Wordless Wednesday Fall Photos

Living in a climate with changing seasons, there is nothing quite like an autumn day to inspire me to attempt to capture the beauty of the natural world. I think each of these photos says something about that beauty without a caption. Do you agree? Please, let me know in the comments below. I love an honest critique! Enjoy and find inspiration in your surroundings, wherever you are.

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Monday Muffin Motivation

I do love the autumn. Especially on those clear crisp days of beautiful blue skies and vivid colors of late blossoming flowers, end of season harvests and fall foliage, I love getting out to walk and take photos of the loveliness of nature at this time of year. 

Today though, here in Chicagoland, it is a dreary fall Monday but, even the cloudy drizzly days have their beauty and can be turned into some motivation. I currently have a butternut squash in the oven, preparing it to add warmth and vitamin 'A' to tonight's evening meal, as the main ingredient of a healthy comfort soup. The muffins will follow as a treat all week (if they last that long).

Butternut Squash Soup

1 small - medium butternut squash
1 16 oz.can chicken broth
1 cup low-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash lemon pepper or white pepper
1 tablespoon honey
chopped fresh chives for garnish

Halve the squash, remove seeds and bake at 350 in baking pan in shallow water cut side down, turn cut side up after about 20 minutes.

Bake another 15-20 minutes for a total 30-40 minutes total or until tender.
Spoon squash from peel into food processor or blender and puree. (When in a hurry, I have skipped this step, but the resulting texture isn't as nice.)
Combine baked pureed squash and broth in a large saucepan bring to a boil and simmer.
Over medium heat stir in sour cream, butter, cayenne and honey. Add salt and white pepper.
Cook soup until thoroughly heated.
Garnish with chives. And if you like a small extra dollop of sour cream.                                     

This one brings cheer to any autumn menu. Monday muffins, sharing the best last...

Another fall favorite of ours is this wonderful Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe. I have been making this one for years and have shared it on my doula website for almost as long. 

Pumpkin Muffins

A long time favorite in our household, this pumpkin chocolate chip muffin recipe has evolved and while still a bit decedent with the chocolate chips involved, it does have less sugar than the original recipe and the butter has been reduced. I use all whole wheat flour. 

These freeze well and are still yummy upon reheating. Make sure you put some aside to freeze or you'll have to start over as they will go so fast.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

12 standard or 48 mini

1 2/3 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice
a pinch of cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup plain pumpkin (half of a 1 lb. can)
6 Tablespoons butter melted
1 cup chocolate chips (dark chocolate works for me)

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

Thoroughly mix flour, sugar, spice, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.

Break eggs into another bowl add pumpkin and melted butter. Whisk until well blended.

Pour over dry ingredients and fold in just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Scoop batter into lined muffin tins.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until springy to the touch in the center.
Turn onto a rack to cool.

Put some of the muffins aside to freeze or you'll have to start baking all over again - they will go fast.

Urban and Suburban Gardening - Summer and Fall Harvests

This year for the first time I had a fall harvest of raspberries, a small harvest, but a harvest none the less. I have often wondered about encouraging my raspberry canes to produce in the fall. And it seems there were two contributing factors this year. One I had control over, the other not.

First, I didn't cut back canes as early as I usually do despite the pressure to do so.
My raspberries are between my garage and the alley. A perfect spot for them as it provides natural barriers to the weed like growth tendencies of the canes. The location, however, tends to include the neighbors in my suburban gardening efforts.

The neighbors seem to fall into two groups. The first set includes the concerned and skeptic, they express concern over the possibility of the raspberry canes causing damage to vehicles, specifically scratches on car paint. Even though I want to be a good neighbor, this year I left the cane trimming for later and with the unseasonably warm weather extending into the fall as an added factor, the canes produced again in October. Another group of neighbors doesn't complain. They just harvest freely. This years overly abundant harvest produced enough to share, the heat curtailed any over zealous foragers and they weren't expecting berries in the fall! The small fall raspberry harvest was few but it was all mine!

What ever view the neighbors take, the raspberries love their location.They thrive there and produce in abundance. And maybe I shouldn't admit this but, they really are not labor intensive at all! This year, when on one occasion I made the mistake of picking during the heat of the day, the work was long, tedious and a little sweaty. That task at that time of day forced me to consider those who do agricultural work and pick for a paycheck. They are out picking for hours a day to provide what we can easily find and buy at a grocery store. Remembering them makes me thankful for every bite!

Raspberry care tip for fall: harvest the leaves, cut back the canes (especially by the neighbors garage!), throw on some compost, spruce and pine needles, viola!

Orange Food is Good Food - Squash Soup Recipe

The colors of the autumn season have been gorgeous in Chicagoland this year. As the leaves finally fall from the trees, I am disappointed to see the beauty of it all freeze away. This yummy butternut squash soup recipe is a bit of consolation. It's tasty, healthy and saves some of the lovely fall color for the table.

Fall and winter are great seasons for bowls of hot soup to keep the chill in check. Along with a hearty piece of whole grain bread, fresh baked or not, with a vegetable or cheese spread, soup can contribute to a complete meal and make for cozy time together. Squash soup is an ideal way to prepare those beta-carotene rich squash so abundant in the fall harvest.

Butternut Squash Soup

1 small - medium butternut squash
1 16 oz.can chicken broth
1 cup low-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash lemon pepper or white pepper
1 tablespoon honey
chopped fresh chives for garnish





Halve the squash, remove seeds and bake at 350 in baking pan in shallow water cut side down, turn cut side up after about 20 minutes.
Bake another 15-20 minutes for a total 30-40 minutes total or until tender.
Spoon squash from peel into food processor or blender and puree. (When in a hurry, I have skipped this step, but the resulting texture isn't as nice.)
Combine baked pureed squash and broth in a large saucepan bring to a boil and simmer.
Over medium heat stir in sour cream, butter, cayenne and honey. Add salt and white pepper.
Cook soup until thoroughly heated.
Garnish with chives. And if you like a small extra dollop of sour cream.                                                                

                                                                             

Happy Halloween Birthday!

Fall is a delightfully colorful season. Traditional autumn activities of harvest include preparations for the upcoming winter months. Gathering provisions for warmth and sustenance dominated fall activities in the past. Despite the official beginning of fall in September, it is Halloween that seems to mark the actual change of seasons for us. Halloween is a festive day of tricks, treats and fun for young ones. In northern Illinois, the day can be a warm weather day of the very last of summer or one in which a full blown winter coat is needed, either way children delight in the day of fun and costumes.

I haven't always been a fan of the holiday, preferring a mellower acknowledgement of harvest and the change of season, but the birth of one of my babies on a chilly Halloween morning changed that. Our son, Asher, has naturally always loved having a Halloween birthday. Turning eighteen this year, (how can that be?) we celebrate our middle child and continue to enjoy the day as one of celebration and good fun. Here's wishing a delightful Halloween for you and yours as well, no matter how you celebrate.

Happy Birthday, Asher!