Part Two: Foods of Fall

Part Two of the 6 Week Series, “Happy Fall Y’all!” 
This week's entry will send your taste buds  in overdrive. There's even a recipe you'll want to try!

As the season changes, even our food choices change! When else can you get caramel apples, and multiple types of fresh candy corn? Suddenly, the weather cools, and most people begin to crave the savory warmth of traditional foods. It's partly a taste thing, and perhaps that people feel cold. But to me, the best part is the smell of these things cooking! (I like pumpkin pie, but I do think the best part of it is the smell as it cooks!)

 Thoughts turn to warm soups and casseroles that were avoided during the hot summer months. The colorful bounty of nature’s harvest encourages us to consider the different types of squash, peppers, and pumpkins that seem to demand cooking.

Football games, whether tailgate parties or personal feasts, bring spicy delights such as wings, chili, or nachos and cheese.  Last fall, we went on a search for the perfect mulled cider recipe. After a little experimenting, we came up with something we had throughout the fall.  Lately, I have noticed myself thinking of a turkey dinner – that’s definitely a sign of fall! Turkey, sweet potatoes, pumpklin pie…  not sure I can wait until November for that!

Who can forget the baked goods and sweets this time of year? Lately, I've found myself thinking of baking bread.... for the smell if nothing else! :) Facebook posts from friends rave about pumpkin muffins, spice cake, zucchini bread, and baked apples cooking – it’s enough to make you hugry just reading your newsfeed! The most common spices, ccinnamon nutmeg, and pumpkin pie seasonings make the air smell fabulous! 

Yesterday, my friend, Tracy Ruckman shared that she’d just made a cake “that made the house smell like autumn.” Don’t you love the way she described it? . It’s very easy, using a cake mix and filling. She used a yellow cake with a can of pureed pumpkin. She added clove and cinnamon to her cake.  Then she topped it with an apple cider glaze! At that point, I knew it would be tried here soon. The glaze in the recipe calls for using apple cider, pumpkin pie spice, and powdered sugar. 

Someone else mentioned that she’d made this cake using pie filling. Her favorite is apple caramel in a carrot or spice cake mix. Oh, yes! Wouldn’t that be fabulous?  I love spice cake, and like to add a can of applesauce and raisins to it. I’m not sure which new cake I’ll make first, the one with pumpkin or apple, but am pretty sure I’ll use a spice cake mix. I’ll try the glaze as it is in the recipe, but think I’ll add a bit of cinnamon and maybe even some vanilla!  Don’t you think it’ll require multiple tries to come up with the best combination? Fortunately, yes.  

Here’s the recipe she shared:

Pumpkin Two-Ingredient Cake

One Cake mix- I used yellow

1 -15 ounce can 100% pumpkin- puree, not pumpkin pie filling

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl mix cake mix with pumpkin filling using a hand mixer or a stand mixer. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Pour batter into a greased 7 x 11 inch baking dish. Bake for 28 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting. Serves 8.

Apple Cider Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

2 T. apple cider

1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice

In a small bowl blend all ingredients until smooth. Pour over Pumpkin Cake letting it drizzle down the sides of the cake. Let set before covering. 

Bon Appetite!

The "Happy Fall Y'all Series" 
Part One Welcome Fall!

Upcoming topics:

Part Three: Memories of Leaves 

Part Four: A Sensory Feast 
Part Five: Seasons of Life 

Part Six: True Colors 

return to "A Moment with Morning Glory"  blog

Part One: Welcome Fall!

Autumn... That colorful break between the dreadful heat of summer and the bitter cold of winter.  Today is part one of a 6 week series called, "Happy Fall, Y'all!" Grab some apple cider and enjoy!

Welcome Fall!

Fall has traditionally been my favorite time of the year for many reasons. While summer is relaxed, with long days left after work, perhaps even a vacation, the oppressive heat stifles the desire to do anything extra. 

But then the calendar shifts and we go into “fall mode.”  School starts back, along with football season, and we go back to “real-life” routines. The stores encourage shoppers to buy a new fall wardrobe with the rich hues of autumn. The artificial man-made calendar thinks it determines the season.

In reality, there is much more than our determination at work. It is as if there’s an almost “cosmic energy” sending all living creatures into motion. Part of it is that cooler temperatures encourage those of us that don’t enjoy heat to once again venture outside. And why would we want to stay indoors? The trees are beginning to turn colors, giving just a hint of the grandeur they have hidden inside. Squirrels are actively gathering nuts and storing them. Gardens burst  as the growth of summer rushes towards the finale. Flowers are full and colorful, and we begin to gather the final harvests of many foods. Our tomatoes are prolific this time of year.

Whether it be from the garden or at the grocery store, there’s a shift towards the fall foods. You can see a difference as soon as you enter the grocery store. Pumpkins are available now, as well as apple cider. I’ve noticed the many colorful varieties of squash and  peppers are on display.  Sometimes they are bought with the purpose of cooking,  but I suspect a great deal of these foods are bought for decorations as well! 

When I think of fall, I think of the colorful gold, red, orange, and bright yellow leaves against the bright blue skies of October. The cool, crisp nights days are perfect for fall festivals, followed by hayrides to the pumpkin patch, or gathering around a fire roasting hot dogs with friends. Night-time football games bring the community together as the players, cheerleaders, and band members each bring a level of excitement to the field.

Yes, it’s fall, and this year, we’ve been blessed with actual “fall weather” early. I always look forward to this new season, a time to treasure the gifts of nature.  Happy Fall Y’all

The "Happy Fall Y'all Series" 

Upcoming topics:

Part Two: Foods of Fall 
Part Three: Memories of Leaves 

Part Four: A Sensory Feast 
Part Five: Seasons of Life 
Part Six: True Colors 

return to "A Moment with Morning Glory"  blog