I’ve got some good things for you Girlfriends!!! MUSICA
Oh, how I’m loving October! 🍂 Weather has totally changed on the island, summer is a thing of the distant past. We’ve had two Nor’easters recently, wild wind and rain out of nowhere . . . ferry boat was stopped, we’ve been cut off, out here alone, leaves flying by the windows. My favorite. Light the candles, make a fire, cook, and cozy-in to the quiet. With Jack. And Joe.💞
Look at me! After three months of an out-of-order broken wrist, I’m painting again!
I wasn’t sure I’d still know how! I’ve started working on the 2021 calendars (yes, 2021 😜, try not to think about it). As you can see Jack has been lending support. I’m still going to Occupational Therapy once a week, working to get all that luv-lee flexibility back. But I’m sooo much better. Lifting little weights! See that writing up there? Now look at this:
This is a shopping list I wrote with my left hand a couple of months ago! I told my brain, “MAKE A ‘G'”, but my brain said, “Is that a right turn or a left?” This took HUGE concentration! I kind of liked it!
Still eating healthy, and still loving it. Doesn’t that look delicious? Well, it was! Best words I ever told myself about losing weight? “I don’t care how long it takes, I’m doing it.” Very powerful. As they say in the Biz, “It’s a Lifestyle Change.”
Here’s a wonderful little healthy snack. If you are a homey cottage-cheese lover like I am (and many aren’t for good reason ➡️), there is nothing nastier than the milky wet cottage cheese you find in so many grocery stores. So I have something new for you to try. Look for Friendly Farms Cottage Cheese. It’s heavenly. Sturdy and creamy. Not drowning in milky wetness!! Available in tons of places. Perfect to put on crackers, or, like above, on buttered, toasted Ezekiel Bread, sprinkled with seeds, nuts, salt and pepper! Sprouts taste good on it too. It’s a treat!😋
Yes, it’s that time of year for Carrot Cake! Lots of Birthday’s around here lately . . . and Saturday is Rachel’s Birthday! 😘😘😘 Sending love to you Ray ~ I really wish you could help yourself (all of you!) to a piece of this! I won’t be a bit surprised if they figure out how to do that someday! Wish they’d hurry! You can wish Rachel a Happy Birthday here in the comment section, OR, write her on Twitter, HERE!❤️
You’ll recognize the recipe for the three-layer carrot cake I took to Jaime’s house for a birthday party . . . I forgot how good it is! Everyone loved it!
If you’ve never tried to make a carrot cake, you really should! It comes together so easily, and it’s filled with fruit and nuts! Right, Jack? Right!
Here I am at the party, sitting on the floor in front of the fire, among my oldest and dearest, toasting Joe through the crowd as he takes a nicely blurry photo of me!
In this one, I have the camera, so you can see what my view was from my floor position. People putting their rings around the candles, so everyone gets to make a wish.
My cake came in last and I was too busy cutting it to take pictures! I’ve made it lots of times, but usually, I just 
put frosting between layers and on top. This time I made extra frosting and did the sides. Decorated with chopped (green) pistachio nuts, a marigold from the garden, and strips of carrot peel I rounded at top with a knife, and made pointed at bottom. Isn’t it cute? I thought it looked like a happy circus cake! There were zero leftovers, no crumb went unattacked! You could do this!!!😘
The fans would love it! This recipe also makes amazing cupcakes. You can tint the cream-cheese frosting if you like.
All home-sweet-home this time of year. Hovering between 50º and 60º most days now. See our wisteria, so insidious, sneaking its way around everything, will crawl under a window and into the house if we aren’t careful! But very gracefully!
I love being a homebody. Garden is changing so fast . . . but we still have a few herbs, some nasturtiums, kale, lettuce, and a couple of tomatoes growing. A few rose buds and marigolds. No freeze yet, so we’re milking the garden for all it’s worth.
The wind blew our yard full of leaves . . .
And, btw, that Carrot cake recipe (and cupcakes) is in the book on the table! (Heart of the Home 30th Anniversary Edition.) If you make it, cool the cake before you put the frosting on!
Look at this! Fun with food! Joe cut into this radish and look what he found! Good enough to sell on eBay! (No, we won’t😅) Had to take a picture of it! Love the tail! Crazy radish bug!
And yes, Casper is back in his high spot, in the guest room on the second floor . . . looking out . . .
Over the neighborhood . . . he’s become a tradition, lighting up this window every October for years.
Cheering a stormy day, a harbinger of Halloween . . . he’s got a perfect view.
I wob him. When we go into downsize mode someday and sell this house, I hope the people who buy it will want Casper too! Because I know he will want to stay.🎃
There is something in October . . .🍂🍁🍂
Out on our walk, the bittersweet is wild!
