SAMHAIN IS UPON US...

DAMSON PLUM FLAUGNARDE (CLAFOUTIS) - FLAUGNARDE AUX QUETSCHES

September days have the warmth of summer in their briefer hours, but in their lengthening evenings a prophetic breath of autumn. The cricket chirps in the noontide, making the most of what remains of his brief life. The bumblebee is busy among the clover blossoms of the aftermath, and their shrill and dreamy hum hold the outdoor world above the voices of the song birds, now silent or departed.
-   September Days by Rowland E. Robinson, Vermont.

September's baccalaureate
A combination is of crickets - crows - and retrospects
And a dissembling breeze
That hints without assuming -
An innuendo sear
That makes the heart put up its fun
And turn philosopher.
-   Emily Dickinson, September's Baccalaureate

August ended on a bright, balmy and estival note, but as we were entering September the weather decided to take an abrupt turn when summer silently sneaked out through the back door like some secret lover on a undercover mission. Without much fuss, it shyly bid us farewell and quietly tiptoed away; as if its joyful presence and warm embrace had not mattered to us, it eclipsed itself, never to be seen again.

Autumn, that artfully cheeky little opportunist of a trickster swiftly and discretely replaced our beloved summer and immediately made itself comfortable. Similarly to a fearsome king marking his territory, fall entered the scene dramatically and imperially. Fierce thunderbolts, tempestuous northern winds and torrents of water accompanied his boisterous arrival.

October, baptize me with leaves! Swaddle me in corduroy and nurse me with split pea soup. October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins. O autumn! O teakettle! O grace!
- Rainbow Rowell, Attachments

You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you died each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintery light. But you knew there would always be the spring, as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen. When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person died for no reason.
- Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

The change was so unexpected and radical that it shocked us all. Now that capricious october has fully kicked in and Samhain is nearing, thick fog blankets obscure the sky till noon, the world is filled with chilly warmth (temperatures rarely reach 18°C/64° F in the afternoon), sun rays gracefully bathe the landscapes in a golden glow, light's decline is becoming more palpable every evening, melancholic quietness fills the air, snow returns to the mountains and suddenly, I find myself craving comforting casseroles as well as warm drinks and prefer to sit indoors rather than on my balcony (unless it is for a short coffee break - in order to aerate my head).

Despite being an unconditional admirer of the fiery season, it is with a heavy heart and a lot of nostalgy that I mourn the death of our late radiant and frivolous dandy. We had so much fun in each other's company, however our time together was far too short. Hence it is difficult to accept the fact that, after barely 8 weeks of continuous heat and sunshine, the grim and colder days are once more back and we'll have to wait another long 6 to 7 months before we can frolick in the grass and have a drink on a terrace - sans jacket, sweater or coat - again.

Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest.
- Douglas Jerrold

Anyway, this time of the year is also my favorite as it is that of the harvest and for our biggest pleasure, many sensational fruits and vegetables reappear on the market stalls. It is a period of abundance and plentifulness during which our plates are well-garnished and dishes are colorful (earthly tones of orange, brown, red, purple, yellow and green invite themselves to the dinning table), hearty as well as flavorful.

One of my most cherished perennial produces is unquestionably the Swiss plum. I am totally addicted to this violet fruit and can never get enough of its incomparable exquisiteness and versatility. Unfortunately, the "prunneau" picking period doesn't last very long, so I try my best to make the most out of this delicacy while it is still available. Clafoutis, cakes, foccacie, jams, trifles, compotes, puddings, muffins, crumbles, you name it, from late August to the end of October, there isn't one dessert I'll not make with quetsches!

Sadly for me, plum cropping is slowly coming to an end and the mighty apple will soon take its turn under the spotlight and become the star in my kitchen. So in order to appropriately say goodbye to damsons (my most treasured variety), I have decided to share with you a flaugnarde (also known as flagnarde, flognarde or flougnarde) recipe inspired by the talented Jamie Schler at "Life's A Feast".

I am a big fan of this lady's fabulous bakes and delightful prose, and whenever I visit her blog a strike of creativity hits me. This generally leads me to getting into a productive state and artistic frenzy. Thus, after admiring her incredibly enticing "Flognarde (Clafoutis) Aux Pommes", ideas started to flood my brain and I felt the urge to create my own funky version of this French classic (Jamie's interpretation of it is original too).

Commonly, this speciality always contains plain flour only and apart from vanilla, another flavor is rarely added to the preparation. Anyhow, I'm a transgresser of rules who doesn't enjoy culinary rigidity or lack of imagination and it is for that very reason that I took the liberty of adding coconut flour, orange rind puree and Grand-Marnier to the batter.

My "Damson Plum Flaugnarde" turned out wonderfully and since then, I have baked it at least once a week (it is our official movie night treat). Hopefully you'll adore it as much as we do...

Damson Plum Flaugnarde
Recipe by Rosa Mayland.

