Julie, Julia & Meg

This summer I read Julie & Julia and My Life in France. They both made me laugh. They both made me hungry. And they both made me want to cook.

But with record high temps outside and in my kitchen (there were several days where it was at least 84 degrees or higher in my kitchen) and that pretty much wiped out my desire to cook.

But it's cooler now and I'm ready to tap into that inspiration. I think it has something to do with fall. The cooler temps and colored leaves make me want to bake and make soups.

I got a little creative with the mass amounts of tomatoes I got from the garden. I decided I was going to whip up a sauce for our pasta. So with a couple of handfuls of tomatoes, some green onions from the garden and chives from the herb pot, I tossed them into the pan and cooked them down to a delightful topping.

And then I heard the peaches calling my name from the farmers market. So I whiped a tart from an old receipe (that I've saved forever but never actually made). It's from Real Simple. It calls for a pre-made pie crust, and while I do love baking, sometimes, you just need to fake it and use a pre-made pie crust, know what I mean? I also didn't have enough peaches so I improvised with a handfull or two (don't you like my great measuring systems?) of fresh raspberries.

I have to say, both dishes were quite divine. I think the ladies would be proud.

Here's to a return to the kitchen.