Such a magical vine . . . invasive, they say, but what a way to go! We’ll be decorating around our front door with it!
The woods are prettier every day . . . we’ve had lots of sunny, crisp, and breezy days . . .
And the rainy days just make it better!
We just make a fire! Last night, girlfriends came over after Mahjong, we sat on the sofa and talked in the quiet, listened to the fire popping, clock ticking, wind blowing outside . . . 🍂🍁🍂
What’s up at the Studio? We’re getting new things all the time, I can’t quite keep up. Doing our best to make our web store one-stop shopping where you’ll find lots of little special things filled with ❤️ ~ with the holidays coming up so fast, it’s that time again!
Just in ~ our brand new Winter Dream Charm ~ like any starry night, you can make a wish for dreams come true.
And these too, precious house cut-outs ~ one of which is now sitting on my stove shelf. I tried it all over the house, on a window sill with my rusty birds, on the mantle with a candle behind it, there’s no bad place! It’s going to be gorgeous with my white Christmas trees!
SO, something else . . . There’s a new article featuring guess who? Me! in Edible Vineyard (the 2019 Harvest Issue), a wonderful island food magazine produced through the Martha’s Vineyard Times. It’s available everywhere here on the island . . . and I have to say, every article in it is interesting! Really well-written. Kind of like the New Yorker of food! I don’t know if the paper is selling them, but I’m sure you could ask.
On October 26, I’ll be speaking and signing books at the 
newly renovated and beautifully restored Carnegie Library on North Water Street in Edgartown, MA, from 2-3 pm, sponsored by the Vineyard Trust and Edgartown Books. It’s free! And they have a gift shop! 😜 I’ll bring signed copies of Edible Vineyard to give out! Come join us! And guess what? Kellee and Sheri will be there (Joe too!). They’re coming to stay with us for a few days next week, to get a little taste of New England fall!🍁 💃
The Edible article was beautifully written by Alisun Armstrong, photos by Lexi Pline. Quotes from the Fairy Tale Girl and Martha’s Vineyard Isle of Dreams. Recipes from the 30th Anniversary version of Heart of the Home and my Autumn Book.❤️
No reason for this photo, just loved the colors!
This too! I told you it was a huge Birthday Month . . . I also had a Birthday Party for Martha . . . this was the table setting. Very simple, purple flowers (Johnson Brothers WindsorWare plates) and plaid napkins on old bedspread, with hydrangeas from the garden.
Colorful! Girl Party! This whole lunch was scarily done without a recipe. When we were in Hudson, I tasted some fantastic things, spicy 
sweet-potato fingers with minted lemon sauce and a Coconut Cilantro Chutney (with hot peppers and garlic and ginger). I wrote down what I could, so I could try making it at home. I was nervous, realizing too late that this might not be the smartest way to do a birthday lunch, but it turned out GOOD. I served it with deviled eggs, minced red onion, and smoked salmon, and toasted walnut bread ~ with homemade Basil Ice Cream and Lemon Polenta Cake for dessert. My wrist allowed me to do everything except Joe chopped the onion and got that pretty green ice cream out of the freezer container! Pretty darn good!
And then there’s this! Because I couldn’t find them on the Island, I had to make them. Since they’re not here, I imagine you may not be able to find them either, so I thought this recipe could come in handy, for Apple Cider Donuts! They’re easy! They bake in the oven like a cake! You have to have them!🍁
So Here’s what I did . . . first off, on the stove, out of sight, is a pan filled with Apple Cider (the plain, non-alcoholic kind) boiling down to a syrup (don’t worry, I’ll put the recipe at the end of the post). Then I buttered the donut pans with melted butter and set them aside. Don’t have donut pans? Stay tuned . . .
I lightened the flour by stirring it with a whisk so I wouldn’t have to sift it. Then I measured it out lightly and put it in a medium bowl . . .
and whisked it together with baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.
In another large bowl, I whisked together egg, milk, vanilla, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
whisking . . .
. . . adding in the reduced cider . . . whisking until it was blended.
Then, because it’s too difficult to get the dough neatly into the tiny donut pans with a spoon, I poured the batter into a plastic bag …
. . . then squeezed the messy thing down to get most of the batter in the bottom of the bag,
then I twisted it up at the top, and cut off a tiny bit of corner, so the batter would come out in a controllable manner.
. . . and Voila . . . into the oven they go!
While they baked, I melted some butter and mixed together sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon for coating the donuts when they were done.
And here they are, hot from the oven. I slipped a tiny spatula around them and they came out like buttah.