Makes 1 flaugnarde - serves 4-6.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups (360ml) of Milk
3 Big (~63g) Eggs
1/4 Cup + 1 Tbs (73g) Light brown sugar
1/4 Cup Castor Sugar (53g + some extra sugar for sprinkling)
1/2 Cup (64g) All-purpose flour
2 Tbs (30g) Coconut flour
1 Tsp Pure vanilla extract
1/3 Tsp Orange rind puree
2 Tbs Orange liquor (Cointreau or Grand-Marnier)
2 Tbs Oil (neutral)
8-10 Damson plums, stoned and halfed
Icing sugar, to decorate

 Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200° C (400° F).
2. Over medium heat, bring the milk to a light simmer, then set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugars until pale in color and foamy.
4. Add the flours, vanilla extract, orange rind puree, liquor and oil. Whisk until smooth.
5. Gradually whisk in the warm milk.
6. Pour the mixture into a buttered round 8-9" (20-22cm) pie dish.
7. Drop the plums into the batter and sprinkle with a little extra sugar.
8. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the flaugnarde is puffed and golden.
9. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve.

Remarks:
The coconut flour can be replaced with the same amount of all-pupose flour and the brown sugar with the same quantity of castor sugar.
If you don't like orange rind or liquor, then you can use lemon zest and Limoncello instead.

Serving suggestions:
Eat warm or at room temperature and serve alone or with a scoop of ice cream (vanilla, pecan, walnut, caramel, etc...).

Flaugnarde Aux Quetsches
Recette par Rosa Mayland.

Pour 1 flaugnarde, 4-6 personnes.
 
Ingrédients:
360ml de Lait
3 Gros (~63g) Oeufs
73g de Sucre de canne fin
53g de Sucre fin cristallisé (+ un peu de sucre supplémentaire pour saupoudrer)
64g de Farine blanche
30g de Farine de noix de coco
1 CC d'Extrait de vanille pure
1/3 CC de Zeste d'orange en purée
2 CS de Liqueur d'orange (Cointreau ou Grand-Marnier)
2 CS d'Huile (neutre)
8-10 Quetsches/prunes, dénoyautées et coupées en deux
Sucre glace, pour décorer

Méthode:
1. Préchauffer le four à 200 ° C.
2. À feu moyen, porter le lait à frémissement léger, puis le mettre de côté.
3. Dans un bol, fouetter ensemble les oeufs et les sucres, jusqu'à ce que le mélange soit pâle et mousseux.
4. Ajoutez les farines, l'extrait de vanille, le zeste d'orange, la liqueur et l'huile. Fouetter afin d'obtenir un consistance lisse et homogène.
5. Incorporer graduellement le lait chaud, tout en continuant de bien fouetter l'appareil.
6. Verser le mélange dans un moule à pie beurré (20-22cm).
7. Déposez les quetsches/prunes dans la pâte et saupoudrez le dessus de la flaugnarde avec un peu de sucre.
8. Cuire au four pendant 35-40 minutes, jusqu'à ce que la flaugnarde soit gonflée et dorée.
9. Saupoudrer de sucre glace et servir.

Remarques:
La farine de noix de coco peut être remplacée par de la farine blanche et la cassonade par du sucre fin cristallisé.
Si vous n'aimez pas le zeste ou la liqueur d'orange, alors vous pouvez utiliser du zeste de citron et du Limoncello à la place.

Suggestion de présentation: 
Cette flaugnarde peut être mangée chaude ou à température ambiante et servie sans accompagnement ou avec une boule de glace (vanille, noix de pécan, noix, caramel, etc...).

BLACK AND WHITE WEDNESDAY #102 - HE WHO EATS A LOT

- My Beloved Food Snob -

This picture was submitted to "Black & White Wednesday", an event created by Susan at "The Well-Seasoned Cook" and which will be hosted on the 23rd of October by her (click here in order to see who is hosting the next roundup).

A PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY - ZWEISIMMEN TRAIN STATION

BLACK AND WHITE WEDNESDAY #101 - MAKING THE BEST OUT OF AUTUMN

- Sweet Fall Indulgence -

This picture was submitted to "Black & White Wednesday", an event created by Susan at "The Well-Seasoned Cook". It will be hosted on the 16th of October by Urvashi at "Building Homemaker" (click here in order to see who is hosting the next roundup).

LENK, ONE OF MY FAVORITE PLACES ON EARTH & NOVICA GIVEAWAY WINNER

Many thanks to all of you for entering my third NOVICA giveaway. I was delighted to read your lovely comments and to see that so many people from all over the world took part in it. Your participation really means a lot to me...

I am very happy to announce that the lucky winner is YELENA STROKIN of "Cooking Melangery". Congratulations, you just won a 75$ NOVICA gift certificate!!!

