Shakshuka from Smitten Kitchen
If you have never heard of Shakshuka, allow me to be the first to introduce you. It’s an Israeli dish of poached eggs in a spicy tomato sauce. Served with a side of bread, it’s a great meal for breakfast, brunch, or dinner.
Try a south-of-the-border spin on it by swapping cilantro for the parsley and tortillas for the pita bread. Muy delicioso.
Enchiladas with Green Tomato Sauce from The Oregonian’s Foodday section
Have more green tomatoes than red ones now? Check out this recipe. Do you have a favorite way to use green tomatoes?
Spicy Sauteed Corn from Orangette
Corn is one of my favorite late summer/early fall crops. After eating dozens of fresh ears of corn, I started hunting around for different recipes to mix things up a bit. Enter this keeper from Orangette. You cut the corn off the cob and saute it with butter, pepper, onion, and lime juice. Yum.
I also followed her directions for flash freezing corn for the first time this year. I cut and froze and bagged more corn than I care to remember. I plan to add it to side dishes and soups throughout the winter.
Roasting Green Chilies from The Pioneer Woman
Speaking of new things, while making salsa I also roasted green chilies for the first time. PW’s post offers an excellent tutorial. It is ridiculously easy.
The only tips I would add are:
1. Use gloves when working with chilies.
2. Remove the seeds before roasting, as it’s easier working with stiff chilies than roasted ones.
3. Roast the chilies in big batches and freeze for future use.
I’m pretty sure my days of buying canned chilies are officially over.
Cedar Creek Grist Mill (outside Woodland, WA)
If you live in the Portland-Vancouver area, head north to the Cedar Creek Grist Mill for a unique outing in a beautiful setting. Visitors are given a tour, along with free samples of freshly-ground flour. When we toured the mill, we headed home with bags of rice, wheat, and oat flour ground by volunteers while we watched. It was folksy, frugal fun for the whole family.
On Saturday, October 29, from 9 am-5 pm, the Mill will be hosting its annual Apple Pressing event, where they bring in 8,000 pounds of apples to press into cider. Bring a picnic to enjoy along the river and walk away with great memories and free cider (suggested donation of $2.50/bottle).
Apple Cupcakes from Martha Stewart
I love fall for a hundred different reasons, but right at the top of the list would be apples. We plan several outings up to our favorite orchard in Parkdale, OR: Kiyokawa Family Orchards.
This is a delicious way to fold them into a dessert. I use a lightened version of the cream cheese frosting, but otherwise this recipe is a winner in my book.
And speaking of dessert, you have to try this chocolate cake recipe. It has nothing to do with fall, but I figure chocolate is always in season. The other night (ok, every night), my husband and I were craving something sweet+chocolate for dessert. This one delivered. And the best part? It takes about 15 minutes, from start to finish, to make.
Leave a comment! What’s going on in your kitchen/garden/home this month?
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