MANY SHADES

Thank you, Beverly, for hosting this delightful place called

Pink Saturday!

Tonight's the night to bring in all the pots from from the yard and patio, to spend the long cold times inside.   This little girl is especially precious, for she was a Mothers' Day gift from Sweetpea and her Mama and Daddy, and has bloomed her little heart out all Summer.

We've been battening down and storing up, and these cold nights are just perfect for the afternoon-long simmer of a pot of pinto beans and ham, filling the house with their scrumptious scent, til it's time to sit down together to warm bowls with crusty cornbread.

 I'm calling this "cold weather" though it's 52 right now, and apt to drop another fifty degrees and more before Winter surrenders again to Spring.

Now is the kind of weather I've saved the jelly-and-preserves making for, with the redolence of sweet fruit filling the house.   The picture doesn't do this batch justice---this was a shimmery rosy potful, one of those BIGGGG papayas, about a five-pounder, cut into cubes and sugared overnight, then cooked off with a little lemon zest and vanilla.      Lovely with a wedge of Cheddar, and elegant with all the wonderful cheeses Caro chooses for the Cheese Plate on our Dinner Nights together.   

And, of course, a cold day is always warmed by a lovely corned beef brisket simmering on the stove, and made perfect by the tiny potatoes and carrots and wedges of cabbage cooked gently during the last hour.

We're settling in to enjoy all the wonderful cool-and-cold  weather cooking and activities, til Spring rolls round again.