AUTUMN

12x12 oil CW Larson

 How I love this time of year!  October officially starts mid-week and autumn is finally here.  We expect a week of cooler temps in the 60's...my kind of weather.  I enjoy changing out the flower pots to reflect fall colors...yellow mums, purple cabbages, and cornstalks.  Truly there is something so joyful in setting a pumpkin (or two) at the front door!

And it's the one time of year I can display the pumpkins I have painted on canvas, one with a few warts, and one quite gnarly!!

12x12 oil CW Larson

My sons had a favorite Halloween poem when they were children:

  Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate. 

The first one said, "Oh my it's getting late."

The second one said,"There are witches in the air."    

The third one said, "I don't care!"

The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run."

The fifth one said, "I'm ready for some fun!"

Woo- ooo went the wind

And out went the light

And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

by Reid at age 7

CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE-CHIP COOKIES (based on a recipe from David Lebovitz's "Ready For Dessert")

 
To say these cookies are chocolately chocolate-chip is an understatement!!  While they bake, watch them carefully because you want to remove them from the oven while they still feel molten and are barely cooked around the edges.....and eat one (or two) before they cool completely!

CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE-CHIP COOKIES

1 pound bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

4 large eggs, at room temp

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Add the chopped chocolate and butter to a double boiler to melt,( or melt in a microwave.)

In small bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt.

Using a mixer with whisk attachment, whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla on high until a well-defined ribbon forms when the beater is lifted, about 5 min.  With mixer running on low, mix in the chocolate-butter mixture until thoroughly incorporated, then stir in flour mixture followed by the chocolate chips.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment and drop generous Tbsp. size dough, 1 inch apart.  Bake rotating sheets until edges feel just slightly firm, about 9 min.

Let cookies cool on the baking sheets until firm enough to handle, then transfer to wire rack.