It would be a shame to reserve rum punch only for the summer months and warm days at the beach. At least that’s what I think, anyway.
Although, it doesn’t feel like the right time of year to have the refreshing fruity flavor that usually comes along with the drink.
So I felt like I needed to come up with something that says fall, but with rum.
I started with apple cider.
A few years ago, I posted about a really great pumpkin dish I had when we were living in southern Brazil. Pumpkin is used there year round, and not solely associated with fall and the holidays as it is in the U.S. So I’d often find it on the lunch buffets, a popular business dining option during the week.
So this dish I speak of combined roasted pumpkin and Gorgonzola cheese. It was the best combination with the sweet pumpkin and pungent cheese.
I made it the same way that I could guess it was made there, but ever since that encounter I’ve envisioned a more exciting and luxurious version. Perhaps one with a different winter squash, fit for the holiday table.
I finally got around to acting on those visions this year.
I don’t consider myself a tea person.
I drink tea. Especially the fun spiced flavors and holiday blends, but coffee holds a special place in my heart (and my central nervous system).
Despite my beverage choices, I am completely infatuated with the culture of tea. How it’s grown, traditions of consuming it, and varieties around the world. The interest is so strong that I find myself wishing I was a true tea person.
If you are a tea person, you should know there is a special aura about you. A relaxing, take it slow kind of aura. It’s the opposite of my give-me-all-the-coffee-so-I-can-do-all-the-things lifestyle. I’m envious of it.
But guess what? I’ve recently discovered that I don’t have to be a tea drinker to be a tea person. There are other ways, and I owe it to my friend Annelies for showing them to me.
I’m talking about cooking with it.
I always pass those multi-bean mixes when I’m perusing the bulk bin section at the supermarket. I’m tempted to buy them, but then I wonder how all those different varieties will cook together. I make enough beans and lentils to know that cooking times and textures vary.
Honestly, it’s taken me a long time to figure it all out and keep track of what results in the perfect bean in my book. No reason to ruin the good thing I’ve got going.
But last week, there I was again, staring at the mother of all bean mixes – 13 bean and lentil mix.
One of the best things about always being surrounded by food people is that I’m often reminded of things I haven’t made in the longest time.
It keeps things interesting in the kitchen. I’m constantly encouraged to go back and make this or that again.
Take pomegranate molasses, for example.
I always struggle with getting the right consistency for cooked brown lentils. And by right, I mean getting them the way I like them – slightly firm, but tender enough to enjoy. Usually, I get them boiling, get distracted and they are mushy before I realize it.
That’s fine for soups, but I enjoy eating them as more of a stir-fry or a skillet meal.
So this time around, I watched them like a hawk.
Actually, that’s a lie.
Switch things up this holiday season with a hearty pear and pork ravioli filled with rustic autumn flavors!
Thanks to Nugget Markets for sponsoring this post!
Sometimes I feel bad for pears.
They are the underdog of fall ingredients. As soon as temperatures begin to dip, apples are all the rage. The leaves start turning and we simply cannot hide our affection for winter squash.
Meanwhile, there sit the pears. Beautiful in their green, reddish-brown, and tan fall colors, but second place to the front row attention-seekers.
I’m not sure why I turn to apples and pumpkins over pears, but more often than not, I do. Guilty.
So when Nugget Markets gave me the opportunity to do a fall-inspired post, an alternative to the traditional holiday meal, I set my sights on pears. At the very least, I owe the fruit some time in the spotlight.
It is finally here!
Food on Tap: Cooking with Craft Beer publishes today!
I’m so grateful to everyone who helped make this book possible and to those who have been so excited to share about it. Notes from Instagram stories and other social outlets have been flowing my way over the past couple weeks and it’s like a big virtual hug.
I’m not sure how other cookbook authors feel, but I find it a bit awkward to promote my own book. I share bits and pieces on social, but I’m never quite sure what to write about it here on the blog.
I know what you might be thinking. Another butternut squash soup recipe? Aren’t there enough of those?
Honestly, I was thinking the same then when I started making this.
I love winter squash soup this time of year, but I’ll be the first to admit that I get bored of the flavor. I stepped it up by adding scotch bonnet pepper a long while back, but I wasn’t in the mood for that. I also didn’t want it to become sweet. Savory butternut squash soups are the best, in my opinion.
I finally settled on brown butter.
It’s finally here! The day that I can say, “It’s fall,” and no one can tell me it’s not fall yet. I get a little snarky about the whole issue.
Fall is a frame of mind for me. It has to be.
We now live in place that stays pretty well hot until nearly the end of October. Fall is my favorite season. If I don’t celebrate fall despite the heat, well, I just might go a little crazy flipping through all those pictures of leaves, apples, pumpkins, sweaters, and boots in my social media feed.
So I make a mental commitment that fall starts on September 1.
That being said, wow, have we been having real deal fall weather this week! I woke to 55 F yesterday and rain! We’ll be back up in the 90s next week so I’ve been enjoying every second of it.
Running mid-morning, reading outside, and…turning on the oven!
