random bits of an autumn Saturday

We spent a low-key Saturday mostly hanging around the house. After last weekend's constant activity, we all needed some downtime. We did manage to spend a few minutes at the farmer's market and getting some much needed chores done around here. The following are a few of the high points of this beautiful autumn Saturday:

Finn's collection of felted rocks lined up, by size, of course, in the windowsill.

Finn built a tree block city then asked me to "take a picture and put it on your blog". So by special request from Finn...

I made an Autumnal window star to hang in our west-facing window. The red looks a bit pink in the bright sunlight, but I still think these colors seem so warm and homey being lit by the sun every afternoon. (You can find the tutorial I used here.)

Our trip to the farmer's market yielded a new table centerpiece, with help from Finn. He fell in love with those tiny white pumpkins.

Our little orange fishes glowing in the autumn sun make me smile. And they're still alive, more than a week later. I guess we should name them soon...

I found 2 giant cooking pumpkins at the farmer's market today for 5 bucks each. That should keep us in muffins, soup, pies and other yummies for a while, I think.

For dinner, I threw together some items we had on hand including some fresh veggies (and garlic!) from the farmer's market.

The pasta was even more delicious when accompanied by this Spinach Feta Focaccia which we found at the farmer's market (by Three Sister's Artisan Bakery, for the locals).

Sautéed Veggies with Orzo

1 onion, chopped

1 large carrot, sliced thinly

1 yellow squash

5 cloves of garlic, smashed with the side of the knife and sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp lemon juice

1.5 cups dry orzo pasta

1 tsp salt (I used half fine grain and half coarse for texture)

pepper to taste

parmesan to taste

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil for orzo, then cook orzo for 7-9 minutes and drain. Sautée onion and carrot in olive oil for 10 minutes until onion starts to look clear. Add squash and garlic and 2 tbsp water, and sautée until water is evaporated, 2-3 min. Toss sautéed veggies with orzo and sprinkle with lemon juice, salt and pepper then stir well. Serve with parmesan sprinkled on top. (Garlic note: we used a mild, sweet garlic from the farmer's market so the garlic wasn't too strong. You might want to adjust the amount if you use a stronger garlic, although cooking it just a few minutes, as recommended in this recipe, will retain more of the immunity benefits.)