Autumn is fast approaching and with low measurement rain gauges, some leaves are finding the ground sooner than last years first blanket of fall.
Their colors, a dry brown with darker crinkles, are not much to appreciate; lets hope the remainder will indeed change to beautiful piece quilt colors as the season intended.
Homeowners, who groom and not just mow, dread a single dead leaf in their yard; many are already raking up or leaf blowing small piles across their lawns. They are bagged and twist tied.
Most country folks will start their first leaf burn of the season only after the kids rake up a pile for pleasure jumping, and if that smell of silence doesnt put you in an autumn mood, I dont know what will.
I am anxious to get my oven baking again; muffins, casseroles and roasted dinners. We dont have central air in our old farmhouse so our oven goes on summer vacation and doesnt go back to baking until a cool morning lasts through to the afternoon, or evening chills earlier than most. If morning baking is accomplished in my kitchen before heading out the a.m. door, that smell of silence lingers through our closed up house, just waiting for the first one home to go on the hunt; hmm, someone made banana bread today.
As I step out into our low yard, I am surrounded by walls of towering corn. I feel small in such a grand and green enclosure. It is a calm morning, a light rustle of tumbling leaves and swaying stalks greet me to come closer, the sweet and musky smell of the corn forest pleases my senses. This smell of silence smiles me.
Fresh cut hay that lays in the field, raked and then turned to dry even more, is a smell of silence that with every movement in the harvest process, finds its way to a country folk face, and many breathe deep; holding the season in their lungs as long as they can.
The mist that hovers over my morning light silently mixes all the smells that have risen up from the fields and woods, from the barns and pastures, from the back 40 burn piles and from my Amish neighbors chimney. I enjoy the fall air. It is cool, it is crisp. Fall is the smell of silence.
Warm days now turn into cool evenings. What recipes do you enjoy this time of year? Send recipes to Country Cupboard, 5973 Blachleyville Rd., Wooster 4691. Emails are always welcome at thewritecook@sssnet.com
Fall Apple Dip #1
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 ounce praline nut mix
Granny Smith apples, unpeeled
Pineapple juice
Blend cream cheese with brown sugar and vanilla. Add nut mix. Wash and slice apples. Dip in pineapple juice before setting on serving tray with dip.
Fall Apple Dip #2
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup peanuts, chopped
1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Mix all ingredients. Serve with sliced apples. (Dip apples in orange juice to prevent discoloration.)
Fall Apple Cake
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 egg whites
1 egg
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup apple juice
2 cup flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups peeled and chopped apples
1/2 cup chopped nuts
Beat sugar and oil; add eggs and vanilla. Beat until creamy. Stir in juice. Mix dry ingredients together. Add to egg mixture. Gently stir in apples and nuts. Pour batter into greased and floured 10-inch tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 to 65 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool on wire rack for 30 minutes. Serve warm. May be sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Fall Festival Salad
1 package ground raw cranberries
3 cups miniature marshmallows
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups cut-up tart apples, unpeeled
1/2 cup broken nuts
1 cup grapes
1 cup sour cream
Combine first three ingredients. Mix well and refrigerate for 12 hours. Add remaining ingredients. Blend well and refrigerate.
Fall Vegetable Medley Casserole
2 large Idaho potatoes, with skin left on
2 large zucchini
3 large ripe tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
4 tablespoons olive oil
Coarsely ground black pepper and coarse salt, to taste
1/2 cup chopped parsley
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-by-13 shallow baking pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Thinly slice crosswise potatoes, tomatoes and zucchini (yellow and green squash may be combined for color variation). Coarsely chop garlic. Lay potatoes along entire bottom of pan, overlapping the slices by half. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with pepper and salt. Cover potatoes with squash slices. Drizzle with another tablespoon of oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic, parsley and lemon zest. Cover squash with the tomato slices and another tablespoon olive oil, pepper and remaining parsley. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour or until potatoes are tender. Can be served either hot or at room temperature.
Fall Pear Cake
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
Pinch salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
6 fresh California Bartlett pears, peeled, and diced (4 cup)
1 cup walnuts, chopped, optional
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup sherry
Beat sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift dry ingredients together and mix with creamed butter. Fold in remaining ingredients. Turn into buttered and floured 9-by-13 oven proof baking dish. Bake in 350 degree oven 35 to 40 minutes or until done. 24 servings. Frosting (optional): Whip 1 cup softened butter until creamy. Add 2 cups powdered sugar and beat again until light and fluffy. Add 1/4 cup sherry, beat.
Fall Vegetable Mix
3 sweet potatoes or yams, cut in 1 inch slices (substitute canned yams if necessary)
3 medium carrots, cut in 2-inch pieces
1 cup yellow squash or pumpkin, cubed
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or nutmeg
4 tablespoons butter
Boil vegetables in orange juice mixed with honey. Arrange vegetables in buttered casserole dish. Combine bread crumbs with brown sugar, cinnamon, or nutmeg and 2 tablespoons butter. Sprinkle mixture over vegetables. Cover and bake 25 minutes in 350 degree oven. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer.
Fall Pumpkin Bread
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 large eggs
1 (16 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 cup pitted prunes, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can walnuts (1 cup), chopped
Add all ingredients and mix well. Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until bread pulls away from sides of pan. A toothpick inserted into center of bread should come out clean.
Fall Hot Drink
2 quarts apple cider
3 to 4 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 quart cranberry juice cocktail
1 1/2 teaspoons whole cloves
Mix all ingredients together and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.
Fall Baked Beans
2 Delicious apples
1 pound northern beans (cooked)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
4 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup catsup
1 tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash of salt
Put all ingredients into casserole dish. Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees
Fall Soup
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, diced
6 to 8 cups water
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup potatoes, diced
1 can whole tomatoes
1 tablespoon Gravy Master
Brown beef and onion in a saucepot. Drain grease. Add water, carrots, celery and potatoes. Cook for 20 minutes. Then add whole tomatoes and Gravy Master. Cook until vegetables are tender.
