Fall is in the Air

In California we do happy dances and share fist bumps when the weather forecast is for rain and it actually falls from the sky.

Fog is nice, too, because it keeps wild fires away.

To me, fall is when I peruse my cookbooks, check for new online recipes, and surprise my family with nice kitchen smells. I check the cupboards to make sure I have lots of sugar and vanilla and cinnamon, some of my favorite scents.

Yesterday, a nice rainy one, I made peanut butter cookies. I found an easy recipe that didn’t take long. They turned out thin and crisp and on retrospect I probably should have left the dough in the refrigerator longer, but I couldn’t wait. If you’ve been reading my blog for the past few years, you know patience is not my strong suit.

Last year at this time we were cruising down the Tennessee River in our Nordic Tug on our way to the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. No baking smells (the boat had no oven…just stove top and microwave.) Trees were turning bright colors on shore and some of the marinas were decorated for Halloween.

This year we’re on land and fall colors are everywhere. Stores have their Halloween decorations out and my pantry is now stocked for baking and cold weather dining. Soups are nice on rainy days and I recently made Lasagna Soup, a concoction with Italian sausage, spinach, and farfalle pasta in chicken broth and diced tomatoes. The hot soup is served over grated mozzarella placed in the bottom of the soup bowl and garnished with parmesan and basil. It was yummy. If you want the recipe, let me know.

Last week I managed an easy tamale pie based on a recipe my niece, Maria, sent me. She found it in an old cookbook and the name of the person who supplied the recipe was my great grandmother.

Right now I’m thinking about apple pie or maybe apple turnovers. My crusts aren’t perfect. My sister got all the baking genes in the family. But even when my concoctions don’t look perfect, they usually taste just fine.

Or maybe I’ll try something with pumpkin. Guess there won’t be any writing today.

By the way, my first ever newsletter just went out with pictures and a recipe. But if you don’t want to get it, you can unsubscribe. It will probably be quarterly and I’ll always have a recipe and a giveaway. I hope you enjoy it.