I dipped them, tops and bottoms in melted butter, and laid them into bowl with the sugar and spice . . .
Spooned over sugar, pressed it in, until they were well coated. Pushing Joe, get away. no touching. Oh, poor baby, okay, eat one. Gimmie a bite.💋
I wrapped the rest of them in an old linen bridge-table tablecloth, put them in a basket and walked over to lowely’s for Mahjong . . . we start with tea, and yesterday, with donuts still warm from the oven!
The recipe made six large donuts and ten small ones. So, who wants to make donuts? Leave a comment, we’ll have a drawing, and the winner will receive the exact tins I baked these donuts in! Two tins, used once only, they’re festive, they have red bottoms, together they make six large donuts and a dozen little ones . . . there are more in our web store, just in cases. And I’m including a package of holiday recipe cards!
I’ll toss in a signed copy of Edible Magazine too…
So that’s it . . . sunshine through blowing leaves, through kitchen windows, sliding across the stove, weaves through sugar-donut fragrance, skips along the floor, over the table, dancing fairy-like over a bowl of apples, and shimmers onto our walls.
Our world sometimes feels upside-down, we can feel overwhelmed by daily happenings, making ends meet, meeting the needs of our beloveds, drains energy, there’s no rest for the weary or the worried! Dreaming of a better tomorrow? Let it show in everything you do. Let the things you value in life shine through, home, family, friends, the little things that make life sweet. Do stop and smell the flowers, run and catch a leaf in mid air. Watch an old movie with your petty pet. You’ll feel better, I promise. Kisses and blessings on you and yours. Take a deep breath . . . ahhhhh.
Don’t forget to leave your comment for the drawing! HERE is a little chart that shows you how to sign up to get this BLOG delivered to your email address.❤️
A P P L E C I D E R D O N U T S
Makes six large donuts and ten small ones.
Set out 1/2 c. whole milk and one egg to come to room temp. Slowly melt 1 1/2 c. (12 TB. or 1 1/2 sticks) butter (you’ll ned some to grease the pans, some for donut batter, and some for the topping). Put 1 1/2 c. non-alcoholic apple cider in small saucepan. Bring to boil, then simmer until liquid reduces to one-half cup. 👀 Watch it. Takes about 15 min. Set aside to cool. Use a pastry brush, butter the donut cups.
Preheat oven to 350º
- 2 c. all purpose flour, whisked to lighten, then measured
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. cloves
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 egg, room temp.
- 1/2 c. whole milk, room temp
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 TB. melted butter
- 1/2 c. reduced apple cider
- 1/2 c. dark brown sugar
- 1/3 c. granulated sugar
T O P P I N G
- 1 c. granulated sugar
- 3/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice*
- 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- the rest of the butter, put in shallow wide dish.
Preheat oven to 350º. In a med bowl, whisk together first 7 ingredients. Set aside. In large bowl, whisk the egg, then whisk in the rest of the ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet and whisk until smooth. Fill a large plastic bag with batter. This is messy. Once filled, hold it at top and squeeze batter down, twist the top so batter is pushed into bottom. With scissors cut a tiny corner off the bottom of the bag (not too much, you can always cut it bigger). Squeeze the batter into the donut cavities, filling about 2/3 full. Bake 10-12 min until they spring back when you poke them (I baked the small donuts slightly less time). Let cool 5 min in pans, Use a small spatula to loosen each one and turn them out onto tea-towel-covered cooling rack. While they are baking, make TOPPING: in a small bowl, mix together first 3 topping ingredients. Put the rest of the melted butter in a shallow dish. When donuts are cool enough to handle, dip tops and bottoms in melted butter, put them in the sugar mixture and spoon over generously, patting them so the mixture will hold on. Eat! Lovely in a cloth covered basket to bring to tea! Excellent with a cup of coffee!
*You can make your own PUMPKIN PIE SPICE for the topping, just add 1/2 tsp.nutmeg, 1/4 tsp.ground ginger, and 1/4 tsp. ground cloves to the cinnamon.
Dear Susan,
I am glad your wrist is better. Can’t wait to make apple cider donuts.
I’m so jealous of your rainy days…down here in Nashville, we’re a little dry…hopefully they’ll be some fall colors soon before they all dry up and wither away. Always love your posts. Thank you and you are appreciated. Question: do you use colored and white lights on your Christmas tree? We are a house divided on lights…is it possible to make everyone happy? Haha.
I D🍩nut cook,
but L🍩ve to read your recipes,
Your Thoughts and Blessings…
and see your Ph🍩t🍩s.
Greetings from toasty warm Arizona
I love your comment!
