Happy Grapes and Apples Day!

I don't have my own garden -- haven't in a couple of decades or so, a situation I should rectify at some point. And I live in a small city, just far enough in that I have to make a point of driving a few miles out of the way to catch a glimpse of the familiar soybean and corn fields that surrounded me for the first 3/4 of my life. Because of the chilly weather we've had all summer, I haven't even been making the rounds on my usual late-night drives -- sadly, there's not been one single perfectly rainy, hot August night amongst the corn fields to be had this year.

Still, I find a certain amount of comfort in marking the milestones of the year. Especially when they're delicious milestones.

Today is the second of the three Neopagan harvest holidays: Autumn Equinox, Mabon, Harvest Home, Mid-Harvest ... like a lot of recently created holidays, it has quite the roster of names. I use Mabon just because I like the way it sounds, but to me, it really does just boil down to being the Grapes and Apples Harvest. Today would be a good day to visit a local vineyard or orchard ... grapes, wine, apple butter, apple cider, apple cakes, apple pancakes, grapes and apple slices with cheese ...

Hm. Is it me, or is it hungry in here?

This is also the time of year I begin to feel the baking bug again, and apples and pumpkins are almost entirely to blame for that. I don't really do much in the way of cookies and pies and that sort of thing, but oh, how I adore the loaves -- beer, zucchini, apple, and pumpkin bread -- as well as apple cake. Auzumel has agreed to show me how to make pumpkin rolls sometime in the next couple of weeks, too. Since it seems to involve some degree of finesse other than throwing things in a baking tin and setting the oven, I guess we'll see how that goes. :)

Tea starts to creep into the repertoire again this time of year, as well. Specifically black tea with just a bit of vanilla, cream and honey. My grandma always made it with milk and sugar instead of cream and honey, and called it Cambert Tea. I have no idea where the name came from, but it is apparently a staple in several branches of the family, and predates the current generations.

In other news, I'm looking forward to seeing the Tokyo String Quartet with Edige this Friday. Looking over the playlist earlier, I recognized Bela Bartok as a composer that I enjoyed quite a bit back when I was taking piano lessons so many moons ago, but I'm less familiar with Schubert and Mendlessohn. They exist in a nebulous zone of generic classical music with others who failed to catch my attention. Still, free tickets, with a wine and cheese reception afterward, should we feel the need to stay and chat with anyone. It should be a nice change of pace, if nothing else.