Ina Garten, better known, perhaps, as the Barefoot Contessa, has a wonderful new cookbook out this month that I wanted to let everyone know about. It's called Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics and it delivers what it promises: simple, timeless recipes that don't skimp on flavour. There are also plenty of entertaining tips and menus for the novice and the more practiced host/hostess.

"I have to admit that food trends don't really interest me," she told Style at Home magazine. "What I need is pretty simple. I want an easy recipe that I can make in advance if possible, and when guests arrive I want the house to smell wonderful. When I talk about getting back to basics, I'm not talking about plain mashed potatoes. What truly fires my imagination is taking ordinary ingredients and cooking or pairing them in unusual ways that unlocks their true flavours."

Back to Basics is the sixth book by Ina, who now also has a show on the Food Network and a line of pre-packaged food items called Barefoot Contessa Pantry that includes coffees, dessert sauces, marinades and cake mixes. Visit her website for more information and for the dates of Ina's new book tour: http://www.barefootcontessa.com

In 1978, Ina, who was then a White House finance analyst, wanted to flee the canned pressure of D.C. and do something she loved full-time. She took a chance on buying a small catering shop in the Hamptons and took it from there, with no experience as a professional shop owner. Called Barefoot Contessa, the place became the hot spot for the area's new money: Steven Spielberg and Lauren Bacall were regulars. Ina's specialty was making ordinary foods in extraordinary ways. Something as simple as onion dip was done up Ina-style with carmelized, pan-fried onions. Everyday dishes like meatloaf and chicken soup were given new punch by using the freshest local ingredients.

In 1996 Ina sold Barefoot Contessa to two of her employees who continued those traditions.

When Martha Stewart purchased Lily Pond Lane in the Hamptons in 1992 she was quickly impressed by Ina's talents. Ina appeared on the Martha Stewart Living television program and was continuously urged by Martha to write a cookbook, which she eventually did: The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook was released in 1999. Following this, Ina was hired by Martha to write a regular column for Martha Stewart Living magazine called Entertaining is Fun, which appeared between October, 2000, and August, 2001.

Today, Ina has six cookbooks under her belt, including Barefoot Contessa Family Style and Barefoot Contessa in Paris.

"I've actually been looking around for years for a way to do the basics. But at the end of the day, a lot of my recipes are basic," she says. "The idea has been rattling around in my head. I realized what's important to me is flavor. There's a brightness and a depth of flavor that I'm looking for."

Now, here are ten things Ina Garten says you should NOT serve at a dinner party:

1. Appetizers that take two hands: You're holding a cocktail, having a good conversation, and someone offers you a grilled scallop served in a martini glass. What are you supposed to do with your drink?

2. Beets or red wine: If you're serving buffet style and eating dinner on your lap in the living room, you're just inviting disaster.

3. Three rich courses: It's important to balance the weight of the courses. If you're serving a rich main course, start with a small salad and end with baked fruit and a homemade cookie. Your friends will thank you.

4. Garlic and raw onions: I like chicken with 40 cloves of garlic as much as the next person, but I don't love the breath that comes with it.

5. Spinach and poppy seeds: How many times have you been conversing with someone you barely know and find yourself staring at that stray piece of spinach or that little poppy seed stuck in their teeth?

6. Corn on the cob: Same problem as spinach. If I serve corn, I cut it off the cob, saute it with some butter, salt and pepper and serve it in a big bowl. No dental floss required.

7. Two fish courses: Most people eat meat, but fewer eat fish and seafood. If I'm serving smoked salmon to start, I'm always sure to have a traditional chicken or filet of beef for the main course.

8. Offal: If your family loves liver and bacon, great - make it for them. But don't spring it on unsuspecting dinner guests without checking first.

9. Nuts: A lot of people don't like nuts or are allergic them. Unless I know my guests really well, I avoid dishes with nuts or at least provide an option.

10. Raw beef or eggs: I never eat steak tartar or raw eggs unless I know they're from a safe source, so I'm not about to serve food to friends that requires me to explain its safety.