Me too! 🍂🎃🍂
Oh My Goodness…I LOVE that picture of the bittersweet! You can’t find it in the south (Atlanta) and I have to make a trip every fall home to Indiana to buy bittersweet for my kitchen counter or it just isn’t fall!
Cider donuts sound soooo good; can’t wait to try! Such a wonderful fall food!
I loved this post (as usual!). I too am pretty much a homebody—thanks for making me feel normal😉. So thankful you can paint again & I love how Jack watches you! Congrats on being in Edible Vineyard—would LOVE to read that 🤞.
Mary in Georgia
… don’t forget the recipe! Loved the post and being wrapped up in fall and all it’s sights and smells while reading. Thank you as always Susan. Blessings- Pam
It’s up!
I love warm donuts – and kitties – and fireplaces. Thanks!
Your blogs always makes my day, cozy in your house while it rains, maybe still with the lingering smell of the donuts…my imagination is in high gear! Glad your wrist is healing nicely. Happy Fall!
Thank you so much for the Apple Cider Donut recipe! I can never seem to find any of them even when we travel to the Northeast in fall🍁.
Donuts and carrot cake in one blog! What more can anyone want? ( except maybe to win a donut pan from you!). Congrats on the spread in “Edible Vineyard”. Glad your wrist is getting better, too!
Very nice post today. Would love to try any of those recipes….and win the drawing.
Yummy doughnuts and such pretty pans to bake them in! So glad your wrist is doing better. It’s been pouring rain here on the west coast (the wet coast) and the leaves are dripping off the trees. It’s time for coziness, for sure.
As always, you inspire me!
I’ve been doing the ‘eat healthy’ routine as you have been showing us – and it is paying off with a few pounds G O N E (19.7 to be exact).
It has been easier as I’ve gone along – but I admit I like the occasional ‘treat’ and this cider donut recipe seems to be enough of a treat without all the frying, etc. usually associated with donuts. (I realize I’m strange, but I don’t care for sugar coatings – so I’d take mine straight – no sugar – just a dusting of the spices.) I can’t wait for the recipe!
I can smell those donuts as I scrolled down the page. No cider mills here as apples don’t grow in my state but I can pretend by making them. I sure will enjoy each morsel! Thank you.
Oh Susan! Perfect timing! I was just lamenting that there were no apple cider donuts being sold locally…and there you came through with your wonderful post and recipe. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and tummy where a donut will soon find a happy place. You’re the best!
Hi SUSAN
THANK YOU FOR THE LOVELY POST. I SO ENJOYED SEEJNG THE FALL COLOR SINCE I LIVE IN MIAMI AND THE AUTUMN FEEL IS NON EXISTENCE. I DECORATE MY HOUSE IN FALL TO ENJOY THE CHANGE
IN SEASON.
I would, love to make the donuts..do you know how to make them
Gluten free since I can’t eat wheat.
I loved all your books especially about your trip to england.
Wishing you a happy fall.
Janet perez
Google Red Mill and see if they have a recipe! I bet they do!
Those donuts look delicious!
Reading your post and looking at the lovely photos made ME feel all cozied in, even out here in sunny California! Love to see you painting, and glad to hear you’re on the mend! The cake and doughnuts and your healthy meal all look delicious. Love and thanks for sharing a bit of your world with us, dear Susan. I think we all really appreciate this escape into loveliness and even the little bit of spookiness!
Fall has always been my favorite season. So happy to see all the colors of autumn in your post, as here in New Mexico, it is sadly not quite as colorful. Lots of yellow, but none of the pretty reds of maples or oranges, unless someone has thoughtfully bought mums that color, rather than the typical yellow. Cider donuts sound wonderful. And your idea to go outside and inhale the crisp, cool air, then come back inside to smell the donuts is a wonderful one!
Sorry to see summer leave, but your autumn posts make me want to be a homebody again! Thank you for sharing yourself with all of us!
)MG, these look soooo yummy, and so glad your wrist is so much better–and you sound so like me as I too am loving OCTOBER—-thank you so very much for sharing your great ideas–haydee
Love everything Fall! Loved reading your blog and
The fall recipes!!🌈yum!
Loved the picture of bittersweet!! It sparked childhood memories of my mom and me foraging in Missouri woods for some! (That, and black walnuts)! 😊. Happy Fall to All!🎃
Love your blog. We are visiting Martha’s Vineyard soon. Can you recommend a place to stay. Thank you.
The cider donuts look delicious and the tons are so festive!
