so i know fall isnt really here yet...

but it really feels like it. this has been the coolest summer i can remember. i would normally like that (no LOVE that,) but it meant less pool time for the two-year-old. and it also means that i still have five tomato plants that are loaded w green tomatoes. it just hasnt been warm enough for them to ripen. it gives me the sads. but this week we went to the farmer's market and it was truly bountiful. harvest is upon us! i bought acorn squash, a fresh pie pumpkin, beets, a huge celery, and baking apples.

also this week johnny and i took ruby to a farm. the idea was to pick apples, but they just werent ripe yet. that being said, we had an amazing time. she got to ride around on a wagon while her daddy took pictures and her mother lost her mind discovering what leeks look like when they're in the ground. it was so much fun. we picked blackberries and broccoli and onions and grapes and leeks and...we would have picked waaaay more stuff, but i had to reign in the crazies. for the first time in my life i got to see a harvest, not just reap the benefits at the market.




so to me, and in my house, fall is here. last week i started cool weather cooking, ie. braising meat and roasting chickens. this is my favorite time of year. i've missed my sweaters and my creuset. i love the smell of things roasting in my oven. its intoxicating. red wine tastes better than white again. i found myself daydreaming about football parties and big vats of brisket chili, icy beer, and pumpkin pie. so i got right on it. of course. ;)

yesterday i made butternut squash soup. i also made a huge amount of veggie stock. and i roasted and pureed the pumpkin so i can make a pie today. i feel like i know enough about cooking at this point (and please, i may be wrong, who knows,) to not use any one recipe exactly. i tend to read as many as i can find and then take the best parts from them and make up my own. this happened to turn out wonderfully this time. the soup has just a tiny amount of cream in it and a touch of cayenne pepper. just a touch. you feel it on the back of your throat, making its warmth linger.

today i bake the pie. im trying a new pie crust recipe. i think i need to make a ton of it so i can freeze it. so i can make a thousand pies this fall.

how thrilling. fall. welcome back. you've been missed.