Dreaming
I think I’d like to go on vacation…..to Vermont.
And then Arizona.
With the husband of course.
Yes, that would do just nicely.
Down on the Farm
I have healthy obsession with fall. On Saturday the leaves were ablaze with color, the weather forecast called for the perfect amount of fall bluster, and I’d painstakingly researched, compared, and hunted down the most spectacular fall farm within a two-hour radius (complete with spreadsheet, y’all. I don’t mess around), so I decreed Saturday my own personal day of Fall Fest goodness.
I like to think it all started like this:
- Diagnosis: Fall Deprivation.
- Cause: 24 years of living in Texas where we have two seasons – “summer” and “almost summer.”
- Symptoms: Addiction to sweaters and participating in an unrealistic amount of fall activities, cooing over orange or red leaves like they are small children, taking pictures of said leaves like they are small children, stockpiling pumpkins, and using pumpkin or apple cider in every recipe.
- Cure: Move to a state with four seasons, and indulge in symptoms until they gradually decrease in intensity or subside in another 24 years.
The trees were nearing their peak color, it was in the high 40s and windy, the sun was shining, and I had my boots on and a hankering for some pumpkins, apple cider, and a little adventure. I’d waited patiently all week and when Saturday morning finally rolled around, I was ready for Fall fest 2012.
I choose Stokoe Farms as the lucky winner of my own personal day of autumn jubilee. Why? Well…
And I think we all know how I feel about petting farm animals, ziplines, corn mazes, pick-your-own-from-the-vine pumpkin patches, slides, wagon rides, and fresh spiced cider and doughnuts.
The farm was about a 30 minute drive from home. As a side note, I love that I can drive less than 15 minutes and be in the country surrounded by corn, horses, and meadows. I also love that I can drive 10 minutes and be in the city, 20 minutes and be at the beach, 40 minutes and be in wine country, 1.5 hours and be at the falls, and 2 hours and be in the mountains. Not too shabby.
Pulling up to the farm this was my view – autumn-hued leaves, a pumpkin patch, and Christmas trees all in one view…heaven!
Obviously, the day needed to start with a fresh apple cider doughnut before I could do any real exploring.
Up next were the animals!
- ALPACAS!!! I love alpacas. Remind me to tell you about the time a pen full of alpacas escaped during Boerne Market Days and were running wild down Main Street. Perhaps this has something to do with my love of alpacas?
- Sweet baby chicks
- I don’t remember what this bunny-looking guy is (not a jackrabbit) but he was so sweet and sleepy. His name is Pip. No, I did not name him. Yes, he had a name before I got there.
- Baaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
- This dude has it made.
- The emus, “John” and “Deere” hoping for treats :)
- Turkey!
- Chow time for goats
Not pictured are the piglets and the yak. After I had my fill of animal lovin’ (or at least once I decided to let other people have a turn with the animals, because, really, I could love on animals all day long and be a happy camper) I moved on to the fun and games.
- Log walkin’
- Sliding
- Ziplining
- