Red Petal Among Green

A red carnation petal fell into my creeping phlox. Creeping phlox blooms in the spring.

If you want to see my sukkah decorations, I put them in the previous post called Sukkot in Highland Park.

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Nature Notes: Early Fall Backyard

I really would have liked to have photographed some of the blue jays I saw yesterday. Instead, here’s a rudbeckia from a yard in which I emphasized the blue background with Photoshop.

When I put this photo of tiny asters on my computer, I noticed a tiny flying insect enjoyed the flowers even more than I did.

Ugly red berries (maybe you like them?) are growing on a tree in my backyard.

I finally filled my bird feeder again. I left it alone all summer, as birds seem to love my compost in the summer. But I’m trying to get in the habit of filling it, so in the winter the birds will know they can show up for a nosh. This sparrow seems to have already helped himself – do you think he is digesting his meal before flying off? Or is that only something humans do?

Next week is Sukkot and the week after Simhat Torah-Shemini Atzeret, so I won’t have much time for blogging or Nature Notes. On Sukkot we do have some contact with nature – in particular, we sit outside in a sukkah for all our meals. One can see see the stars through the roof of the sukkah (assuming it’s a clear night). Can any of my Jewish friends explain to my non-Jewish readers a few other natural elements of Sukkot?

Warm Quinoa Pilaf

The inspiration for this quinoa pilaf recipe was a quinoa recipe in the New Jersey Jewish News called Quinoa Salad with Pomegranate Seeds. I was planning to make it on Rosh Hashana; however, the pomegranates I bought were sadly under-ripe and the seeds bitter instead of sweet, so I chose to simplify the pilaf and use only sauteed onion and celery for flavoring. The recipe also called for walnuts, and we don’t eat nuts on Rosh Hashana (not everyone follows this custom). So I will post a list of optional ingredients for your quinoa pilaf at the end of this recipe post. My pilaf recipe follows what was on the Roland box more closely than the newspaper quinoa salad recipe.

Why Quinoa?

If you find yourself making rice for many meals, why not substitute quinoa at times? Quinoa has a delicious, mild flavor and cooks in 15 minutes flat–more quickly than rice. It supposedly richer than rice in protein, fiber, magnesium and calcium, and it is gluten free. I felt fortunate to find a box that was pre-washed (for Central Jersey locals, it was Roland brand in Stop and Shop with an O-U certification). Otherwise, one has to rinse off the naturally occurring bitter coating known as saponin. An advantage to quinoa is Ashkenazim may eat this grain on Pesach, so you will find me linking to this post in the month before Passover.

Quinoa Pilaf: The Main Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1 tsp. olive oil (or use coconut oil)
• 1 stick chopped celery
• 1 chopped onion

Optional Ingredients

• chopped carrots – add with onions
• chopped zucchini – add with onions
• chopped or crushed garlic – add with onions
• salt and/or pepper to taste – add with onions
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• fresh herb (dill, oregano, basil) – add toward the end
• 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds – add at the very end
• 1/4 cup craisins (dried cranberries) – add at the very end
• 1/3 cup walnuts
• 1 chopped scallion

Quinoa Pilaf: The Recipe

Assuming you have already rinsed the quinoa, boil 2 cups of water with or without a bit of salt, then add the quinoa. Saute the onions and celery (or not – you can just add chopped celery without the sauteing, if you prefer – the newspaper version just had you mixing in the celery with walnuts and olive oil). Mix with the quinoa and with any other optional ingredients (the newspaper version used craisins, pomegranate seeds and lemon juice). May be served with scallions on top.

I like the recipe warm, but I found it tasted OK cold as well. Also, I was able to reheat the dish easily.

More quinoa recipes:

• Pragmatic Attic: Ruby Red Quinoa Salad
• Crunchy Quinoa Salad (Klara’s recipe)

Or maybe you want to try millet: Millet with Carrots and Zucchini

Dates – Symbol for Rosh Hashana

Here’s what one says on the siman (symbol) of the date:

May it be your will, LORD our God and God of our fathers,
that those who hate us be ended (yitamu – from tamar, dates in Aramaic)

Would you go on a date with a girl named Tamar? Tamar is the Hebrew word for date, so you can play with words and come up with some funny phrases.

If you are getting ready for Rosh Hashana, you may want to read this post:
Symbols for Sweet New Year – the Simanim to double check if you got everything you need.

Apple Picking in New Jersey

Last Sunday we went apple picking at Lee Turkey Farm in East Windsor, New Jersey. The previous September we picked apples at Terhune Orchards near Princeton.

Our first stop was Von Thun Farm in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey; however, they did not feature apple picking until the next Sunday. So we proceeded unto Lee Turkey Farm, which also has a corn maze and pick your own corn. My daughter and her friends enjoyed watching the chickens for a while.

No real reds in this photo, but I loved the rushed look of my daughter running through the corn maze at Lee Turkey Farm.

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