavy on artsy pictures of food and filled with finicky recipes involving tiny quantities of too many ingredients. This one is no exception, but it is lovely, and has already given me my new favorite chocolate cake. I understand the difference between devil's food and regular chocolate cake to be the use of cocoa, rather than baking chocolate, in the former. It makes a satisfyingly black cake with a light texture; I often find baking-chocolate cakes to be heavy and bland. The Hot 'n Hot version calls for things like homemade creme fraiche, so I admit to some free substituting, but I followed the basics of their recipe and it is delicious. It has two secret ingredients: a quarter teaspoon cardamom, which perfumes the whole thing, and shredded raw beets. You'd never guess the latter—they melt undetectably into the texture—but they make it moist and rich. A winner.

Dinner Party!

We had cheese (Irish Cashel bleu, Manchego, and something French) first. Then crab cakes with cheesy polenta and salad. I make baked polenta: you just stir for five minutes and then bake in the oven. For dessert, a cake I am very proud of: two layers of Nigella Lawson's Victoria sponge (you make the batter in the food processor! takes like five minutes) with layers of lemon curd and unsweetened whipped cream between and on top. Chopped pistachios scattered on top. Oh my goodness is it good; but then, most anything with lemon curd is out of sight. Why did I have lemon curd on hand? Because when you make an angel food cake and have a dozen egg yolks staring you in the face, lemon curd is the perfect answer.

Every Way Wrap

The pattern is named for its versatility, a quality you'll have to take on faith because I've only loaded two images, both of the wrap being worn the same way. It is a lovely thing, though, and I am mighty pleased with it.

Whole Wheat Penne

with broccoli rappini, elephant garlic, and leftover ribs. This was the extremely rare dinner about which the spouse was a mite less enthusiastic than I. He tactfully suggested that it would be delicious with, say, roasted cauliflower in place of the rappini. Unluckily for him, I am a rappini freak: nothing says hard-earned delicious dinner to me like a big plateful of its mouth-filling bitterness.

Broiled Salmon

with delicious greens and brown rice.

For dessert: the best dang banana bread I've ever had. I followed Nigella Lawson's recipe in How to be a Domestic Goddess, deviating only to sub in whole wheat flour. Really, this stuff is unbelievably good. The secret? Brandy-soaked raisins.

The (un)Enthusiast

It's a sad day when I look at the new Marc Jacobs collection and don't immediately want to go shopping.

Squash Pudding

My second try at squash pudding involved grating four crookneck squash and combining them with leftover brown rice, four eggs, a little cream, a little cheese, a bit of nutmeg, salt, and pepper. I baked it in a water bath for about an hour, and it was really delicious. We had it with sauteed okra. For dessert, angel food cake. I am a *fool* for angel food cake, and always have been. It's not hard to make, but it amazes me every time with its beautiful color and unique texture. I could eat a whole cake at one go, but manage not to.

Roasted Yellow Potatoes

with roasted cauliflower, sauteed okra, and fresh bell peppers.

More Groundnut Stew

with a salad of some dark, succulent, crisp, small cabbage-y stuff, and a whole bunch of fresh red peppers.

Coho Salmon

with roasted purple potatoes and sauteed okra. In my opinion, the key to okra is freshness, even more so than for most vegetables. There's something about our CSA okra on the first day we get it that just can't be beat.