LOVE APPLE CIDER DONUTS – GO TO DOOR COUNTY, WISCONSIN EVERY FALL AND BUY THEM AT SEAQUIST FARMER’S MARKET, DELICIOUS
Susan and Joe –
every night before the last light goes out in my bedroom, (my sleeping room – no TV or computer allowed), I see the moon mug. Currently, it is happily in utilitarian mode holding some paper clips, and a stray coin. Just hanging out to be admired.
The pumpkin and autumn mug share space with others in the dining room. so many lovely items. Sparking joy.
Blessings
Marcia from Sewell
I am sitting here with one of my petty pets curled by my side, her head on my lap reading your blog…I CAN’T WAIT TO MAKE YOUR CARROT CAKE❤️
Donuts!!! Yes!!!
I love the tins! And always swim in warmth and love after reading your updates. Thank you!!!
Baking donuts sounds like something I could do! I’m a healthy eater too. Tonight I baked an Impossible Pumpkin Pie since I haven’t had anything pumpkin-y yet this fall. Only 1/2 cup sugar and no real crust, so I could bake my pie and eat it too! 🙂
So glad you’re wrist is mended. Thanks for your uplifting post. I especially liked the last section, reminding us in this upside-down world to enjoy the simple things to keep us upright and all right:)
Donuts and tea are my cup of tea. I love hearing from you and glad your wrist is better. Happy Fall
Something else that looks so yummy. I’m finding lots of gluten free things like what you have made. I made some pumpkin donuts the other day and they were so good! Not quite the same as regular donuts but close enough. Your parties look like so much fun. You all are lucky to have each other, *S*.
Hooray for Occupational Therapy! I am so glad that you are back to painting and cooking, with a little help from Joe (and Jack too)! I hope our beautiful Minnesota autumn weather blows your way!! Lynn, (proud Occupational Therapist)
I’m a Mahjongg player too. Plus I love carrot cake. I haven’t made one in a long while but you have inspired me to make it again, especially the way you decorated it with the carrot strips on the side. Thanks for this delicious post.
Yes, please!
I love love love apple cider donuts! Can’t wait to try your recipe!
Susana,
Gracias por la receta de las donas. (Translated) thank you for the donut recipe.
I’ve never tasted cider donuts. I would love using the recipe to try them!
Thank you for your kind heart in sharing luv lee things with us.
God bless you!
P. S. Can I be entered in the drawing? Canna pick me! (Lol)
Lydia Alejandro from Ohio!
I’ve been WiFi-less for the past week…highly recommended every now and then!…while we visited with my darling almost 94 year old mom in WV❤️. We came back home to PA today via the scenic route, staying away from Interstate 81 and instead traveling the lovely Route 42 through Virginia. In Bridgewater we stopped at a beautiful little shop called Rebecca’s Well. I’ve collected your beads…all 10 of them!..through the years and I needed a longer Trollbead bracelet to thread them on. I could have purchased the bracelet on line, as it is becoming more difficult to find retailers who carry them, but I would have missed the delightful experience of meeting the owner of Rebecca’s Well, Rebecca herself!☺️ She helped me pick out the right length, as I told her I hoped to collect more of your beads in the future. I was tickled pink to read your blog and see that another bead is available. Serendipity! Such a fun post and I’m so happy your wrist is mending nicely. Hugs!❤️❤️
I’ve never made homemade donuts-these sound delicious! So enjoy your posts!
Love your post about fall. Here in Kansas the temps are defy fall but the leaves are just beginning to change. It seems late this year but we had a very hot September so that may be why. The apple cider donuts sound delicious
I don’t think I’ve ever had Apple Cider Donuts, but I could practically smell them from your description! My daughter makes Peppermint Donuts, with crushed candy canes in them. They started as a joke, but we talked her into actually devising a recipe.
Every year I intend to make homemade cider donuts — and every year I head to the pumpkin patch instead. Still festive, still delicious!
Another beautiful, uplifting posting. Thank you, thank you, dear Lady.
I saw the surgeon again yesterday. Tom drove us up to Bangor in the storm. Doc said he’d do the corrective surgery on my right hand. He did the left, and it has healed wonderfully. Still a bit sore, but not much. I yip and squeek every time I have to use the right one. Sorry to say, the surgery done last February in Tampa, was a mess. Mr. Tom is doing hard work to take up my slack so we will be all set to leave Maine by next Tuesday, the day of the surgery. I promised my wonderful surgeon I would baby it and see a doc in Tampa to make sure it heals well. We don’t actually leave until Saturday, Oct. 26, but I will be a one-handy lady.
So beautiful outside. Looks as though someone decorated all the evergreens with colorful confetti. Something to love in everything.
