I love spending time in the upper Midwest where seasonal living prevails. All seasons have rituals but I like those associated with autumn the best so thought I would share a few I enjoyed this past week. I closed out my time with food preservation by freezing two bags of apples to have on hand if I want to bake a pie or crisp before we head out for the season. I would have done this sooner but I’m still home alone and don’t want a whole pie talking to me in the night. I got rid of all my extra canning/pickling liquids in the refrigerator which have gotten too concentrated to use. The final step will be packing up all the jars to take with us to give away to family/friends or use over the winter in Flagstaff.
In the fall, I turn my kitchen adventures to soups/stews and made a lovely potato soup last week adding steamed green beans one evening and sautéed zucchini and bok choy the next night. I enjoyed fried tofu with veggies one night which I only eat when home alone as Paul won’t touch the stuff. I made stuffed peppers with chicken, rice and veggies last night. So at this point, the only produce left in abundance is carrots which are going into a curry carrot soup this coming week. Next up is planning meals around a pantry and freezer inventory so we are down to a minimum by the time we leave in early December. It’s hard to successfully transport frozen food to Flagstaff especially if we stop anywhere along the way.
I joined a friend on his combine this past week and, as always, enjoyed my time in the field with lovely weather this year. I always ask a lot of questions and find the business of farming fascinating. If I had to choose a career again it might be something in the field of agriculture. I then stopped by my favorite pumpkin patch, picked up a trunk full of large colorful pumpkins and decked out my front porch for the fall season which always transports me to a comfy cozy state of mind. With our warm fall weather my flowers are still blooming nicely so I didn’t buy mums this year. My young maples are slowly turning red-orange and the Minnesota side of the lake is quite colorful. I even frolicked through some fallen leaves kicking them around a bit for old time’s sake; a lady nearby with a walker looked like she was ready to join in the fun.
The weekend rain storm brought cloudy skies and cooler temperatures perfect for sipping hot homemade apple cider and reading a book. I shook it up a bit on Sunday by hosting a Tupperware Party which created an opportunity for fun with friends some of whom were wearing flannel. Lots of these rituals aren’t practiced or enjoyed in such an organic way where there isn’t an agricultural focus or seasonal weather changes. We are lucky to enjoy them this way!
Oh, and my second week with my new loom went better, not great but better!