Friday, September 14, 2007

Drooling in Anticipation

I love fall. Everything about it is appealing to me. Well, almost everything. There's the little issue of those pesky wasps and yellow jackets that seem to come out at this time of year that act like WWII flying aces as they dive bomb you or act like kamakazee pilots as they drive straight for you. Ahem. But that's a post for another day.

Ninety-nine percent of the things of fall make me happy. I just love how the days are still for the most part warm around here but the nights cool off. I even love when those days start turning colder all day, where the air is cool & crisp but the sun still touches the skin with warmth. The chunky knits and warm, cozy sweaters. I love the fall rain when it comes. I love when the leaves turn color and everything becomes rich and earthy looking. I love when the leaves drop and you have a colorful carpet to walk on of stress-busting crunchiness. And the smells, oh the smells of fall. The fallen leaf mustiness, the campfires, the baking.

And the food. I love the food of fall. While summer's barbques are wonderful fare, in the fall is when all the comfort foods of life start to make an appearance on the table. The potatoe soups, the beef stews made with veggies from the harvest, the baked pastas, the homemade applesauces and the apple crisps. I love the apple crisps. While wonderful all year, there is something about making them with brand new, crisp, juicy apples. And Thanksgiving, who can forget Thanksgiving is in there. For us Canadians, this comes sooner in early October. Everything about Thanksgiving dinner is comfort food to me.

Even today my mom is making my absolute all time favorite comfort food: plum dumplings. A wonderful potatoe dumpling encasing a prune plum filled with an oozing mixure of brown sugar and cinnamon. Baked with toasted bread crumbs and sprinkled with icing sugar before serving, it is the queen of comfort foods on my list. It is hot, tasty and visually gorgeous with that melted brown sugar running out as you cut into the piping hot ball. I'll eat it for breakfast, lunch, supper, dessert and anytime I can lay my hands on one. It is here so fleetingly that I gorge myself on them while I can. My mouth watereth even as we speak in anticipation of delivery of the wonderful concoction this afternoon. Heaven on a plate.

I'll update with a pic when it arrives. However, now that I've got you screaming for the recipe, I have to disappoint you. See my mom, wonderful European cook that she is, makes it from a cookbook which does everything by weight, not measure, and in decagrams and kilograms. So I'll have to get her to translate for me. But I promise, I hope, to post a recipe soon. In the meantime, I have to go make sure my bowl and fork and a glass of ice cold milk is at the ready for when she rings the doorbell.

What is your favorite fall comfort food?

15 comments:

Jen said...

I love fall too....what a great post you wrote today. You have me on the couch with an afghan already....

My favorite comfort foods for fall....chili's and caramel apples, apple ciders.....hot fudge cake too....

Susanne said...

Oh how could I forget caramel apples and apple cider. Yummy!

Anonymous said...

I love fall/autumn too it's my most favourite time of the year. I love the colours. My favourite food...oh treacle toffee pudding.

Barb said...

You just described everything I love about autumn too. For us the pesky yellow jackets are a summer problem and start disappearing this time of year.

My favorite autumn food would be soups. Big pots of homemade soups. And my pumpkin cookies. And homemade bread, sort of, since I have a bread machine. But it still makes the house smell good.

The only down side to autumn is that I have to wear shoes again. LOL

2nd Cup of Coffee said...

Wow, Susanne. Your descriptive details really engaged me, particularly the line, "colorful carpet to walk on of stress-busting crunchiness." All of a sudden I started thinking, "Yeah! I love fall, too!" I have never heard of this recipe before. Sounds delicious--but complicated!

Beck said...

Fall has its comforts and food is at the VERY top of the list! Wonderful post!

Anonymous said...

Oh my I think if I ever got to taste plum dumplings they'd probably be my favorite! Hmm. I have so many favorite fall foods, soups, stews, stroganoff, warm bread, bread pudding. I'm getting so hungry here...

PastormacsAnn said...

Wow that plum dessert sounds just amazing! Can't wait to see a picture! How sweet of your mom to make it for you.

I like the fall, but it always makes me feel a bit melancholy. Of course we're still having summer weather - even though the nights are getting cooler it was still 94F degree today (34C). It won't feel like fall around here for about another month or so.

I really love apple pie or apple crisp and I love making & eating warm soups but I especially enjoy the roasted green chile that is in season in fall.

Lovely lovely post and let me say again, love your new look.

Annie said...

I ♥ Fall too!
and pumpkin bread ... and homemade caramel corn... and lots of crock pot cooking... and hot tea & cocoa! YUM.
Love the beautiful changing leaves, reds and yellows...
*´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·’ * Annie *

Shalee said...

Fall foods to me are things with lots of carbs. Mac and Cheese, Loaded Potato Soup, Gingerbread, Coffee Cake and, of course, Apple Pie, all to be eaten while watching a football game or three.

Love this tantalizing post, Susanne. Now I can't wait to get back into the kitchen!

Ahhh, welcome Autumn and all your glory.

Anonymous said...

My favorite weather is hot and sunny but the food you talked about... well there we completely agree. Yum.

By the way, I love your new design.

Laura said...

We don't get fall here unfortunately. We seem to move right from summer right into winter. It's horrible.

And yes don't hold out on us on that recipe girl!

Laura

Pam said...

I love fall, too. My favorite foods for fall . . . let's see . . . there are a few.

I love anything with apples, cobbler, pie, coffee cake warm from the oven.

I love a big bowl of chili or any thick soup with cheddar cheese and sour cream on top.

Gotta have some hot apple cider and ginger snaps, too.

Now I need to go and make something . . . I'm hungry.

gail@more than a song said...

What's not to love about fall! Can't wait to see the plum pic and recipe, it sounds good.
I love soups of all kinds, hot cider, warm bread.

Unknown said...

Oh that sounds so good. I don't know what my favorite is--maybe an apple betty from my husband's family recipe. I do enjoy soups and stews and an excuse to make them.

I like your new look. I'll have to get used to it--but I like it!