The hottest part of summer is seemingly over where I live, and we are experiencing delightfully cool mornings and toasty warm afternoons. Apparently, the weather was contributing to my sinus headaches, which have now gone away. I assume that means it was not a brain tumor. Another year to live!
We rarely go out to eat, but one of my favorite treats is supermarket sushi. I felt like celebrating today. Not sure why, but why not? Our local market makes sushi fresh every day, and it’s a darn tasty lunch, especially when it’s sunny and warm but not too hot to sit outside and enjoy it.
I’ll miss summer, but fall is my favorite food season. Dale and I both get the urge to cook up a storm. We have some lovely fresh spinach, so I thought I’d make a spinach souffle for dinner tonight accompanied by some sliced fresh tomatoes from the farmers market. The tomatoes are primo right now, and it sounded like a great meal to bridge the seasons.
Very soon I will have to start thinking about serious fall food, including soup. I have several chicken carcasses taking up valuable real estate in the freezer, so it’s time to make a big batch of stock. My favorite soup recipes are from Superfood Soups and Blue Zones.
Dale is getting fired up, too. He purchased raw peanuts and began his process for roasting. He brines them, dries them with fans out in the garage and then roasts them in the oven. And they are spectacular. It’s like a gun pointed to our heads until they’re gone. The fresh peanuts are usually available until Christmas, and by then we hate ourselves anyway, so it’s nature’s way of saying we’ve had enough.
He also took a pork shoulder out of the freezer for Chiapas Roast Pork. Dale uses a Diana Kennedy recipe from Mexican Regional Cooking. The meat is marinated and then cooked in the oven in a spicy chile sauce until is pull-apart tender and then served with shredded romaine lettuce and onions on freshly made tortillas. I make blue corn tortillas from scratch to accompany this dish.
Ah, seasonal foodie dreams. Tamale pie. Stuffed cabbage. Anything with pumpkin, especially the savory dishes. Chile verde. Sausage and navy bean soup. Corned beef hash. Mushroom lasagna. Roasted kabocha squash. Short ribs braised in red wine. Even retro dishes such as beef stroganoff and chicken divan — so comforting.
It’s your turn! We would all love to hear about your favorite fall foods. What deliciousness are you planning as the temperatures start to drop?
My granddaughters are visiting and yesterday we picked corn, tomatoes, carrots and zucchini from the garden. They seem to eat better when they pick it themselves. The oldest one had a tomato eaten before we got back into the house. The seasons affect the menus in my house. Obviously, when garden produce is available, that tops the list. There’s a lot more slow cooking done and much less BBQ with fresh sides. One of my favorite dishes is cheesy corn risotto. Another go-to is tortellini soup (recipe source unknown/forgotten). I do make soup even in the summer months; it makes a quick lunch. There’s a pumpkin cheesecake that goes over well at holiday celebrations.
Yum. I’ve been thinking about the cheesy corn risotto since I read your comment this morning. Thanks for sharing!
Just googled “Cheesy corn risotto” which I’m definately gonna cook soon.
I finally could get my hands on an “Instant Pot” and I’m loving it!
Already made some chicken stock, which gets very clear. As you, we love beans, lentils, chick peas.. It’s so easy peasy to prepare it with the IP.
For fall and winter there is also beef on the menu. I’m curious how it turns out in the IP. I do love Goulash, Short Ribs and Chili without Beans.
Yummie.
So happy to hear you got an instant pot. Life changing! If you like Indian food, I highly recommend the Indian Instant Pot Cookbook. I can’t get enough of it. Dried chick peas cooked in the instant pot surpass canned any day.