Happy painting,
Debbie in colorful Maine
This is for you….I’m having trouble with my fine motor in both hands. The surgeon said I would regain it with time. Are you back to 100%. I’m so happy to see you wielding that teeny, tiny brush on the letters. Keep up the exercises.
Good luck with that surgery Debbie. Miracles, what they do today. I’m so much better, but they say it will be a year before I’m ALL back. Just doing what you’re doing, taking care of it, doing the right thing! Take care sweetie! Hello to Mr. Tom!! xoxo
Such a beautiful blog post Susan! You are the best! I love Fall so much & love how you share the joy of it with us. I read the article featuring you from a link on Twitter & would love a signed copy. The magazine sounds so interesting!
We have a lot of small farms here on the island, cheese makers, chicken-raisers, and lots of good home cooks, old and young, restaurant cooks, retail cooks, health food cooks, even food scientists who write about food as it relates to climate change and the land. All so interesting and fun!
Can’t wait to try the cider doughnuts! I love when the seasons change and I receive an email wirh your new posts. ❤️🍂🍁🎃
I wish I could move in with you & Joe & Jack in your cozy Fall house! Everything is sooooooo darling!
No Fall for me in SoCal. Santa Ana winds are blowing..ooooohhhh…scarier than Halloween.
I’d like to make your cider donuts. At least my house can SMELL like Fall!
So glad you are painting and writing and baking again. The cider donuts look wonderful, wish we could smell them. Enjoy the Fall season! MaryAnn
I was so happy to read your blog this evening I love fall too!
Kathy Y
I would love Casper for our 6 on 6 windows but who wouldn’t love him. Happy Halloween to you and Joe ! ❤️
Love apple cider doughnuts! Your tradition of Casper is lovely.
What a wonderful recipe for the fall! Apple cider donuts would make for a wonderful snack around a bonfire.
I have an October birthday 🎂 too. I bought a delicious piece of carrot 🥕 cake from a new bakery nearby. Rainy and windy all of September into October. Visiting Arnie in VA now…the sailboat ⛵️ rocks in the wind. I feel sort of like a baby! Love the new charm!❄️
OXOX
Margot
Always ready to try a new recipe and fall is the perfect time enjoy fresh cider.
It is a blessing to all of us that you are healing so well. I think I smelled the warm apple cider donuts as I read your bewitching autumn blog.
Love carrot cake and homemade donuts. My grandmother made them years and years ago. Love everything about fall really but here in Kansas not seeing many colorful trees yet.
I can just imagine being cosy by the fire with the wind howling outside and the rain lashing against the windows: there’s something so good about staying by the fire whilst the weather fights itself outside. It wasn’t dissimilar when I visited MV in May: long walks in the wind and rain! Loved the Edgartown Book store (and the coffee shop just behind it!). Can picture it all so clearly. Autumn is a wonderful time of year: definitely need to try and make those doughnuts. So pleased your wrist is back in good working order too. Take care and enjoy some beach walks by the Edgartown lighthouse for me!! Xx
I’ll say hello to the lighthouse for you!
My husband and I traveled from Maryland to Martha’s Vineyard last week where we became marooned for two extra days due to ferry cancellations. I visited MV to see the enchanted island my favorite author writes about. When I found your house, I cried. I saw the poster in Edgartown about your appearance this coming week. So bummed to miss it. Loved the beauty and locals. We stayed at the lovely Ashley Inn; crisscrossed the entire island. The gingerbread houses! The lighthouses! We were fortunate to catch a free concert at the vineyard haven town hall. A young gal who sang in Celtic and Gaelic.
Thank you for the trilogy. Thank you for sharing your life with us. I imagine you’re the most wonderful, sweet, intelligent, beautiful and kindhearted person. Your mom and dad raised a very sentimental and authentic woman. I’m so glad you found Joe. I’m so glad you said “no” to Cliff. I bet you miss your friends and family on the west coast?! I’ve followed you for 29 years. You are a part of who I am. My children thank you 🙂 You’re so lucky to have such meaningful relationships.
PS: I don’t like to fly either. It’s so unnatural. Lol
Kindred spirit! Yes, unnatural! Lovely sweet words, thank you … so happy you enjoyed this wonderful island! XOXOXO
I absolutely love Casper! I think it is so special that he has a special place to call home, every home should have one. I was happy to see your comment about the sun shinning through the kitchen window and dancing leaves. Some of the greatest pleasures in life are simple and free, while other are sprinkled in cinnamon & sugar. Love your blog!
Here in Florida just hosted a “Flautumn” (Florida autumn) book club with amazing women! Susan you have always inspired me and can’t wait to try to cider donuts even here in 85º 🙂 Love, love your pics and descriptions of fall and warmth with friends. So glad to see you painting again! Recovery is a slow process but sometimes the end result is even better than prior to injury!!
