Cooking Again

For three weeks we were gone from Linderhof.    A fall vacation.    In the Spring we vacationed in Old England and in the Fall, it was New England.    A place neither of us had ever been but a place that I've always wanted to go for I've always loved Conneticut, admired Vermont, and swooned over New Hampshire.    One week of our vacation was a cruise to Maine and New Brunswick.    The rest we were "on our own" wandering through the New England states.

We were "on the road" and so meals were in diners and restaurants.   No cooking for we didn't have a permanent location.

It was a fun trip but it was also nice to get back home.    To retrieve Oliver from what we call The Doggy Hotel and what he calls "prison".      We arrived home late Monday night.   Monday night's dinner was our last on the road.

Tuesday was filled with unpacking and putting away, doing laundry and mail.     It was a busy day but I wouldn't have thought about getting take out or eating out for I wanted to be in the kitchen again.

But it called for a simple meal so Husband Jim grilled steaks and I baked some acorn squash -- the center filled with butter, salt and pepper and then real Vermont maple syrup brushed on just before serving.    A big salad completed this simple meal -- our first at home in three weeks.

We always eat dinner in the breakfast room.    Actually, it should be called the breakfastlunchanddinner room for the two of us eat all of our meals there.    The dining room is reserved for company.

A table set for two.

We always use real napkins and china even when it is just the two of us!    And we sit with Husband Jim at the head of the table and I next to him.    It's cozier, I think.

Candlelight adds romance to any meal.

And candles -- they're for fall, winter and spring when the night comes before dinner time.    There is something about dining by candlelight -- even if it is just the two of us.   It makes any meal special.

Garden begonias in a blue Spode pitcher make a perfect centerpiece.

And there are always flowers on the table.    It's the late fall garden but I picked some begonias from the planters.    I must admit that I've never done that before but they make a wonderful table flower.

Of course, we eat off blue and white!    For every meal!

Blue and white, of course.    The Asiatic Pheasant by Royal Staffordshire, hotel cutlery, a steak knife and a Pottery Barn "dish towel" napkin -- in the silver rings (of course).  

A perfect end to our first day home.

Even when it is just the two of us, a table nicely set with candles lit makes any meal special.

It's Thursday and I'm joining Susan for Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.