BLACK AND WHITE WEDNESDAY #100 - THE ESSENCE OF AUTUMN

- Full Of Promise -

This picture was submitted to "Black & White Wednesday", an event created by Susan at "The Well-Seasoned Cook". It will be hosted on the 9th of October by Cinzia at "Cindystar" (click here in order to see who is hosting the next roundup).

NOVICA REVIEW & GIVEAWAY

Those of you who enjoy my blog and are acquainted with me know that I am an honest person with values, principles, ideals and an acute sense of integrity. This is why I take my role as a "influential" blogger seriously, refuse to bullshit my trusty followers and exclusively associate myself with brands I can relate to.

As a matter of fact, I regularly turn down offers as I'm very exclusive/picky in my selection. My desire is not to brainwash you with cheap adverts for useless knacks or tacky bric-a-brac. All I want to do is showcase items that have a real value to my eyes and which I can present to you without feeling like a complete sell-out or a vulgar whore running after freebies or a few easily earned coins...

Now that we have cleared this point, I wish to talk to you about NOVICA, a US-based company with whom I have previously collaborated twice (in 2011 and 2012) and whose business etiquette is fully compatible with my beliefs. 

I embrace their philosophy and truly adore their goods, hence when they contacted me for the third time and proposed to organize another giveaway, there was no way I was going to refuse the opportunity of making one of my readers a lucky winner and treating myself to one of their exquisite and irresistible objects.

What I really like about them is that they are different and fight to promote an alternative. NOVICA wants to provide us with access to unique, hard-to-find items at bargain prices that only the internet infrastructure can allow. Their aim is to give artisans around the world a global platform where they have the possibility to express their true artistic talents as well as spur their creativity and forge ties with the buyers.

In association with THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, this fairtrade and eco-friendly organization's purpose is to establish a revolutionary system through which small producers (the team comes from different cultures, countries and language sets - Andes, Bali & Java, Brazil, Central America, India, Mexico, Thailand and West Africa) can display their fine works to an international audience of prospective customers.

NOVICA does not charge artists any fees for listing their items on the website. Furthermore, they remain thouroughly independent (free to raise or lower their prices and remove their items from the website). By cutting out the long strings of middlemen, NOVICA allows both consumers and craftspersons to get the most out of each and every transaction. In addition, customers have the chance to help the artisans by making a interest-free loan (microfinance service) directly to them.

They sell a vast array of products ranging from home decor (furniture, tableware, sculptures, tapestries, etc...), fashion and jewelry (women's clothing, women's accessories, men's clothing, men's accessories, men's scarves, women's scarves, short dresses, Peruvian Chrysocolla jewelry, pearl drop earrings, etc...) to paintings (abstract, religious, landscapes, etc...) and also specialise in corporate as well as green gifts. Perfect if you want to spoil yourself or others!

As you can imagine it was very difficult for me to choose something from their catalogue as there are so many wonderful items to pick from. Anyway, being a big fan of South American art, a food enthusiast who loves handmade tableware and a photographer with a soft spot for pretty props, I decided to order a set of four delicately manufactured and enchantingly colorful Talavera soup bowls made by Pedro Alba from Mexico.
 
The merchandise was fastly shipped (I placed my order on a Tuesday evening and my parcel arrived on Friday) and everything came to destination in mint condition (extremely well-packed).

After a very long session of packet opening, I finally discovered the objects of my longings. For a few seconds, I stood there breathless and incredulously gawping at my flawless, refined, elegant and beautiful ceramic bowls (they look even better than on the photos). How on earth did I manage to get my hands on such gems, I asked myself in disbelief. I felt like a kid in a candy store and bubbles of happiness were dancing in my heart. A dream had come true...

GIVEAWAY
One 75$ gift certificate.

Rules and Entry Details:
- You must leave a COMMENT in the comment section of this post (one entry per person).
- Winner will be chosen using the "hat method".
- Winner will be notified via email (please leave your e-mail adress if you don't have a blog).
- This giveaway is open WORLDWIDE (please check NOVICA's International Shipping Table to know if they can ship to your country).
- The contest closes on the 4th of October 2013 at 12pm CEST.

Statement:
This giveaway is provided to you by NOVICA. Please note that I only promote things that stay true to my tastes, convictions and interests. The opinions expressed on Rosa's Yummy Yums are purely my own and based upon my personal experiences with NOVICA. I was given a gift certificate, however I was not paid to publish a positive review.

BLACK AND WHITE WEDNESDAY #99 - A WONDERFUL GIFT

- Ligurian Croxetti/Corzetti Stamp -

Thank you so much Susan!!! You are such a kind and attentionate friend (check out her recipe for croxetti here)...

This picture was submitted to "Black & White Wednesday", an event created by Susan at "The Well-Seasoned Cook". It will be hosted on the 2nd of October by Priya at "The Humpty Dumpty Kitchen" (click here in order to see who is hosting the next roundup).

A PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY - HERMANCE, A CHARMING VILLAGE