Love fall and all that goes with it, my favorite season.The smell of burning leaves, cider, and especially homemade fry cakes. Love to hear the winds whistling and the patter of rain drops on the windows while snuggling up near a warm fire. Would love to try your recipe for donuts and to have a donut tin.
Thank you for sharing all the descriptive feelings of fall!
I think my grandmother might have made Apple cider doughnuts. It’s the kind of thing she’d do. I can’t wait to try the recipe.
Just wanted to let you know, this morning I got overwhelmed by the news of Turkey and the Kurds, our current administration, Brexit etc. I turned to you blog (which is on my computer too sites page) for comfort and it worked! Was pleasantly surprised to see this new blog on Facebook. Thank you for your positive outlook and kindness. How about making carrot cake donuts?! Love the mini pan!
I bet that would work! They make quite sturdy cupcakes despite their wonderful moistness! Could drizzle cream cheese frosting over them!
Mmmmmm, donuts, my favourite food group. I’d love to try that recipe.
Glad your wrist is s better.
“Come, little leaves,” said the wind one day,
“Come over the meadows with me, and play;
Put on your dresses of red and gold;
Summer is gone, and the days grow cold.”
—George Cooper 🧡
Enjoyed your post Susan. This evening I’m busy in the kitchen baking my husband’s birthday cake, a pumpkin cheesecake. The crust is made of gingersnaps, pecans, a little brown sugar and a little butter. The filling includes cream cheese, brown sugar, pumpkin, whipping cream, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla and spices. Your flower on the carrot cake inspired me to decorate a leaf for his cake top. We will celebrate his day and make big memories with a few dear friends tomorrow. The Delaware weather will be beautiful tomorrow but another storm arrives on a Sunday. Wishing you a fabulous autumn!
YUM! Happy Birthday to your Husband!
Hooray for donuts! Count me in.
It is definitely apple cider season, and what better way to enjoy it than in a sugar covered doughnut! Yum! Doughnut pans and the Edible Vineyard magazine, it just doesn’t get any better.
Please pick me! I NEED a homemade donut! I didn’t know there was such a thing!
They sound delicious and I can just IMAGINE having a tasty donut and coffee in front of your fireplace. Do you have to pinch yourself to make sure your life is not a dream?
Now “on my own” after “almost” 45 years, since my sweetheart passed away 13 months ago, I’ve been doing a lot of dreaming. I plan trips in my head. And at the top of the list is a trip to your part of the country. Have you thought of writing a travel book about interesting trips in the United States? (Your kind of trips.) just a thought.
Happy fall y’all!
The future is your home. Very brave Fancy . . . xoxoxo
Howdy Susan!
Ok, I was drooling and wondering if our local donut shop has those kind of donuts. Cannot wait for the recipe! Walk faster!!! Thanks so much for your joyful news each time!
Happy Fall Days, good to see the wrist is working again (makes everything soo much easier) and Jack helping with the new Calendar …every day my Sweet Caroline and I check the day and talk about the ideas and art work, so Fun! that for 2020 I got the whole she-bang and we will have Susan Branch calendars everywhere…cant wait to hang and use them. Then we have morning tea in our favorite Tea cups and its time to grab rain gear, back packs, and lunch and rush to the car and on our way to school and another gorgeous Fall Rainy Day, still thinking of your pretty pictures. Thanks for sharing your Talents and Life !
Cider donuts and hot chocolate on a” Winnie the Pooh” Blustery Day……
thanks for the vision!!!
Carrot cake and donuts! Life doesn’t get any better than this.
Enjoying fall weather in lovely Saranac Lake!
Yum, yum!!!! And baked not fried, it could almost be considered a health food!!!!
Fall is my favorite time of year! I felt like I was there with you, enjoying the fire and visiting into the evening. Your description of life on the island warms my heart. Thank you for sharing it with us!
We drive to the orchards here in Virginia for Apple Cider Donuts! They are the best!!
Can’t wait to try the Cider Donuts! They sound easy and delicious! I love the Fall. Thank you for the fun blog!
Just had some apple cider donuts recently in my visit to New England! Would love to try making some!
Your tablescapes are so welcoming! The donuts are making me drool!
Your home is just lovely. Happy Fall!
Wonderful blog, as always, Susan! Love this time of year and your description of the nor’easter reminds me of my visit to MV over Halloween weekend, 2014 — 5 years ago! Time flies! Love the donuts. Some good news! Gene will be released from Hospice next month, and the VA will take over with “Home Primary Care” — good ole “house calls” just like in the old days! So grateful!! Happy Halloween and Happy Autumn to you and Joe!
