Fall Brings Love

Fig & olive oil challah

I woke up this weekend and turned my face to look out my bedroom window. It’s finally fall.

I love fall. I love that I get to wear sweaters and jackets during fall. I love that my hair whips around in the wind during fall. I love that when I wrap a scarf around my neck, it keeps getting pushed farther by the fall wind, until my face is finally obscured and I can’t see where I’m going. The fall chill has a vitality to it that isn’t the same in the winter. It’s crisper - I feel like I can hear it and feel it around me. Or is it just the crunching leaves that I can hear? Fall is alive and it makes me feel alive too.

Bean soup, candles & wine. Pure romance.

Of course I love fall food as well! Braises come out of my kitchen whenever I have the time. Bean stews are a regular player on my menu plans. If I can stir roasted squash into it, thats even better (best bean soup recipe ever, coming soon!) And the baking. Apples, pumpkins and spices everywhere. I picture an apple muffin, gently torn open, with steam rising from the tender crumb. These foods make me feel warm. These foods are the equivalent of sitting in a well-cushioned chair with a blanket wrapped around you and a purring cat in your lap. Heaven.

And fall is a time to celebrate! Fall is Halloween fun and Thanksgiving abundance. Fall is family gathered around a table, laughing and eating for hours. Fall is three sisters holding mittened hands while taking a walk by the river. It’s a time for special occasions between special people.

Butternut squash, waiting to be roasted

I have even more to celebrate than usual this fall. On a chilly evening, Daniel got down on one knee and told me he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. I agreed with this plan and now there’s a sparkly ring perched on my left hand. I don’t know what to do with myself I’m so happy, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to involve a lifetime of baking this man pies.

You guys, there’s going to be a really great party next year where you’ll see me wearing white. And it’s going to be in the fall.

Love forever, in the fall