When I went to the garden the other day to get ideés for a main course, I did it out of habit, really: at this time of year my garden has very little to offer. Still, just being out in the garden, among the smells and the colors of plants that I've grown, tended and know in detail - each branch and leaf almost - is for me conducive to culinary creativity, more than all the produce in a supermarket. I found very little that was edible: some hardy last-gasp tomatoes, and a couple of pomegranates. But fortunately there are always lots of herbs.
Basil, thyme, chives, lemon thyme, marjoram, rosemary and sage: chop together with garlic, brown in olive oil, and use with tomatoes for a pasta sauce and spread over toasted bread. Herbs can really make the simplest ingredients into a flavorful dinner.
I'd also picked some Annabelle hydrangeas, which at this time of year have dried out on their branches, and have a faint greenish tinge. An unusual table arrangement (I'm really liking mismatching at the moment) is another way of adding savor to an end-of-summer meal that is a bit short on variety, I find.
And best of all, we had good friends for dinner to share our meal, and to enjoy our cake topped with chocolate fall leaves, together with pomegranates, deep red and faintly bitter.
Wishing you a nice fall weekend!
