Fall and Food

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you've probably heard me complaining about the warm weather we're having in Santa Barbara. Not that it's been unbearably hot. But there is something distinctly wrong with picking pumpkins in shorts. This is not an activity you're supposed to do in 86 degree weather. We did, however, and we still managed to enjoy ourselves.

We went to Lane Farms, which is in town and about 3 or 4 blocks from our apartment. They had a nicely sized corn maze which was actually well designed. At least, DS and I were lost in it for quite a while. We never did find the exit, but finally managed to find the entrance again. This is partly to be blamed on us assuming the exit should be on the opposite edge, and partly on DS deciding he was too hungry to enjoy further attempts.

There were no tractor rides out to the pumpkin patch; in fact, there wasn't anywhere to go. It's a small place. The pumpkins were all nice looking though, and arranged in rows around actual pumpkin plants that were still growing. The best part? They had pumpkin butter and apple butter for sale! We love that stuff SO MUCH.

Last night DS experimented with a marinade for chicken that involved olive oil and orange juice and zest. It was so juicy and delicious! I was in charge of the salad. We've discovered that we really like spinach, and it's relatively cheap here, so all salad are spinach based at our place. Most of my salads consist of spinach, pine nuts, and then whatever fruit we have lying around. Last night this was dried cranberries, the left over orange slices not used for the chicken, and I added some tomato slices to mine. The tomato was from my downstairs neighbors' backyard, and had been on the window sill for a while. It was time to eat it. I wasn't sure how it would go with the cranberries and oranges, but I was happy to discover that oranges and tomatoes actually taste good together! The whole thing was topped with raspberry vinaigrette. And also there was Sam Adams Oktoberfest beer, in my new "Paper Bag Parade" pint glasses.

Today for lunch, we had cored apple slices, banana slices and almonds with peanut butter, apple butter and pumpkin butter as dipping options. Who knew that bananas and pumpkin butter go great together? Also, so do almonds and apple butter!

All in all, things here are good. I finally got my first paycheck, so we were able to stock the fridge again with things that are actually yummy, instead of a bunch of cheap stuff that would keep our bodies working. We're still working to make ends meet, but at least we can do so on bellies full of scrumptious food! Also, I'm enjoying discovering random foods that go well together. Food is becoming a sort of art form for me. Like an experiment in taste. As long as I don't have to use the stove...