|
 Autumn
means so much more than finally getting back to the routine of
school and opening the windows, it’s about the colors of the trees,
the smell of the bonfires, the decorated front doors and walkways,
the fleece hoodies and flannel jackets and of course, the fall
foods.
Fall is many people’s favorite time of year. It’s unknown exactly as
to why, maybe because of the Halloween haunted houses and kids
dressing up for trick or treat. Perhaps it’s an indication of the
start of the holiday shopping season or maybe because it’s more
acceptable to eat less healthily because we wear more clothes to
hide our bodies a little more.
Regardless, it’s a time to get out of the summer slump and spruce up
the house, yard, and yourself and enjoy fall in a multitude of ways.
And what better way than to preserve and enjoy some of those fall
foods?
Like all seasons, there are many varieties of fall
specific foods that can be used in so many ways. Although many
gardens planted in the spring or summer are harvested in early to
middle fall, this is also the peak season for certain fall fruits
and veggies that are the main feature at many season-specific
festivals.
As the temperatures start to cool down, and the days get shorter and
the nights get longer, the kitchens are heating up. Folks are eager
to fill the cupboards and freezer with cookies, bread, and garden
vegetables. Canning and freezing garden foods and herbs is an
excellent way to plan for meals on those cold winter nights. One of
the most popular is the preserving of sweet corn. Though done
different ways, and often time consuming, when the thought of
shucking another ear of corn is disturbing, think about having hot,
buttered corn that tastes just like it was picked from the stock on
the winter dinner table makes it all while.
The tomatoes that are canned and stored on the shelf make a great
chili. The pickles and zucchini relish are a great way to dress up a
hamburger in March. Dried herbs, garlic and horseradish harvested in
late fall will come in handy for that Easter ham. The potatoes
harvested from their mounds of soil are always a great surprise as
we discover how big they really got. Those homegrown spuds make
great additions to soups, eggs, and roasts. It doesn’t matter if
they are baked, fried, mashed, raw for a snack, when they are home
grown they just taste better!
Freezing fruits in the fall is easy and delicious and can be used
all year long. If you have access to an apple tree, homemade red-hot
applesauce is a wonderful treat with any meal, anytime of the year.
Pears are also great to preserve in syrup to serve or baked.
Although canning and preserving is a bit of work, pre-planning as
much as possible with all the right tools and patience can lead to a
fun way to show off your gardening abilities, not to mention the
healthier choice and economic value.
If you are interested in canning, you do not have to
have a garden. Go to local farmer’s markets, festivals or even the
grocery store to gather produce and fruits. Start out small with
just one or two vegetable or fruit varieties and stick to a solid
method. Like most any hobby, there are many ways and hundreds of
suggestions on how to can or freeze fruits and vegetables. You can
find information online or with books from your local farm and home
store. However, the first several times you may want to stick with
one way or brand that you are familiar with and then add or tweak in
the coming years. Another valuable resource is family members,
sometimes auntie or grandma are the best resources.
[to top of second column] |
If you are not familiar with a certain fall food, a
great way to try some of these is to get one or two at your local
grocery store or farmer’s market and search for an easy popular
recipe. This way you are not obligated to grow or spend money on
expensive pre-prepared food, just to find out if you like it or not.
An easy and natural way to try the flavor of these foods is by
simple roasting. This will allow the true flavor to come out for you
to determine whether you want to spend the money and time searching
for more extensive recipes. A simple light coating of olive oil and
a little salt or herbs and roasting until soft will give you that
honest wholesome taste of that food. You can even take it a step
further and roast many veggies all together and just serve with any
meat dish or by themselves. A great “go-to” is whatever is ready in
the garden at that time. In the fall that can be bulbed onions
(yellow, white, red), squash (acorn, butternut, etc.), zucchini,
eggplant, trophy radishes (when roasting they turn sweet), fall
turnips, brussels sprouts, potatoes, and carrots.
Pumpkin, squash, Indian corn, and gourds are another multipurpose
fall food that can be used in many ways. They are great to decorate
with in October and you can use the seeds to re-plant the next
season.
With the pumpkins and squash, it can be cooked, cut up and frozen
and used for those fall dishes like pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie,
or just roasted with other vegetables.
Used in many fall decorations indoors and outside,
Indian corn grows just like regular corn. It is middle to late fall
and is so fun to see what mix of colors fill the ear.
Popcorn is another fun fall food that is harvested in late fall. You
can enjoy it all winter long and it is fun for the kids. Store the
popcorn right on the ear by pulling the shuck back and hanging it up
to get good and dry and let the kids watch it pop in the microwave.
We can’t forget the farmers in our lives and how important fall is
for them. The calculations, patience and crossing of fingers from
spring to fall is a very important contribution to us all. The
manufacturing of seed corn and soybeans is an art that not everyone
has a hand in, but without it our small little communities wouldn’t
survive. Harvest time, as so many farmers say, is the reason for so
many festivals, the success of so many businesses and is a major
factor in what Central Illinois stands for.
|