As I'm sure many of you hardcore crafters know, Martha Stewart Craft items are now available on the QVC shopping network and through their website, QVC.com, with affordable delivery rates. Many of the craft items are available exclusively to the home-shopping company, just as there are exclusive craft products available only at Walmart and, of course, Michael's. Several exclusive craft kits can only be found through QVC, including the Cutting Tool Kit, Halloween Punch Kit, Christmas Ribbon Storage Kit, Food Packaging and Glitter Stamp Craft Kit.

If you visit QVC.com you'll be able to watch how-to videos using the products and find some other interesting items, like these favourites of mine below:

A beautiful, elegant holiday ribbon box with a front dispenser slot, rod, hinged lid, and paper lining. And when you're done with the included ribbon, you can put in your own 3" spools.This new screw punch tool lets you punch holes of various sizes anywhere on a surface--not just along the edges. Try it on paper, cardboard, foam, fabric, thin metals, leather and multiple layers of material. The punched cards on the right reveal the finished effect. Some consumers have complained, however, that the punches are too small and too difficult to make on some of the sturdier card stock.

I love these acorn box ornaments with glitter kit. It contains three 4"H x 2-5/8"Diam molded paper acorn boxes with hanger loops, 1.5 oz Brownstone glitter, 1.5 oz Peridot glitter, 1.5 oz Garnet glitter, 4 fl oz non-toxic glittering glue with brush applicator.

While our friends in the United States observe Columbus Day, Canadians up north are celebrating Thankgiving. Canadians celebrate the harvest festival the second weekend in October because of the earlier harvest.

Unlike the American tradition of remembering Pilgrims and settling in the New World, Canadians give thanks for a successful harvest. The harvest season falls earlier in Canada compared to the United States due to the simple fact that Canada is further north.

The history of Thanksgiving in Canada goes back to an English explorer, Martin Frobisher, who had been trying to find a northern passage to the Orient. He did not succeed but he did establish a settlement in Northern America. In the year 1578, he held a formal ceremony, in what is now called Newfoundland, to give thanks for surviving the long journey. This is considered the first Canadian Thanksgiving. Other settlers arrived and continued these ceremonies. He was later knighted and had an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean in northern Canada named after him - Frobisher Bay.

At the same time, French settlers who settled in what is now called Quebec, having crossed the ocean and arrived in Canada with explorer Samuel de Champlain, also held huge feasts of thanks. They even formed 'The Order of Good Cheer' and gladly shared their food with their Indian neighbours.

Many Canadians have their Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday, as we do. It gives us the Monday following to digest it all! Below are some photos of our celebration yesterday at my parents' house. Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!

Everyone gathers around the dining room table for a big, hearty meal.

Most people can't stand them, but my grandmother loves her brussels sprouts and helps herself to a steaming spoonful.

Apple and pumpkin pies baked by my grandmother.

After dinner, my little nephew put on a puppet show. He made the set and the puppets and called the show "My Crazy Thanksgiving." It involved a pizza delivery man, a French chauffeur, a postman and a turkey that ran away with the spoon.

I thought I'd share some images of fall foliage in my area, photos I took of some of the season's changing leaves in my neighbourhood and at my parents' cottage. These might be especially nice for people who live in regions of the United States where the leaves don't turn quite as flagrantly.
The colours here in Eastern Ontario are especially vibrant this year. The heavy rain we had this past summer has blessed us with a technicolour show in the treetops. The photographs, of course, never do them justice. You have to experience them first-hand, with all your senses, to really get the full effect. You have to smell that damp autumn smell, feel the crispness of the air around you and hear the leaves rustling in the wind. Have a look at some of the photos all the same and let me know what you think.

You may think these beautiful trees were found along a country lane somewhere, but they were smack-dab in the middle of a city park. I'm not sure what tree produces these gorgeous fall berries, above, but the branches were loaded with them. A sugar maple, below.

Not all bright folliage is found in the country. These climbing vines were a beautiful crimson and were visible from one of the busiest streets in Ottawa.

At my parents' cottage there are miles and miles of roads winding through the forests. I love taking long walks. There isn't a single sound except the wind in the leaves. It's completely restorative. Maples, especially, seem to turn the brightest colours. I found this baby leaf, below, resting on a still-thriving fern near a stream.

Eventually, even the ferns and groundcover turn a shade of golden yellow.

