Fall Favorites

I have a feeling this blog will be a whole lot more interesting when I am actually overseas and living in the Middle East. Then I can write about all of the odd stories and cultural adjustments as they happen. In the meantime, my topics will just be a little random. So, since this will be my last autumn for a couple years I thought I'd write a bit about what I love during this season. In fact I think I can probably summarize in just two words:


1. Apples  
Technically, they are available all year long -- even in the Middle East, I think. However, as soon as autumn hits what was once simply an enjoyable fruit becomes a bit more like an obsession. Instead of buying a few at the grocery store, I feel compelled to buy a whole bag and I transform into an apple-baking fiend: apple crisp, apple butter, applesauce, apple fritters, and if I get truly ambitious, apple cider donuts. Oh, did I forget to mention cider? I don't have a cider press but stores are very handy in these situations. And of course, I enjoy a fun trip to an apple orchard or farm, which brings me to my second fall infatuation...


2. Pumpkins (and to a lesser extent their gourd cousins of the squash variety)

I have been blessed to have roommates who know how to cook with pumpkins (pumpkin + chocolate chips = tastiness). Alas my experience is mostly limited to carving them, toasting their seeds, and then after they have sat on our porch for a while, taking photos of them and creating a twisted story about them. Perhaps more will be posted on that later...

The creations of my roommate and I: Mine is the cyclops pumpkin. I call him Bert.

I enjoy other parts of fall of course. The weather is lovely for biking & raking, the leaves brilliant (I collected some the other day and pressed them between the pages of my oboe methods book), hot chocolate has become my friend again, and I get to dress up as a red-haired fictional character for Halloween. I'm sure I will miss this season when I live in a desert, but in the meantime, I will proceed to enjoy it this year as much as possible.