….the colors, the scents, the cooking….
I had a note from my youngest sis today, and independently, we had decided to spend the next week in a similar manner. She and the girls have some time off from school at the end of this week. They are going to work on a scarecrow, carve a pumpkin, make some apple butter, clean up the herb garden, and pick apples from their tree.
A week ago, Dear Husband and I purchased a half bushel of Jonathan apples. I want to make some apple butter. I’ve used some of the apples to make applesauce, and an apple pie. A few more will go into a pork chop and apple dinner later this week. I want to try my hand again at baked apples. I haven’t done them in ages.
It’s not Fall without pumpkin bread. I love the smell of it as it cooks, the cinnamon and cloves perfuming the house. For others, it’s pumpkin pie that confirms that fall is here. Cinnamon is my favorite spice, but I use it rarely throughout the summer. It just seems more suited to the colder months.
This year I haven’t done a scarecrow, or stalks of corn. The container gardens have done so well, that there hasn’t been room for them in the gardens that lead to our front door. I have a wide variety of pumpkins, though. There’s a green Cinderella style pumpkin, and two perfect jack o’lantern style orange pumpkins. I have one smallish one that looks like it has the measles…..a pale orange spotted with pale green bumps. And there’s a trio of small pie pumpkins scattered around. I think Mr. Measles and one of the big ones will be carved by Saturday.
My herb garden needs a bit of trimming and harvesting. I still have miniature yellow pear tomatoes coming along, but I don’t think we have many days left to enjoy them. I’ve been reading that several plants do better if you leave their super structure for the winter, but the garlic chives are OUTTA HERE!! I have garlic chives growing EVERYWHERE!
So, as I play my way through fall, I know that my sis and her daughters are doing similar things, and that we have passed on a generation of seasonal loves. I hope in twenty years, there’s a call and a young voice says…..”Can I have your apple butter recipe???”
I’ll be among the first to ask for your apple butter recipe. I haven’t made it in years, but I’d enjoy seeing how others make theirs.
We are still trying to finish off the jams and green beans that Mom (who died in 1994) canned. We finished off her pickled beets (which we severely rationed, knowing that there would be no more of hers!) a few months ago, and I recently found a few more jars of green beans. Jams don’t get eaten around here (we don’t eat much bread), so the strawberry and blackberry jams, and the applebutter are languishing.
Buffy, I am envious about having all those apples. I’d love to make puddings again but since the kids left home I have had few opportunities to make them. The Husband is trying to lose weight and any attempt on my part to make puddings or desserts is not welcome (I notice he still likes to eat salted nuts and other snacks though – obviously they have no calories).
Tut, tut, Adele. Believe The Husband–his intentions are good. (His actions reflect my own.)
My mom used to make apple butter when I was little. I would love it if you posted the recipe!
Ladies, I’ll have to look for it. I didn’t make apple butter last week, but I still intend to do a small batch, so when I find the recipe, I’ll post it. It’s been AGES since I did it last!
Isn’t it amazing how long a shelf life some of those canned things have, Cop Car? You’re lucky your mother left you such a stash!
Adele, my husband doesn’t eat crisps or crumbles or the common fall desserts, so I make one every now and then just for Elegante Mother and myself. I don’t believe that Dear Husband is dieting; he simply doesn’t care for cobblers and such. There isn’t anyone here who can resist the salted nuts! Better not to buy them.
I’ll see if I can find it, Susan. As I recall, it was yummy.
I hope you had a great Boo…. Day girl!