Time To Get The Warm Sweaters Out Fall Is Here

Yes, it is that time of year again. Fall, autumn, whatever you want to call it. This is my favorite time of year. There are leaves of ever color in God's crayon box. Even the naked trees are a beautiful backdrop for your photos. Apple's red, green, yellow, great for cooking and eating.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SweetPeaVintageTwo?ref=hdr_shop_menu

Leaves of every color, brown, green, red, orange. 

Which leaves come from which tree? Who cares they are all beautiful. 

Grab a good book and sit in the leaves for a peaceful moment. 

Old Fashion Holidays

https://www.facebook.com/Old-Fashion-Holidays-1678634802380770/?ref=hl

The Holidays are coming. Halloween is the start of a wonderful time of the year. The apples, pumpkins and the changing of the seasons. Follow me on facebook and check out all the fall pics and recipes for the holidays. 

Sweet Potato Skins......Oh My

Great Recipe For Sweet Potato Skins

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Sitting in front of the TV watching Xmas movies. These would be a fun and somewhat healthy snack. 

Ingredients:

• 4 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup milk*
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ground pepper, to taste
• 1 cup shredded cheese (I use half sharp cheddar and half mozzarella)
• 4 strips bacon, cooked until crispy, and crumbled
• sour cream and chopped chives for serving

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Pierce each sweet potato a few times and bake for 40-50 minutes or until soft. Allow the potatoes to cool slightly. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise.

Reduce oven temperature to 375F degrees. Scoop out sweet potato flesh, leaving a thin layer of sweet potato inside, and add flesh to a medium bowl. Place skins back on the baking sheet face up, drizzle with olive oil and bake for 10 minutes.

Mash the sweet potato flesh with milk, salt, and pepper until smooth and creamy. After 10 minutes, remove the skins from the oven. Fill each with an equal amount of mashed sweet potato and top each with cheese. Bake for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and top with bacon. Serve with sour cream and chopped chives, if desired. Skins are best enjoyed immediately.

Cover leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

*Buttermilk, whole milk, or half-and-half is best. Try to avoid low fat milks. You want a very thick, creamy mash.

Corn Stalks.....Don't Throw Them Out

Don't know what to do with the leftover corn stalks in your garden? No need to burn, or compost them. Here are some cool decorating ideas for the fall season. 

Leaves, Leaves, Leaves

Leaves, Leaves, and More Leaves.

Where do they all come from?  They look so pretty when they are still on the trees. Maple, Oak, Birch and Elm. Amazing colors, orange, browns, yellows and reds. Then "fall" comes and that is what they do....and they fall till the trees are bare. 

5,000 Pumpkins & Counting. Happy Halloween

This is the time of year that I miss living in New England. The fall is colorful and crisp. Full of pumpkins, leaves and corn stalks. You can smell the cinnamon brooms in every store that you walk into. This is a little clip of a great pumpkin patch in Croton on Hudson New York.  5,000 pumpkins were carved out. Enjoy. 

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/10/17/great-jack-olantern-blaze-draws-huge-crowd-in-hudson-valley/#.VELOUPiqpKg.twitter

Fall and Autumn Are The Best Times of Year

Autumn is coming, autumn is coming. This is my favorite time of the year. Pumpkins, gourds, leaves of many colors and scarecrows. What more could a girl from New England want. We moved from CT to Florida to beat the ice and snow about 10 years ago.  But I miss the crisp weather when you dig out that first sweater of the year. The trees start to change colors. Walking in the woods and watching the squirrels gather acorns for the winter. The last of the veggies from the garden are pulled up. Pumpkins and gourds are everywhere. Nothing better than lighting a fire with a cup of hot cocoa to get warm. 

Picking just the right pumpkins for your front porch. 

Leaf peeking through the  rolling hills of the countryside.

Decorating is more fun in the fall.
Grapevines, pumpkins  and crows. 

Not so scary scarecrows on bails of hay. 

Cookies baking in the oven. Oh the smell. 

The front door always ready to welcome friends and neighbors. 

The wonderful smells of cinnamon and orange.