Tuesday, September 21, 2010

No Recipes - Just Food Jabber

Autumn, more than any other time of year, makes me think of and crave good food. Maybe it's because I've had next-to-no time to spend in the kitchen all summer (except for canning and preserving, of course) and my need for some home-cooked meals has surfaced with a vengeance. (Could this contribute to the fact that, just like a hibernating bear, I could easily put on a layer of insulating fat for the winter?)

Cool weather allows me the luxury of concocting all-in-one oven meals which fill the house with tantalizing aromas creating a warm, welcoming, cozy (not to mention mouth-watering) atmosphere when we come in from working on outside fall chores.

Maybe that's why I made a pot roast and vegetable casserole last Sunday. We aren't big meat eaters; I tend to use meat more as a flavoring rather than plopping a ham, or roast, or whole chicken on the table for the two of us. But sometime last Saturday, the vision of a well-browned and seasoned pot roast came into my head so Sunday morning found me prepping one for the oven. When hubby and I sat down to our meal late that day, I'm sure it would have been downright embarrassing to have had recorded our near ecstatic moans, groans and sighs of pleasure when feasting on that luscious piece of grass-fed beef! Although we didn't make much of a dent in the medium-sized roast, the leftovers will go a long way in soups, BBQ on buns, pot pies, etc.

I could go on and on regarding fall foods. The list that appeals to me this time of year is endless.

That first batch of homemade caramel corn. Cannot stop eating it. Somebody please put it under lock and key. And hide the key. Please.

Time to make the first loaves of my mom's fruitcake. Lace it with brandy and tuck it away in a cool, dry cupboard to age.

Apples! Oh my. Can we have too many apples? Apple pie, apple crisp, applesauce, apple cake, baked apples, taffy apples, apple slices on a hike.

And what says harvest time more than pumpkin? Pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin-blueberry bread, pumpkin-orange cookies, and pumpkin pie!

Even some vegetables taste better this time of year. Hot buttered beets, baked squash slathered with butter, salt and pepper, Brussels sprouts, sauerkraut, carrots, potatoes and something I don't make often enough . . . corn fritters.

Although we eat a lot of soups year 'round, can you beat potato soup made with potatoes just dug, scrubbed and cooked with their skins on? Vegetable-beef soup (with some of the meat from that leftover pot roast), chili, bean or pea soup made with a ham bone and chunks of leftover ham.

When one of those oven meals is cooking, I love to mix up a pan of gingerbread to bake in the oven at the same time. For dessert top it with a mound of freshly whipped cream . . . sooo yummy.

I could go on with my list (I really could) but there are things I need to get done today rather than gaining virtual poundage by blathering on about my special food cravings that seem to arrive each year with the falling leaves and drop in temperature.

As far as I'm concerned, fall is a good time to be in the kitchen cooking with nature's harvest . . . and eating it!

10 comments:

Susan said...

I may never forgive you for that post ;o) I am so hungry I could eat the manila folders on my desk. This is my favorite season, too, for all things food and those wonderful, rarified mornings when the sky is so blue and the leaves just glow like lemon cake.

Frugal Gardener said...

Lol Susan, I was thinking the same thing! I feel as if I need to rush home and make a big batch of comfort food and a loaf of bread. It is a very rainy day so I might just go ahead and do that.

Claire said...

Wow, I want to eat a whole bunch, now! I'm actually in the same mood...made slow-cooker goulash yesterday and I'm working on lemon sugar cookies today.

Lorie said...

That all sounds wonderful, but the caramel corn is my weakness. I love when the kids have friends over this time of year and I have an excuse to make it. Really don't need an excuse, except if there are not other mouths here to eat it, I will eat it all! Until my mouth hurts from chewing it! It's addictive and I can not stop on my own.

Those muffins look wonderful too. Think I will give it a try tomorrow with the grape jam from last years Concords. Thanks for sharing these mouth watering posts. Eat up.

thimblevee said...

Geez, Mama Pea, I think I just gained 5 pounds while reading, not to mention the drool dripping on my chest. I'm headin' home to fix sumthin yummy for dinner, right now!

Erin said...

Yes, yes, yes!! I feel the same way. I am always eating "on the run" in the summertime, even when not going anywhere LOL. So busy figuring out how to stash all the stuff I forget to actually use it NOW. But there is plenty of time in the fall and winter for cooking and at least we have stocked freezers and cabinets to choose from. We are huge meat-eaters, love it love it - matter of fact hubby's cousin in Alaska just posted a bunch of pics on Facebook of them grinding and cutting 500 lbs of moose to put away in the freezer, even a pic of the family dog "cleaning up" the neck on the ground, I was getting hungry over that! I don't eat as much meat while hubby is gone though.

Mama Pea said...

Susan - Ah, you have such a way with words! Had to laugh at the thought of you chomping on your file folders.

Frugal Gardener - Rainy day = PERFECT day for baking/cooking up a storm! Hope you did just that.

Claire - Great minds! I've been looking at lemon cookie recipes all summer wanting some!

Lorie - What IS it with caramel corn?? It truly is addictive. I'm envying your grape Concord jam. That was the one jam/jelly my mom made when I was growing up.

thimblevee - What did I tell ya about making like a bear going into hibernation. I think we NEED to pack on a few extra pounds this time of year. It's only natural!

Erin - I think guys just naturally crave more meat so I understand your cutting back a little with your hubby gone. 'Course, you've got two little men growing up fast. Maybe you'd better arrange with your cousin in AK for some of that moose meat!

Leigh said...

Good grief Woman, you've gone and made me hungry! I agree, fall brings such lovely things to the kitchen. And the pantry shelves!

Susan said...

And how about dishing up those pumpkin recipes, eh? Pumpkin Blueberry Bread???? Pumpkin Orange Cookies??? It's not nice to tease your fans, eh? (Sorry...I couldn't help referencing your French-Canadian accent, eh.)

Mama Pea said...

Leigh - And as mentioned before, we have the TIME to devote to doing some good cooking. Hallelujah!

Susan - I shall be happy to set forth those pumpkin laden treats in a future blog post. How's that for being accommodating, eh?