“What We’re Eating”: Seasonal Fare

Posted at 6:46 am on November 3, 2009 by April

I love the changing seasons. I celebrate them any way I can-some ways noticeable, some ways not. I do what I can to decorate around the house, but I will admit that I am not that good or adventurous about it. The most I do for Christmas-my all time favorite holiday-is put a single string of lights around the most seen window in the house. I’m not a Scrooge, I promise, I’m just not that creative. So where I lack in that, I try and make up for in other subtle ways. I change the colors I use around the house-in the winter, I start using blues in the place mats and cloth napkins for example. I change the type of candle we are using-instead of a fruity one for summer, I use a spicy cinnamon scented on for Autumn. And perhaps my favorite way to celebrate the seasons is by cooking. At the start of every season, I have high hopes to actually cook things that are clearly in season. It usually lasts a few weeks before my cravings, or what’s on sale, or something I saw on a cooking show takes over. This fall, however, has been different, and I have been very pleased. Here are a few things we’ve been cooking with so far:

Apples-My parents have an apple tree and they gave me a huge crate of apples. I am sure it was over 20lbs. That is a LOT of apples. Imagine going to the store and buying 10 bags of apples at a time. That might start to come close to what they gave me. As such I’ve been having to stretch myself more than just apple pies. We’ve made lots and lots of applesauce-which although I personally found to be labor intensive, I also found it to be an experience that somehow nourished my soul-as I smelled the sweet apple scent in my house all day, as I methodically mashed apples and filled jars. It was lovely. We’ve also made apple butter (which uses just as many apples as apple sauce, but produces less product), apple pancakes, dozens of apple muffins (which frozen will last us for months for breakfast). I still have quite a bit of apples and I think this week I am going to be making more apple butter-not only because it uses lots and lots of apples but because it is super yummy and I can bless some friends with the gift of it.

Pears-I just got about 5lbs of pears from the local organic organization I’m a part of. When I first saw them I had no idea what to make-there are not a lot of pear recipes out there. I have found two that I’m making this week and I’m excited. The first is-of course-pear crumble. However, I think my family and I will be eating it for breakfast instead of dessert, which I think sounds fun. The second recipe is a “pear dessert bar” which sounds sort of like individual cheesecake bars topped with a sweet pear topping. We shall see how it turns out, but it sound yummy! Each of these recipe uses up about 2 lbs each so I am well on my way to being done with the pears.

Potatoes-Recently I got (what I thought) was a great deal on potatoes (had I waited a week-I could have gotten an ever better deal, but hindsight is 20/20). We have been eating so many potato dishes! And while I usually do not like potatoes, I have really liked what I’ve been making. As mentioned in a previous post, we’ve had hashes, frittatas, inventively topped baked potatoes, potato soup, baked potato fries, roasted potatoes, and this week curried potatoes. All YUM!

Carrots-Again, I have been the recipient of about 5lbs of carrots in the past few weeks. So I’ve been trying my hand at different carrot side dishes. In addition to juicing carrots (which I LOVE juiced carrots!) I’ve made carrots in a cream sauce (this was my dry run for a Thanksgiving side this year-gotta love killing 2 birds with one stone!), maple glazed carrots, carrot, cheese and rice casserole and I thrown some carrots in a tasty and hearty Autumn stew. One bonus about carrots is that a lot of times the side dishes call for them to be in a sweetened sauce, which in addition to them being a favorite veggie of kids, now they are in a sweet sauce which makes them extra appealing to little pallets.

Pumpkins-Instead of tossing the decorational pumpkin on the front stoop, I thought I’d actually utilize it this year. I roasted the seeds (as do most people) and am going to cut up the flesh, cut off the skin, and then steam it in just a bit of water. Afterwards I will puree up the flesh and have my own pureed pumpkin! Pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie (or any numerous pumpkin desserts) and my two most favorite ideas: pumpkin smoothie (made with bananas, pumpkin, cinnamon and vanilla (soy, almond, rice) milk or yogurt) and pumpkin pie oatmeal (cooked oatmeal, pumpkin pie spice, pumpkin puree and a touch of brown sugar). YUM! Those ideas are not only tasty, but again thinking of our children, are great ways to get veggies in your kids for breakfast (who wouldn’t want to eat orange oatmeal that tastes like pie for breakfast?)

Sweet Potatoes- I’ll admit I have not cooked with sweet potatoes this season, but I am going to. I’ve recently been hearing about the benefits of sweet potatoes and how they are one of the most nutritious foods you can eat. I’m going to try mashing them with milk, cinnamon and some brown sugar, putting them in a smoothie (as above) and even sweet potato fries. In the past I have made quesadillas and burritos with sweet potatoes thrown in and I know it does not sound appealing, but trust me it is fantastic!

I hope I have inspired you to eat seasonally-maybe even for just one meal this week. If you need some help finding some good recipes, try this book: Simply In Season. There are others out there just like it, so whateve you decide to use and cook, enjoy celebrating this great time of year, because before we know it, there will be snow on the ground, Christmas carols in the air, and another crop of yummy fruits and veggies to eat!

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