Happy... Harvest?

So when I was a kid, we didn't celebrate Halloween. On October 31st, we celebrated Harvest.

Not "the harvest", a day of thanks for the bounty from the fields, but rather just Harvest. The not-scary Halloween alternative. We would dress up in not-scary-or-evil costumes* and go to the Harvest Fest! at a local church. This involved safe, well-lit activities such as face-painting, games, and lots of candy. Sometimes we even went trick-or-treating, to celebrate Harvest. In my adolescence I went through a fairy phase, being a different type of fairy every year. My favorite was the autumn fairy, with wings made from autumnal leaves. I was Queen Esther one year. This would have been a very good costume to wear to Harvest, as it was not-scary-or-evil and also referenced the Bible. Double bonus points! We did not go to Harvest that year, though, as our Harvest was spent at my aunt and uncle's house, east of the Cascades, where we trick-or-treated, made caramel apples, and suffered through the nastiness of candy wax lips.

 

Whatever you may or may not be celebrating today, may your day be as wonderful as those lips.

*Sadly for anatomy students, skeletons were generally deemed to fall in the scary-and/or-evil category, which struck me recently as funny, because skeletons are INSIDE ALL OF US.

Pumpkin Time!

What I made yesterday: applesauce!

After I finish writing this, I'm going to pick up some glittery silver pipe cleaners for my costume. And I may make this candy corn fudge, if time allows. When the elementary school up the street let out today, all the kids went haphazardly parading by in their adorable costumes. Life is good today.

Here are two pumpkiny recipes I've made this week. Except for the honey, these are vegan. Either one would be good with the addition of pumpkin seeds as well.

Happy Halloween!

Weekend Eats

 This weekend I was DETERMINED to make Smitten Kitchen's mushroom lasagna. I'd even bought the pound-and-half of mushrooms and they were in my fridge, probably creating more mushrooms. Can mushrooms do that? 

Two things that made me think of:

     1. Benoit Mandelbrot has died. He is responsible for, of course, the Mandelbrot set, and for fractals. Fractals are incredible, and the videos in that link will give you a nice mind-break. Also, there's this fractal-broccoli that I never buy when I see it. What's wrong with me? Mathematical gorgeousness + cruciferous vegetables = I should be all over that.

     2. The little girl I babysit thinks mushrooms are icky, so when we find some in her yard she stomps on them. One day she was really going to town on all the offending fungi (band name!) with a stick. I looked over and noticed a greenish-yellow dust floating up from her target. I told her to stop (just in case she inhaled the spores of whatever-the-crap-that was) but wasn't too concerned. Upon hearing this anecdote, my mother told us about a time in her youth at Girl Scout camp, when some others scouts had eaten some mushrooms and become so ill they had to be taken to the hospital. This sounds awful when I write it out, but it struck me as really funny too. This is probably related to all the other "at Girl Scout camp" stories my mom has. Like losing a chicken underground.

sheepfeet

Once I saw a man wringing out his socks. Lesson: Don't wear white cotton socks to hike in the snow. Also, don't wear white cotton socks ever. 

Wool socks rule.

Curried Fall-dorf Salad

Okay, maybe the name needs work. 

Waldorf Salad is apples, celery, onions, and walnuts with a mayo or yogurt dressing. It comes together quickly and can be adapted to your pleasure. (Say that last part in a sultry voice, will ya? Thanks.) 

 1 apple, diced (go for something tart, like Granny Smith)

1/2 plum, diced

1/8 red onion, minced (about 1/8 c)

3/4 c chopped romaine lettuce

1/4 c pecans, toasted and chopped

4 T mayo or plain yogurt

dash curry powder

Mix all together. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. If you like a little extra acid, squeeze some lemon over. If you have time, let the salad sit for a while, if not to marry the flavors, at least to let them speed-date. 

When you're making a nice little salad like this for yourself, the size that you cut the food into is up to you -- just think about how you like things to feel in your mouth -- really big chunks or smaller pieces that glom together and give you all the flavors in each bite? Then wield your knife accordingly.

Since this is an autumnal salad, here are some photos from my fall.

Painted pumpkin, from my work.

 Artificially-lit natural items are so cool.

I know it's late, but Happy Fall! And (also late) Happy Thanksgiving to the Canadians!

Transitions

Right now in Seattle it's been glorious. The sun has been present most of the last few days, the clouds are puffy and reveal a bright blue behind them, and the temperatures have nearly reached the seventies. The trees are putting on crimson robes and the night air has a bite to it. This time of year, the (hopefully) long and lazy to grey days, pulls me in two food directions. In one direction is the overflowing cornucopia of harvest, the sweet fruits and vegetables that hardly need cooking or adornment. In the other direction is the food of Carbohydrates and Fats. I think my inner European awakens, notices the slight chill, and demands to put on a "winter layer". 

In order to appease this craving, today I made up a cookie recipe I've dubbed Scandinavian Shortbread. Shortbread is a cookie made with the typical sugar, butter, and flour, but without any leaveners like baking soda or powder and typically also without egg. Shortbread at it's best is crunchy at the edges, tender in the middle, and slightly crumbly throughout. This shortbread has flavors of anise, cardamom, and honey. There's also a nice grain flavor from the whole wheat and rye flours.

Scandinavian Shortbread

1/3 c sugar

2 T honey

2/3 c unsalted butter, softened

1/2 t anise seeds

1/3 t ground cardamom

1 c all purpose flour

1/3 c whole wheat pastry flour

1/3 c rye flour

1/2 t salt

Preheat the oven to 350˚. In a bowl, cream together the sugar, honey, and butter until fluffy and smooth, about five minutes with an electric mixer, scraping the bowl every few minutes. Beat in the spices, about 1 minutes. Add the flours gradually and mix the dough until smooth and uniform, a minute or two more.

Using a cookie scoop or two spoons, scoop 1" diameter balls onto a parchment-lined or greased cookie sheet. Use a fork to make cross-hatch marks on each ball, pressing down slightly as you do so. Bake for 12-14 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through, until golden brown. Let cool on the sheet.

Makes about 24. Keep in a sealed container up to two weeks.

Accompaniment: Eat these with a jar of lingonberry jam in an IKEA parking lot, or with a cup of chamomile tea in the evening.