Happy Autumn, Susan and Joe! And happy birthday, Joe! Love a good carrot cake, and yes, I’ve made many through the years. Oh, how I love seeing your island in autumn. The bittersweet growing wild is delightful. We have to purchase bouquets of it at the florist. Expensive! But it’s not autumn without bittersweet! Texas is on again off again with temps in the 90s. I’m ready to move on into fall weather in a major way please! Thanks for all the news, Susan. You are a bright spot in my life!!!
Carrot Cake is my guilty pleasure but I would try the donuts! If I only had the pans *sigh*. 😉😉
Susan, so glad your wrist is healing and you are once again able to paint. Oh, how you must have missed doing so. Loved your fall blog, it’s my favorite time of the year. Life is indeed good.
The Apple cider donuts look delicious! I love Casper.
I love this time of year! Thank you for the delightful post! I plan to make the yummy donuts as we have our 2 year old grandson, along with his mama and daddy, staying with us right now. Would be a perfect treat!
The donut recipe sounds delicious. I’m doing a lot of baking since I’m alone now. I suppose I feel like you did when you first got to Martha’s Vineyard. I’m on 2 acres out in the country away from friends and family, and I’m building a new nest including taking more time with food experimentation. I have two wonderful rescue dogs, so I’m never truly alone. Animals are so good for us. I hope to meet my Joe some day! Until then, I will be grateful for what I do have, and I have your wonderful books and blog to remind me of the simple daily blessings. Happy Fall!
Put some fun things on your calendar for the future…. xoxoxo
Hi Susan,
I absolutely love reading your blog, facebook and twitter posts. Your creativity and all you do is a very inspiring and brings me joy everyday. Thank you for being a light in this world and sharing who you are and making a difference in our lives. You have a beautiful heart.
I’d LOVE to make donuts…in the exact pan you used!
Susan, Thank you so much for the cider donut recipe. Being allergic to cinnamon (bummer, right?) I have never tasted their wonderfulness. Now I can make my own to enjoy!!! So happy to see that your wrist is healing well. As an OT, I know the challenges you faced. Job well done! I have always appreciated your celebration of the everyday events and joys in our lives. I even have 7 of the Country Living’s Pantry pages that you did back in the 1980’s. They are tucked into my 1986 copy of “Heart of the Home” book on my Susan Branch shelf in the book case! Stay well, hug your OT!!!
I hug her every time!!! Isn’t that funny? She’s saving me! I have to! Thank you for what you do Susan, we need you people!
Mahjong and donuts!
We are playing next week and I will have to make the donuts. Maybe they will bring me luck.
HA HA HA! We play the American game. There is money involved. Nickles dimes and quarters. Can add up with these people when they force you to pay double!🤣
Happy to see you’re able to get back back to your wonderful art. I was especially interested in seeing your left hand writing. Since I have to have carpel tunnel surgery soon ..on a scale of one to five I’m a nine, losing muscle with fingers going numb. After surgery I won’t be able to write for a couple weeks, my doctor said, or lift for six weeks I’m told. So I have tried practicing my left hand writing. 🥴Yours looks sooooo MUCH better then what I can do…and I’m an artist and journal writer too. I’m so not wanting to give that up, But the surgeries a must, so will get through as you did. Just hope I can write a legible grocery list left handed, because my mind is worse then my left handed writing. Lol. 🤗
Your left hand will get stronger, your mind will have to learn a new “control” … bending those “0’s” to go in circles is quite the trick, but GOOD for your brain! Yup, get it over with. It will be better!
I have always wanted to make cider donuts! I can practically smell them through my iPad! 🍩
I’m definitely going to try the donuts!! Yum!!! The fireplace definitely helps take the chill off a cool fall day. Cozy up and stay safe.
Your doughnuts brought back fond memories of a family with 5 children I used to babysit for when I was young. Their mother made fresh doughnuts every week. Heaven! I must try your recipe. Thanks for sharing autumn loveliness.
Oh I love to bake and have never seen donut tins. Your recipe sounds fantastic and I would love it all so much……Enjoy your blog posts and dream along as I read.
Hugs,
I love apple cider donuts! I usually get them when I go to the local apple orchard. Would live to make them myself! 😁
I need these donut pans, they will be sooo great when I make the apple Cider Donuts with my grandkids. Need the recipe too! Great idea!!
So thankful for you Susan! Love how you always turn my heart and mind back to my home and those that I love. Caring for them all brings me joy, and is my purpose. Thank you for stiring that joy in me. Love, Juliane
Our joy and our purpose. Says it all!