Fall and cooking

I love fall. I love to cook in fall. I'm a fan of spending time cooking in my kitchen (cleaning is another matter, but that's another post entirely. :P )

So this is going to be all about WHY I love cooking in fall, and some new recipes I'm planning on trying here soon.

The why of it all: Partly, I suppose, it's because of the ingredients. I love starting with fresh produce, and it's more readily available in the fall -- pumpkins and squashes (granted I'm not a huge squash fan, but they make good soups, and they *look* pretty) and apples...oh, apples! *sigh* Plus, of course, the stuff I love to make -- soups and stews, casseroles, pot roast, chili -- they are all much better suited to eating and cooking in cooler weather, when the heat from them is more welcome. So, yeah, fall suits my cooking style right down to the ground.

Now, what I'm looking forward to making: biscotti. Lots and lots of biscotti. I'm a tea drinker, rather than a coffee drinker, but biscotti goes equally well with either drink. The crispness lends itself to dunking, and it's usually less sweet than other types of cookie. Plus, they mail well, if you're planning on a home-made treat for friends or family far away (how'd you like my alliteration?)

Pumpkin: I have a whole huge list of stuff I want to make using pumpkin -- biscotti, soup, bread, scones, pumpkin butter... Every year in the fall, I always get a couple of extra pumpkins besides the ones we're going to carve for Hallowe'en. At some point (usually around Thanksgiving) I cut 'em up and peel 'em, and cook them down and mash them up and freeze the pulp, in 2-cup portions. Then, throughout the year, whenever I want to make scones or pumpkin bread or pumpkin cheesecake or whatever, I can just pull a little out of the freezer and go for it.

A friend recently posted a recipe on Google+ for her homemade butternut squash-and-apple soup. It sounded good. I may try it.

I have seen several interesting apple-pie variations, lately; I'm seriously considering trying one or more of them, plus my perennial favorite, Tennessee Apple Upside Down Cake.

Then, of course, there's my dinners -- Basque Chicken Pie, Crock-Pot Pot Roast, Chicken Fricassee...

I'm not planning on doing any serious Food Blogging, but I may start taking pictures and posting them (along with recipes) here. As an occasional thing.