With the weather getting cooler and the first frost of the season predicted for tonight, my mind is on getting the remaining herbs in from the pots outside, including chives. Here’s an easy to make ’country’ recipe for cheddar-chive biscuits courtesy of my mom. Perfect as a side with a bowl of veggie soup or hot out of the oven on a crisp October day. Use good aged cheddar to give it an extra kick. I like Hooks 3 year old Cheddar from Mineral Point.
I spent some time this weekend with my cousins and goddaughter picking out pumpkins and apples at Appleberry Farms in Cross Plains, Wisconsin. It was one of those picture perfect crisp fall days in Wisconsin that makes you remember what makes the midwest so special. We all ate one too many caramel apples and apple cider doughnuts and bought far more pumpkins than we need. It was a great reminder of how important it is to spend time with family celebrating the seasons. We all get busy, but a perfect fall afternoon, spent sipping hot apple cider with people you love, doesn’t come around very often. We have to grasp those moments when we can and enjoy them to the fullest. So grab someone you love, go for a walk and listen to the sound of leaves crunching underfoot. Light a fire and make hot apple cider. Be a kid again and eat a caramel apple. Remember to slow down enough to drink in these last perfect days of fall.
One of the highlights of the afternoon was the apple cider brats. Made for Appleberry Farms by local favorite Bavarian Sausage Kitchen. They are are made with cider in the mix then grilled and simmered in more apple cider. For even more apple deliciousness, they top them with a homemade apple-onion relish….definitely a Wisconsin classic! Click HERE for the video
The last sunny days of fall are the time to prepare for winter. For my grandmother this means filling up the cellar with preserves and pickles of all kinds. Here is my mom’s easy interpretation of a grape jam inspired by the concord grapes that seem to be growing in all of our family member’s backyards this fall. Easier than true canning or jarring, this recipe is a great way to use up backyard grapes. It’s meant to be kept in the refrigerator and will hold for 4-5 months. Although I doubt it will last that long!
There is something to be said for doing things the old-fashioned way. In our rush to keep up with our busy lives we take shortcuts. We grab something prepared for dinner as we rush home from work and we lose the joy of hearing a stew simmering away on the stove. We buy bread at the grocery store and never experience the feeling of our hands kneading dough or the taste of bread just out of the oven. In other words, modern life makes things easy & convenient in a million little ways but, does something important get lost along the way? For all our modern conveniences are we better off than our grandparents or great-grandparents? (more…)
