The Fall Fest theme this week is “mad stash” or what we’re freezing, canning, dehydrating or otherwise stashing away for the winter.  Since I don’t have a garden this year and I haven’t even been to the Farmer’s Market for a few weeks, I don’t really have much to put away for the winter.  But I did get a little carried away buying organic pears last week and yesterday found myself with a few pounds of fruit that needed to be used up way faster than I would be able to eat them.  In keeping with this week’s theme, I decided to cook them down into a pear butter and stash it away in jars.  Well, my few pounds of pears cooked down so much that I ended up with only a pint of pear butter.  I don’t think my stash will last through the end of the month, much less the entire winter! Continue reading →

I don’t always love pumpkin soup.  So many winter squash soup recipes out there are very sweet and seasoned with either pumpkin pie spices or store-bought curry powder.  I do love pumpkin pie, but I prefer to eat it after dinner.  I know there’s a reason these flavor combinations are so prevalent – winter squash is absolutely delicious mixed with warm spices and sugar.  I just prefer something a little different in my soup bowl.

This spicy, smoky, and creamy soup is exactly what I was hoping for.  Brightened with a dollop of cilantro-pepita pesto and a generous squeeze of lime juice, it was really hard to stop after one bowl (so I didn’t).  I had some pomegranate arils in the fridge so I added a handful to my bowl along with a sprinkling of crumbled Cotija cheese.  The sweet crunch of the pomegranate seeds and the salty cheese were perfect with the soup and pesto.  And the more lime juice I squeezed on top, the better it tasted. Continue reading →

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Welcome back to Fall Fest!  I missed pumpkin party last week, but I really think this simple and delicious pear cake will make up for it.  This rich and spicy cake is filled with fresh pear chunks and topped with a buttery, crunchy pecan streusel. Continue reading →

After an amazing couple of days learning all about pomegranates and touring some local orchards with a bunch of fantastic food bloggers who traveled to Fresno from around the country for the opportunity to learn about one of my favorite local fruits, I have decided to incorporate pomegranate arils and juice into as many meals and snacks as possible this fall.  I am so lucky to be once again living in one of the few places in the country where pomegranate trees grow in backyards, and this tour was just the thing to help re-introduce me to one of my favorite fruits from my childhood. Continue reading →

Fall has finally arrived here in California, bringing thunder, rain, and the cooler temperatures I’ve been waiting for.  While these cool gray skies have me dreaming of hearty soups and warm baked goods, the theme this week for Fall Fest is fall salads.  I’ll save the soup-making and bread-baking for next week since my kitchen is still only half unpacked – an easy fall salad was the perfect thing for me to make this week.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Continue reading →