thoughts of fall

I cannot believe how fast this summer has flown by. I think that every year, but for some reason this particular summer has left me wondering where it went. It's especially apparent today, a 60 degree Sunday morning, that summer is on it's way out. I'm sure we'll have a few more 80 or 90 degree days popping up here and there, but I think it's safe to say fall is here.

I'm so excited for the fall, the older I get the more I love the changing of the seasons; so much good comfort food to be made, so many new recipes to try. What better way to spend a rainy cold Sunday than baking and filling the house with delicious aromas? I think I'll be making black bean soup, crusty bread with garlic, granola for the week and perhaps an oatmeal cake (my mom's recipe and my favorite "fall" taste).

For now though, I will leave you with a taste of summer; a recipe for Cherry Tomato Quinoa. It's something we threw together last week for dinner - quick, easy and delicious. A great recipe for all your garden fresh tomatoes!

Cherry Tomato Quinoa

• 3 cups cooked couscous* (we used quinoa)
• 1/2 a basket of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 medium cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas (we used canellini)
• 1 lemon, cut in half
• 1 lime, cut in half
• about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (we didn't use this much)
• fine grain sea saltf
• reshly ground pepper
• 1/3 cup basil or cilantro, chopped (we used basil)
• 1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Combine the quinoa, tomatoes, cucumber, and chickpeas in a large bowl. Squeeze the lemon and lime juice directly into the bowl, add the olive oil, salt and pepper - adjust amounts to your liking. Toss well.

Add the basil and feta and toss gently until it is evenly dispersed.

recipe adapted from 101cookbooks.com