Changes ahead

It took all summer to grow these fancy-leaf geraniums, but after the first hard frost they're history. I put them by the back door so we can enjoy them a little longer. 

34 degrees and raining hard in Seattle this morning. Miserable. It actually snowed around western Washington last night, taking everyone by surprise.

I get the La Nina and El Nino thing mixed up. We're expecting the one that makes colder than usual winters.  So much to look forward to this time of year.

Compensation for a bad weather day

But there's always food, and now the meat cooking game comes inside.  Braising, stewing, and good old frying.  Other than cooking on campfires, we didn't barbecue in our family, and steak was always fried in Mom's cast iron skillet.  I know my brother and sister still cook it that way, and done right, it's delicious. A thin cut t-bone is perfect.  Once the frying pan is red hot, they take only a few minutes each side. John and I usually share a thicker steak, but he got one all to himself last night which made him cheerful.

Since I was making a big mess of the stove anyway, I decided to go for it with a wine reduction sauce.  I poured about a third bottle of cab into the hot drippings. Yes, it splatters all over the place.

Then cooked down the wine to almost nothing...

And finished it off with a blob of butter.

Leaving about 6 tablespoons of utter deliciousness to top the steaks.

I also bought asparagus, grown and picked by our food friends south of the border. Imagine that, asparagus in November? How spoiled we are. The plates were cleaned pretty quick last night.

Once in a while, it's worth the gosh-awful mess.