What I Make During the Autumn for the Rest of the Year
Could also be titled: How I try to make my food fun, delicious, and healthy
I’ve been getting really excited about the ways I can bring all my cultures into the kitchen. Every Fall, I bridge all the memories of the places I’ve lived into one big harvest.
In Switzerland, our town held a harvesting fest, where we had a big market and games for children and families. At the market, we could buy and taste many different types of bread, cakes, and snacks. Lots of bakers involved. We mainly played with different flours and doughs.
In Quebec, Autumn meant the leaves were coloring the whole world in red and bright orange for a few weeks, and everyone wanted to be outside as much as possible. Apple picking was the activity of choice. We would make a lot of apple sauce, apple pie, apple crumble, and apple butter. The air was fresh and crisp, and nature was inviting.
Now that I am in Denmark, my friends’ typical autumn harvest is to forage mushrooms and dry them for the coming year. I started going with them, and we talk for hours while picking mushrooms (with me double-checking all the time that I picked the right ones).
Regardless of where I am in the world, if there is an autumn, I feel called to the forest and the garden. The change of season inspires me to pick what nature has to offer, and I transform my apartment into one big kitchen.
It feels like the epitome of health for me. I go out, breathe in the fresh air, harvest fresh and organic bounty from the forest or my garden (or friends’ gardens), and make sure we benefit from all these nutrients in the coming months.
Taking care of my body means making sure I eat enough nutrients and food throughout the year.
I use a little bit of all my cultures to help with that, because they all tug at my heart as the season transitions, and they all carry some wisdom.
In the heart of my Swiss heritage, I make doughs and pies and freeze them in advance.
In the heart of my Québécois heritage, I go crazy on apples and pears, and try new recipes every year.
And in the heart of my new Danish heritage, I collect enough mushrooms to season my food for the year to come.
Here is a list of the things I harvest every fall that I will prepare and keep for the months to come:
Wild mushrooms (with the help of an expert)
Apples
Pears
Plums
Quince
Squashes of all kinds. If I can’t harvest them from the garden, I will buy a bunch of organic ones
The herbs in my garden: mint, thyme, oregano, sage, and nettle, or any other that I have planted or have appeared this given year
And to go with this list, here is a collection of ways I use my bounty, that I’ve collected over the years.
(I’m considering making a recipe booklet from this collection. Thoughts?)
Dried mushroom powder
As I said, I forage mushrooms (with people who can easily tell me which are good and which ones aren’t). Back home, I cut them into small pieces and dry them in my dehydrator. When they are dry, I put half of it in a jar, which I will use in sauces of all kinds, and I powder the other half to use as seasoning.
Dried herbs
Before the first frost, I pick up the herbs from my garden, and dry them in my dehydrator to be used in herbal teas all year round. Mint and sage multiply SO QUICKLY that I often also gift some herbal tea blends to friends, because I have too much.
Mint is great for digestion, sage is used for the brain and oral health, thyme is used for the immune system, and nettles are amazing for mineralizing. I love to have a bunch of different herbs so I can make different tea blends whenever I want/need to. In the winter, I’ll also use them to make tinctures and oils.
Pumpkin purée
I freeze the purée and use it later to make pumpkin spiced lattes, soups, and pumpkin pies. It’s really easy and simple to make, and lasts me for a while.
Apple pie
There are hundreds of ways to make apple pie, but I keep going back to the recipe my mom used when we were kids on Sunday evenings. I’ll use some homemade dough, cover the bottom with powdered hazelnuts, cinnamon, and a bit of brown sugar, and fill it with apple slices. I try to make a few that I pre-bake, wrap in aluminium, and freeze for later use.
Apple juice and pear juice
We have inherited a juicer from my husband’s aunt, and it’s the easiest way to use extra apples and pears, especially when the pears are soft. We just pop them into the juicer and let it do its job. Then, while bottles are being sterilized, I will boil the juice that has been squeezed out of the machine (and the froth that goes with it too), and let it simmer for a few minutes. I’ll often add a bit of Atamon to the juice as it cools to expand its shelf life.
Applesauce
My most used recipe every autumn. I use it with apples, pears, plums, or any other fruit that needs to be used quickly. After peeling and cutting them, I will slowly bring them to a boil and sometimes (if the fruit is too sour) add a little bit of maple syrup or sugar. If the fruit does not become pureed on its own, I’ll use my hand blender to give it a homogeneous consistency, and when the puree is cold, I shove it in the freezer!
We use it for porridge, desserts, or cooking meat.
Dried apples
One of my favorite snacks. I cut the apples into round slices and shove them into my dehydrator. They need a long time and remain a little bit squishy in the middle, even though they are completely dry. I tried coating them with cinnamon, and I like them just as much as I like the plain ones.
Quince jelly
The perfume of autumn is the smell of quince in my kitchen. It smells AMAZING! I use about a kilo of quince, sugar, and one apple. It makes a delicious jelly that we use on bread and on cheese crackers.
As time goes by and my bushes produce more quince, I’m considering adding more quince recipes into my repertoire.
Pear and citrus jam
My favorite jam as a child. It blends the sweet taste of pears with the acidity of lemon and orange juice that creates a very balanced and delicious combo. I don’t always puree the pears, so sometimes it will be a jam with some pear chunks, which is amazing to use in cakes or meat marinades.
Canned fruit (apples, pears, plums, etc)
I will can the rest of the fruit we’ve picked. I try not to overload my pantry, but it’s nice to have some fruit available at any time.
If I’m feeling fancy, I’ll make some flambéed fruit (such as plums, peaches, or pears) with them. Otherwise, I’ll use them in salads or cakes.
As years go by, new recipes get added to my repertoire, and the harvest determines the results (as well as how much time I am actually able to set aside, of course). It’s always a good time for me - with delicious smells and lovely music. When my husband or a friend joins me, it also makes for a very cozy experience that often leads to deep connection and conversations.
It looks like a lot, but a lot of these recipes take very little time and effort from me. Which is why I appreciate them so much. My goal is to make food healthy, easy, and delicious. And while I sometimes have some hiccups and fail with some recipes, I know I can always return to these ones and be satisfied. So I hope this was inspiring and will perhaps encourage you to try a few new recipes this Fall that you can preserve for the coming months. If the interest is there, I’ll make a booklet with my exact recipes for these.
Until then,
Stay radiant!
Audrey
