Pressing Thoughts
Nov. 6, 2009 12:22 pm
Updated: Nov. 13, 2009 2:00 pm
A couple of weeks ago--before November slammed into Seattle--some dear friends invited us to an apple-pressing party at their home. They asked us to bring apples, so we raided our old tree and brought a basketful to add to the hundreds of apples headed for the press. Some, like ours, were homegrown. Some were store-bought. All were cut, cored, and lovingly crushed to produce the most intensely apple-licious nectar I've ever sipped. Okay, chugged.
And the food! Homemade pizza from the wood-fired oven they'd built by hand in their wildly beautiful garden. Fresh clams cooked in I don't know...beer? Wine? Broth? But so savory and succulent I wanted to snatch up the bowl and run away with it. But had I committed such a crime, I might have missed the Italian fennel sausages fresh from the oven, simply roasted and sliced and finger-scorchingly delicious.
These simple pleasures--pressing apples, sharing food, and soaking up the mild autumn sunlight in an October garden--lifted my heart and gave me memories to smile about when Monday returned to weigh me down with its burden of daily routine.
So now I want to hear what's making you smile these days. Thanks for visiting, and happy November to you.
Freshly pressed apple juice.
Even little guys got into it.
A wild garden in the heart of Seattle.
Wood-fired pizza oven. Every backyard needs one!
Homemade pizza - someone couldn't wait until the photo was taken.
Roasted Italian fennel sausage in all its juicy goodness.
Fresh clams in a wicked good broth.
What's this?