Tastes of summer and autumn

Just returned from a quick evening walk outside - the sun is setting earlier and tonight it was pitch black by 9pm. There's a sharpness to the air now and though our valley is still remarkably green, I think we'll see a stunning blanket of autumn colors here in a few weeks.

As it's September, the tomatoes in the jardin are ripening. I returned from the south of France to find 15 sun-ripened tomatoes. In Arles, I tasted a sublime ratatouille and wanted to re-create it at home. I was also hoping for some big plump eggplants and zucchinis but alas they are too young still.

What's a girl to do with so many tomatoes? Tomato sauce came to mind, but recently I saw some mouth-watering stuffed tomatoes and of course, I wanted to make them when I got home. The result = super yummy, moist, with every bite tasting like summer. The tomatoes are incredibly tomato-ey. I wished I had made much more so I could have it for a midnight snack.

• Take 5 medium tomatoes and slice them in half.
• Scoop out the insides of the tomatoes and mince the scooped out part.
• Mince some garlic, shallots, onion.
• Cook about 2 cups of arborio rice until it is al dente.
• In a saute pan, saute over low heat the garlic, shallots, onion until it is translucent and fragrant.
• To that, add some spinach and petit pois (green peas), a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Season to taste.
• When the rice is done, mix in the vegetable mixture.
• Then scoop your rice into the tomato cups - I also drizzled some olive oil and some more freshly black pepper onto the tomatos before baking for 10 minutes at 175Celsius.

Autumn is my favorite season and every year, my sis and I make our annual apple picking/apple eating trip out to Stowe, MA. Things I love about this tradition: I love the drive out there, the apple orchard is so beautiful with long grassy lanes, the apple cider donuts, the Boston Honey the small store sells, the big tall apple trees with the biggest apples at the top of the tree (you have to use ladders to get those!), spending time with my family and baking crisps and pies afterwards. And the best part: the smell of apples, trees, and grass in my hair after a day out at the apple orchards. So for dessert tonight, I made a really simple apple and nectarine crisp using French apples and nectarines I got at a farmer's market recently. The interesting twist to my crisp? I used cormeal and almond flour to achieve a crunchy golden brown topping!