The air is cooler, the days are shorter and the gardens need a different type of tending to. I love watching the changing leaves and the hearty comfort foods of fall and winter, I can almost taste the schnitzel and spaetzel already! I also really enjoy filling up the freezer with perserved foods for the cold months ahead. Putting food that we grew ourselves and have preserved for the months ahead is so satisfying. Sometimes I think that I would have liked to be a homesteader, but then I remember how much we take for granted, like indoor plumbing and heating, and refrigeration.
We started a new family tradition this year. Apple picking! I had never really been before and it was so easy compared to picking strawberries and raspberries. It took no time at all to pick 20 pounds of apples which meant that it was still fun for the girls.
Leah and I turned all 20lbs into applesauce. She really enjoyed running the apple peeler. I have never used one before and it really made a difference Leah could peel one in the time I could chop an apple up so it only took us maybe an hour to process all the apples.
The garden is starting to get ready for its winter nap. This week I pulled all the tomato plants out. Nothing was really ripening anymore and I wanted to use one of the nice warm days to do it. I collected about 8 pounds of green tomatoes! So I made up a batch of my version of Salsa verde. I use the Hungarian hot and sweet wax peppers and a ghost pepper for spiciness and then add some onions, cilantro, oregano, and some lime juice. Blend it up and put it on fajitas, or as chip dip.
With Thanksgiving just around the corner we picked up the turkey today, I already am having visions of too many leftovers, but it will taste good all the same. I made an apple pie, a pumpkin pie and tried out a new recipe for sweet potato pound cake. Leah got to help make the cake today, she is loving helping out more and more in the kitchen.
Our spring bulb order came in today, More daffodils, tulips and some new amaryllis for christmas time. I look forward to seeing what the look like, I kind of dread the planting part though.