I absolutely love the season we are in. The Pennsylvania Fall comes slower than up North, and October days are filled with chilly mornings and afternoons of sun and light breeze. The trees in the city don't seem to be changing, but as soon as I get off the train to walk home, I remember why we live in Mt. Airy- the leaves are incredibly vibrant!
I walked through my neighborhood on Saturday and stopped by a couple farm stands to buy groceries. One stand had a great setup with pumpkins and a huge selection of locally grown apples. I never seem to find much value for pumpkins in my life (not much of a carver and wouldn't go through the trouble of making a pie from scratch) but there is something so nostalgic about apples and pumpkins together on a beautiful Autumn Day.
Lots of cooking was had with my favorite Fall foods, and Chase and I stopped by a brewery on Saturday to buy a variety pack of cider. In Pennsylvania you have to buy an entire case of beer per purchase. I wondered how the 2 of us would finish 50 bottles of cider on our own, but they all are so delicious we will handle them easily by the end of November.
For lunch we had Fall cider and a salad I tried to replicate after a recent trip to our favorite local restaurant: greens, apples, toasted walnuts, cranberries, goat cheese and a balsamic/honey dressing. I didn't have red onions, but there is still a secret ingredient I have yet to discover!
We went to a Fall Festival in our neighborhood which allowed us to try new restaurants at a much more affordable price. I opted for a natural food taco and Chase tried Asian infused Cin Cin.
Sunday we both played soccer with an old friend of mine from UMass. I think for Chase and I, Fall has always meant soccer, and it was awesome to get out there and play again. I also made my favorite butternut squash pasta dish, which is my sister's recipe, and some amazing peanut butter cookies as a kick-off (no pun intended) to Halloween.
Roasted butternut squash and Portabella Mushrooms, caramelized onions in brown sugar, goat cheese and ziti:
Roasted butternut squash and Portabella Mushrooms, caramelized onions in brown sugar, goat cheese and ziti:
