Embracing Autumn

I don't know what it was but as soon as August 1st arrived, so did a tingle of fall in the air. Suddenly the days seemed to shorten at a quicker pace, and though it has still been quite warm, especially for Sweden this time of year, I’ve noticed a crispness to the breeze and I hear a crackly sound when the leaves rustle on the trees. Autumn is definitely in the air. 

Usually I am sad to see the summer go. Okay, maybe sad is the wrong word, it's more like a reluctance I feel to step full force into the next season. Perhaps it has been my fear of the long, dark winters ahead that weigh on my soul, or perhaps my body didn’t feel that it had “downloaded” enough warmth from the summer sun to take me into a long, tough Swedish winter, I don't really know. But what I am feeling and experiencing now, with regard to the "höst känslor" in the air, is that my body and soul are fully embracing it, welcoming it even. I am surrendering to nature. 

What else is there to do? When I look at nature around me, the flowers, plants, and trees, they do not seem to fight the changing seasons. Nature continues to evolve according to divine plan. Summer becomes fall, fall becomes winter and so forth. Why then would I not follow suit? The argument that living at a different longitude and latitude having a strong influence on my reluctance to embrace the season’s change can easily be made, given that I was not accustomed to white nights in the summer and black days in the winter when I first moved here. 

Perhaps time is the great equalizer. It has now been nearly five years that I have lived in Sweden. It is a very different place from where I am from, where I grew up, different in almost every way. There are vast differences in the way people interact, the cuisine is different, being influenced by the cold as well as the great abundance of fresh seafood, and the weather, of course, is quite different. Life here is lived differently. 

Perhaps by embracing autumn I am also finally embracing this new and different life in another world... With pumpkin bread, of course. Something comforting and sweet always softens the blow of autumn breezes. 

Autumn Pumpkin Bread:

Ingredients:

1 15 oz can pumpkin

4 eggs

1/2 c vegetable oil

1/2 c unsweetened apple sauce (or just use another 1/2 c vegetable oil)

2/3 c water

2 c sugar

3 1/2 c all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter 2 loaf pans, or one loaf pan and prepare a  twelve muffin pan with muffin baking liners. 

In a large bowl, mix pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, sugar, & vanilla extract. Set aside. 

In a clean bowl, measure out the remaining dry ingredients and whisk to blend well. Add dry ingredients to the large bowl with your well-blended wet ingredients.   

Divide between the two loaf pans, or between one loaf pan & twelve muffin tins. 

Bake loaves for 50 minutes to an hour. Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes. Use a cake tester or toothpick to test if done. It should come out clean. 

Additions:

Add a big handful of chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate to the batter before distributing in your baking vessels.

Top the batter in the loaf pans or muffin tin with pecan halves before baking.    

Plum Crazy

An early fall day. Sun shining. Out for a trail run through the woods with a couple of friends. Lunch after on the deck. Perhaps the final day to sit outside without a blanket. A bit chilly but the homemade carrot soup warmed us. Mmmmm. With a yummy arugula, chicken and bean salad on the side. Afterward, picking and eating the cutest tiny little plums directly from the tree. “You guys should take some home with you.” With pleasure, thank you! We were also invited to pick fresh pears and apples from our friend’s abundantly adorned trees. Heavenly!

Once home I contemplated what to do with the plums. I searched one of my favorite food blogs for recipes using these lovely gems. Lo and behold, there was a recipe for a plum galette! Of course! It sounded absolutely perfect. And, I had most of the ingredients on hand. 

Here’s what transpired:

Plums are rinsed and ready to be made into a simple galette.

Pitted? Check. Only a few were eaten during this stage. It is nearly impossible not to. And the entire time I was thinking, “I should have picked more!”

Ready for the oven!

Look at that bubbling gooey goodness. Just begging to be eaten.

Served with a generous dollop of Turkish yogurt and a drizzle of honey.

This galette was good to the last scrape... I nearly licked the plate, as you can see. Instead, I just enjoyed a second piece. :-) Why not?!

Recipe adapted from Mynewroots.org. Since I didn't have every ingredient, I merely used what I had on hand. Changed I made to the recipe included:

• Spelt flour instead of rye.
• Agave syrup instead of maple. 
• Vanilla extract instead of scraped bean pod.
• Probably 1/4 tsp of dried thyme instead of 1/2, but in the future I would use the whole 1/2 tsp, or plan ahead and use fresh. It was hardly detectable with only 1/4 tsp.
• Turkish yogurt instead of sheep’s milk.
• Added a drizzle of honey.

The crust tasted fresh and crisp without the heavy feeling of eating a crust made with butter. And I really loved the texture that the poppy seeds added. I drizzled honey over the top because I love honey with Turkish yogurt and there was so little “sugar” in the recipe. And I thought it was a good idea. 

It is worth noting that my husband ate only one slice of this galette. I pretty much finished it off/gobbled it down over the course of the next four days. 

I think it would be just as tasty with other fruit, if plums are not available or in season.

Happy fall!

I'm Falling for... Well, Fall.

I don't normally relish the coming of winter. In fact, I am probably better known to fight it. Kicking and screaming all the way into the dark days of November. And then into December, and January and February as well. By March I will be completely and thoroughly done with wearing boots and scarves and my winter coat. But for now let's focus on the positive.

There are many things about this time of year that seem to act as a sort of winter salve as we ease ourselves into the cold months ahead. Fall is one of them. I just love this time of year. I love unpacking all of my winter sweaters, scarves, boots, and coats. I love lighting candles and sipping mugs of warm, almond milk, herbal tea, and pretty soon, glögg (Swedish spiced wine).

I love the changing of the leaves, when the trees are filled with rich ruby red, rusty orange, and deep golden hues. I love once the leaves have fallen and they crisp-ily crunch under foot as I walk over them. I love the excitement of Christmas shopping and deciding on presents for my family and loves ones (Shhhh!!! I know it is too early. Let's pretend I didn't really mention the C word!). I love celebrating both my birthday and my husband's birthday, as well as our wedding anniversary, all in the fall months ahead!

So even though there is a long, dark winter moving in on us, there are many wonderful things to look forward to. And probably one of my absolute favorites is the return of the great pumpkin. I LOVE baking pumpkin treats. And that is why I am sharing with you this amazing recipe and some of the adaptions that were passed down by a friend (E), as well as my own adaptations.

(Original recipe from Allrecipes.com)

All About Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

1 15 oz can of pumpkin puree*

4 eggs

¾-1 cup of sunflower oil 

2/3 cup of water

½ tsp vanilla extract

2 cups of sugar

3 ½ cups of all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

½ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp ground ginger

1 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C)

Butter 3 loaf pans (3x7 inch). Or you can choose to make 1 loaf and 12 regular-sized muffins. Or skip making loaves all together and make 24 regular-sized muffins. Your choice!

In a large bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients, plus the sugar, until well blended.

In a separate bowl, measure remaining dry ingredients and whisk well, creating a well in the center.

Incorporate wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring until just blended.

Pour into your choice of prepared pans or muffin tins.

Bake loaves for approximately 50 minutes. Muffins will bake in about half of the time, but check them at about 20 minutes. Breads are done when a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.

*If canned pumpkin is unavailable, use cooked pumpkin that has been pureed in a food processor or blender.

Enjoy a thick slice, or muffin, on a rainy, fall day. Ps. They taste just as good on a sunny day too ;-). 

Here's a great tip: The loaves freeze well, so if you end up making two loaves you can freeze one of them, or cut them in halves, freeze 3 halves and save one half. Simply take a frozen loaf/half a loaf out of the freezer and place in the refrigerator the evening before the day you would like to enjoy it. Place in a preheated 400 F (200 C) oven for 8-10 minutes to warm it up just before serving. It comes out tasting like it's been freshly baked!