Sleepy after Seattle

We survived our family vacation in Seattle!

One of the best parts of taking a holiday is being so very glad to return home. The kids liked the museums and aquariums the best, but my favorite part was eating from the hole-in-the-wall stands surrounding Pike’s Place Market. Have you ever had french onion soup with fresh artisan cheese? It was so delicious even my preschoolers lapped it up. We saw the most beautiful autumn vegetables, shiny and huge and bright enough to make the neon signs seem pale, and of course watched the fishmongers throwing salmon at each other.

There is truly nothing as tiring as resting. After almost a week, we were irritable, flu-ey, and ready to return to our everyday lives.

This week I am going to be picking apples and experimenting with recipes to use them up. We have only a handful of Granny Smiths, but the Winesap tree is so full it looks ready to buckle. Ripe or not, we are going to begin the apple harvest.

I have missed the farmer’s market for the last two weeks, so next Sunday’s shopping list will be a surprise. Instead of the same old late summer veggies, I hope to find lots of interesting squashes and of course pumpkins. Pumpkin soup and pumpkin ravioli! Pies, cakes, breads, maybe even homemade pumpkin ice cream. Can you tell autumn is my favorite season?