Ambiance 22/10: Spaghetti squash with three-tomato-sauce..and autumn flavour.

Spaghetti squash makes for an quite an interesting meal…served with a homemade tomato sauce, or with  oven baked tomatoes.   Especially great for those who want to cut down on carbohydrates…and calories..

 

Suggestions:

  • Don’t overcook the squash, or else it won’t shred off in strands, but be mushy.
  • The squash can alos be cooked in the microwave oven – prick all over with a knife and microwave for about 15 minutes or more until the skin is tender but not soft. (whole squash of about 1 kg)
  • The squash on its own is fairly tasteless and bland, so take care to make your tomatoes/sauce flavorful.
  • Instead of oven baked tomatoes, a tomato sauce can be made by sauteing some onions, adding chooped tomatoes and reducing at low heat until thick anad flavorful. Season with salt and pepper, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and add shredded basil leaves.
  • Chopped olives and parmesan cheese can be added when serving the dish.
  • Marinate tomatoes are tomatoes that have been dried in the oven until semi dry and still holds juice. It must be refrigerated and doesn’t keep as long as dried tomatoes, but is much more flavorful.
  • This spaghetti with sauce can be served as an accompaniment to any kind of fish.

 

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I don’t do a lot of fall decoration, but I do like a little pumpkin and some fresh autumn fruit here and there. Some leaves… Nothing very whoo haa. Just a little something. A little autumn flavor brought inside.

Normalement je ne fais pas trop de décoration d’automne, à l’exception d’une courge çà et là. J’aime aussi les fruits saisonnales en abondances , comme des poires, de jolies pommes de saison et n’oublie pas de délicieux coings! Et bien sur, les belles feuilles mortes, que je ramasse quotidiennement partout sur mon passage, remplacent les bouquets de fleurs estivales. Je ne fais rien en grande pompe, mais tout ça donne juste un petit gout d’automne dans la maison et ses alentours.

..autumn leaves in white vase..

Flowers get replaced by autmn leaves and greenery, picked up on walks by the Loire..in vases, in bowls.

..autumn leaves..

White pumpkins make for attractive decor everywhere in the house. place some small ones on a stack of books, or on top of some dried moss, stack them in urns and pots…

..sandpot with pumpkins...and old books with pumpkins..

Their shapes and smooth whiteness harmonize well with the rustic texture of outside walls and pots, urns and wooden surfaces.

...urn with pumpkins..

Outside they can stand quietly beside a pot planted with white cyclamen. Or even inside keeping a vase of drying hydrangeas company. Alongside apples, they seduce us with color and form. A still life.., there.., to admire and enjoy the quietness of autumn.

..autumn decor..

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..bon week-end!..

Ronelle

 

Ambiance 8/10

Coasters. That tiny but important  little thing,  preventing me from going crazy. I hate any kind of “ring” on furniture…a water ring from a glass , a heat ring from a hot mug, a wine ring from a bottle…it drives me nuts. So I have coasters everywhere. Beside the beds, by the computer, on the office desks, in my atelier, in the kitchen , outside… since we have become a “lazy mug using” society, rings have become more visible on our furniture. A pity. I would easily vote for going back to a cup and saucer. But until then..coasters it is. Maybe this weekend could be useful in getting rid of all stain rings everywhere and go shop for a variety of affordable, fun coasters to enjoy a drink without stress!

Les dessous-de-verres. Une chose apparamment petite, mais très importante. Moi, je ne supporte oas du tout  les taches sur une table; soit si c’est une tache d’un verre d’eau, soit la  tache dun verre du vin, soit une tache d’un “mug” de café… Ça me rend folle!  Donc, j’ai des dessous-de-verres partoutes dans la maison, même à l’extérieur. Malheureusement, comme on est devenu une société de consommateurs de “mugs” de cafés, de “mugs” de thé, et de “mugs” de cacao, les taches commencée a faire leurs apparitions plus visibles sur les meubles à la maison. Dommage! Peut-être ce weekend  peut-on investir dans quelques dessous-de-verres abordables et “fun”, pour que on puisse s’amuser plus tranquillement autour d’un verre ou d’un “mug” de café.

…an  assortment of coasters for peace of mind…

Do we have time for a movie this weekend? Always! One of my favorite actresses, is Juliette Binoche. A great, versatile actress. I once received an amazing compliment…someone told me I remind him of Juliette Binoche. But … it was late at night and it was during a good meal with plenty of good wine… What I would like to have…is a laugh like her. A wonderfully  spontaneous, bold  and spirited laugh!

Est ce qu’on peut regarder un film ce weekend? Bien entendu! Une de mes actrices préférées, est Juliette Binoche. Une fois, on m’a fait un joli compliment; quel qu’un  m’a dit que je ressemblais àJuliette Binoche. Mais…c’etait au cours d’un dîner, il etait, tard, et on avait bien bu… et pourtant, j’aimerais tellement avoir son merveilleux rire, si charmant, si spontané, si vif et si audacieux!

Copie conforme plays off in Italy,  spoken in English, French and Itaian…to me  a great film by Abbas Kiarostami.

…bon weekend…

Ronelle