November comes...
"November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.
With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.
The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring."
- Clyde Watson
I love poetry. One of my favorite modern poets is Clyde Watson, a Scottish native who writes children's books with his sister. What I love about this poem in particular is that Clyde recognizes all of the wonder of the little things about November in the colder climate areas. His little poem is a romantic favorite, mostly because it hits all of my favorite little points about November.
I love the red berries of the Spindle Shrub and the Ornamental Cranberry, or even in a Red Berry Crumble Pie, which is easy and delicious, especially when topped off with a scoop of ice cream!
We just had Daylight Savings, so night does come earlier, dawn comes later, and I no longer have the friendly summer sun peeking through me bedroom window to wake me a scant ten minutes before the alarm was about to go off anyway. That is something I do miss, because I enjoy waking to the warmth of the sun. My cold weather bonus? I know there will be little skins of ice frozen over small puddles. Even now, with my children grown into adults, we go on walks together, searching for these small iced-over spots where we can crack the ice with the heels of our shoes. Why we get such pleasure out of this, I cannot say; but we compete to see who can find a frozen puddle, then who gets there to crack the ice first.
Frost on the leaves, early in the morning; frost on our breath in the cool of the day. Have you ever watched the breath come out of people? It is different - when they talk, when they breath; my favorite breath is when people laugh, because the cloud shoots out of their mouth, an exclamation point to the joy in their hearts.
Although I do not have a fireplace, my kettle does sing, as I switch from summer coffee to Pomegranate Tea. I stand at the kitchen window and look out at the backyard garden, which is in the process of pulling the cover of leaves up to its chin, and settling down to rest until the arrival of Spring.
RED BERRY CRUMBLE PIES
12 oz package mixed red berries
2 tsp rosewater (see rosewater recipe, below)
1/8 cup sugar (or bakeable sugar substitute)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt (try Sea Salt or Fleur de Sel)
1. Heat over to 400 degrees F.
2. Brush 4 ramekins (about 4" wide) with butter
3. Divide the berries between the 4 ramekins. Sprinkle with the rose water and white sugar.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, and butter. Rub the mixture between your fingers until it has the texture of crumbles.
5. Cover the berries with the crumble mix and sprinkle with some more of the brown sugar and just a little of the Sea Salt. Press it down slightly.
6. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the crumble starts to bubble and the top is nicely browned.
7. Serve warm! Make it extra special with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, decorated with a fresh mint leaf!
Serves 4!
HOME BREWED ROSEWATER
Ingredients:
2-3 quarts fresh roses or rose petals
Water
Ice cubes or crushed ice
1. In the center of a large pot with an inverted lid (a rounded lid), place a fireplace brick. On top of the brick place a bowl (heat safe stainless steel, or glass baking bowl). Put the roses in the pot; add enough flowers to reach the top of the brick. Pour in just enough water to cover the roses. The water should be just above the top of the brick.
2. Place the lid upside down on the pot. Turn on the stove and bring the water to a rolling boil, then lower heat to a slow steady simmer. As soon as the water begins to boil, toss two or three trays of ice cubes (or a bag of ice) on top of the lid.
3. You’ve now created a home still! As the water boils the steam rises, hits the top of the cold lid, and condenses. As it condenses it flows to the center of the lid and drops into the bowl. Every 20 minutes, quickly lift the lid and take out a tablespoon or two of the rose water. It’s time to stop when you have between a pint and a quart of water that smells and tastes strongly like roses.
You can use this for cooking and baking (Greeks use it in lots) and it's also great as a toner for fair and dry skin!