When the light hits the trees, it's like a fireworks display in the middle of the daytime. The scene above is of the forest at the cottage, which had been turned completely golden. It literally shimmered in the sunlight.

My mother takes her dog, Molly, for a walk down one of the roadways at the cottage. Again, the autumn canopy above was just so alluring.

I found this enormous maple leaf in Quebec City. It was large enough to cover my face! I photographed it on a black table in a cabin we rented there last year. The black backdrop really brought out its features.

Views from balconies are often the best way to see the treetops - from above! The view from my current balcony (above) yields flecks of gold and orange that carry straight into the city in the distance. Some of the leaves have yet to turn. This was taken just today. The view from my apartment last year, below, which was on the 19th floor, was incredibly spectacular.

This month, Martha Stewart Omnimedia and Bernhardt Furniture will unveil the latest of the Martha Stewart Signature Furniture lines: Rosebridge. The Art-Deco inspired collection includes 30 pieces of bedroom, dining room and occasional. It also has six pieces of upholstery in 10 new fabric options.

Stylistically, the Art Deco and Biedermeier influences mark a new direction for the Signature line. Various wood pieces have walnut and rosewood veneers that flow down drawer fronts in a waterfall effect. Others have a checkerboard pattern of mismatched burl.

Signature pieces include:

• A tall dresser whose Art Deco shape gives it a slightly recessed base and top. The drawer faces have swirling burl walnut panels and columns of narrow scoring.

• The Bellcourt Sunburst dining table, which features cathedral walnut veneers and a framed walnut burl border. The four-pillar pedestal base has solid wood turned posts and shaped bun feet. It also has a 60-inch top and extends to 84 inches with a single leaf.

• The Rosebridge brass console table has a rosewood veneer top and shelf and shaped edges. Its metal base has semicircular stretchers.


Some pieces have tumbled brass and heirloom nickel hardware. The Rosebridge joins the other collections in the Signature collection: Lily Pond, Skylands, Turkey Hill, Katonah, Opal Point and this year's North River, which mingles traditional honey-colored finishes and wood turnings with chic mid-century profiles and luxuriously grained mahogany veneers. Gold leaf accents, handpainted chinoiserie, granite tabletops, and bronze-finished grillwork enhance the North River pieces.

From the North River collection

Bernhardt has decided to release a new Martha Stewart furniture line every six months instead of every year, since the pieces are selling so well. Catalogs for the North River and Rosebridge collections will soon be available for order.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia continues its efforts to expand its online presence with a new (and very helpful!) website for consumers that describes all of the Martha Stewart product lines in one location. Beautifully designed for maximum efficiency and clarity, the site (Martha Stewart Products) contains imagery and information about all of the Martha Stewart products currently available, from crafting tools to furniture to paint to food items to linens, etc. The site appears to be still in development, as some of the pages are not yet up, but you can view the current content here: http://products.marthastewart.com

The site contains a store locator where the items can be found, a very helpful print link, which will enable you to print up the product image and description, and a brand index, containing all of the Martha Stewart merchandise product lines and brands. Take a browse and bookmark the site to return often and find your favourite Martha must-haves.

My friend Kenn (a fellow Martha-watcher and chronicler) sent me images of the covers of two - yes, two! - new special Holiday issues by Martha Stewart Living that will appear on newsstands in the coming weeks. The first, due out on October 13, Handmade Christmas, is all about homemade treats. Holiday crafts, the best Christmas cookies to bake and share and how to make innovate gift wrap and greeting cards are all part of the issue. The second, on stands November 3, is titled Season's Eatings. It features 101 holiday recipes for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's as well as creative table setting ideas. A reminder that these are not included in regular subscriptions - they are newsstand only, so watch for them or call 1-800-950-7110 to order your copies.

A few of Kenn's helpful observations: "The second issue notes that it is a special collectible issue. As a collector of Martha Stewart items, all holiday special issues are collectible and claim a good price on such services as eBay. The Season's Eatings special issue IS highly collectible since it's the first issue of such a 'double holiday' press. The Season's Eatings special holiday issue goes on sale November 3. Target shoppers, you should be able to find this issue by October 31.
Each issue is listing for 6.95 (7.50 in Canada.)"