a perfect time to cozy up in a chair and read a wonderful book.
Frances Mayes latest novel "Women in Sunlight" is set in Tuscany
it revolves around a group of women who are renting a Villa
exploring new possibilities...
I am enjoying the descriptions of the food, wines and the countryside
if you liked Frances Mayes previous books this one will not disappoint!
The dahlias are providing us with some bright colour on this misty morning.
When the weather changes and the skies turn to grey
I opt for pops of colour to infuse energy and positivity.
I do not grow dahlias in our garden.
The road side stands and local farmers markets
are a great place to find these colourful gems...
many varieties all so different and some the size of a dinner plate!
We went beach combing on Pender Island last weekend
look what we found!
A HUGE amount of beach glass
a few pieces of porcelain
The aqua vintage Mason jar on the left
was empty
waiting
for a few pieces and now its almost half full!
We invited dear friends to share the cottage with us this past weekend...
we had oodles of fun
both my husband and I remarked that we had not laughed so much in a very long time.
"A good laugh heals a lot of hurts."
~ Madeleine L’Engle ~
Last night I roasted a chicken in the oven
it was so tasty that I want to share the recipe...
Roast chicken
Wash a roasting chicken inside and out then dry with paper towel.
Cut a whole lemon in half and stick inside the cavity add a few cloves of garlic
lightly baste the outside of the chicken with olive oil
sprinkle with a generous amount of fresh pepper
then lay a few sprigs of fresh rosemary on top
Roast in a moderate oven (325) for about and hour and a half.
Make a simple gravy with the drippings
whisk in some flour and stock.
I served our chicken with roasty potatoes and fresh green beans.
It was a wonderfully comforting meal...
I am planning on making some soup with the leftovers.
Hope that your week is off to a great start.
Thank you for popping by The Humble Bungalow Blog.
~ Be Well and Be Kind ~
25 comments:
How lovely: the flowers, the beach glass, the recipe, the friends. It is still quite warm here and I regretted turning on the oven for dinner, especially since we no longer make an effort to keep the house cool. We get surprised late in the afternoon when it seems hot.
There are few things as enriching as an evening of laughter with good friends.
I always enjoy hearing your book recommendations - thank you. I have a book to recommend: Cambridge Blue by Alison Bruce. First in a series - murder mystery. Recommended by Margaret from Devon Dreaming blog and I concur with her recommendation. That aqua beach glass is a beautiful color. Those dahlias! Wow!
Your dahlias are very pretty. Love the bright, cheerful colors. It is beginning to feel Fall like and darkness starts to close in at about 7 PM, where it used to be very light at 8 PM. I like Fall. Your roast chicken sounds delicious and a soup to follow sounds great. Beach glass is never found on our beaches. I think it is a sign that plastic has replaced glass in our area. (Not all together good.) Years ago a friend's parents collected beach glass and filled very large bottles with the glass and created a table lamp. Your beach glass has very nice jewel tone colors. Susan
The beach glass is so pretty. I'm going to put a hold on Women in Sunlight and Cambridge Blue. Your chicken sounds easy and tasty. Daughter and I have decided to cook together every other week-end so we can share food. The dahlias, a book and a cozy chair sound great
to me!
Roast chicken is a wonderful meal, and I love the addition of Rosemary too. What fun you have on your beaches, finding those pretty pieces, which make such an attractive addition to the cottage decor. Have a lovely week.
Dahlias are so lovely and happy flowers
I've read Under Tuscan Sun long time ago and I liked it,so good to hear about her other books
Your beach glass collection is beautiful-when have you started?
Dottoressa
oops! Should have read more carefully, that you don't grow dahlias! I keep thinking they are so gorgeous at this time of year when I don't have much else in my garden, that I should grow some. Say, did my last comment make it through the ether? I was recommending "Dear Mrs. Bird" (highly recommending!). I read "Women in Sunlight" last week. It was a nice vacation - took me to a pleasant place.
I have had to open the doors here too when the oven is on.. dressing in layers is helping me as it’s muggy outside. The chicken soup steamed up the cottage and the doors needed to be opened again! My sweater is on again and off again!!!
Oh goodie a new mystery series! Thank you for sharing the title. I am looking forward to November when Louise Penny’s newest comes out! Just started a new book this afternoon Outline by Rachel Cusk...turns out it is the first in a trilogy...too early to tell if it’s a winner despite all the awards she has won.
Beach glass is not found on all our beaches either...seems the rocky beaches have more than the sandy ones. It surprises me how much plastic is found on our local beaches... community clean ups are organized to collect a lot of the plastic and litter. The soup turned out well...rich in flavour and I added some veggies to give it colour and more nutrients.
I love that idea of cooking together...there are groups of women in Victoria who are called Soup Sisters and they get together and chop and cook soups for the local soup kitchens.
The week is quickly flying by...here at the cottage there are rosemary bushes the size of small trees! I cannot believe how big they have grown! It feels like a Mediterranean garden zone...the lavenders are equally as large.
Take care.
Dottoressa the beach glass collection here was started about a year and a half ago...I have some jars at home from Victoria area beaches too. It is something I enjoy looking for when we walk along the seashore.
Women in Sunlight is a delightful read...hope you enjoy it.
I didn’t see your previous post...it must have been gobbled up in cyberspace. I must look out for Dear Mrs Bird...thank you for mentioning it to me.
I love a good roast chicken - I do mine the same way as yours. I love collecting beach glass too, you have a fantastic haul!
Roast Chicken was made here this week, too. Must be something in the air. It's so delicious and I love the leftovers. I made chicken broth with the bones, and froze some of it. Tonight we had soup with another portion of the broth. Dahlias are such beautiful and colourful flowers, perfect for this time of year.
I've placed a hold at the library on both of the books you mentioned. It's such a great service to be able to do so.
Enjoy your week!
We're spending one night over the weekend with friends on Pender Island. Maybe we'll find some sea glass, too.
Well, what a lovely weekend. Thank you for sharing the warmth, beauty and recipe.
Wonderful colours and a lovely weekend - it is hard to beat the combination of good friends and tasty food! Have you read the book, 'Enchanted April'? It is a favourite of mine and the story is also about a group of women who rent a house in Italy.
I have just taken a roast chicken flavoured with all those ingredients out of the oven! It smells wonderful.
The Dahlias are beautiful and they have reminded me to recommend a mystery series that I've just discovered - they are the "Darling Dahlias" by Susan Wittig Albert and I'm now on book 2 with books 3 and 4 waiting for me at the library. They concern a group of women from a gardening club called "The Darling Dahlias" as they live in Darling, Alabama and their patron was named Dahlia. The books take place during the Depression of the 1930's and are an interesting look into the lives of the women and their friendships - along with a good mystery in each book. I'm really enjoying them as a nice, light read.
I've read the book and seen the movie many times - truly wonderful.
Great minds think alike!
XO
Happy beach combing! Enjoy your weekend on Pender.
I love seeing your garden videos on Instagram!
Thank you for suggesting that mystery series I will look at the library.
The dahlias are lovely! So lush-looking. And a great beach glass haul. We find some here in Michigan but not nearly as bright. I am looking forward to it cooling down here so we can enjoy such things as roast chicken. It's in the 80s, and will be all week. We've had a gas fireplace installed (yay! no more building fires every day!) and I've bought a big faux fur blanket, so I'm ready to cozy up with some books. I'll check out your recommendation. Right now we've been binge-watching Netflix crime dramas. xo Deborah
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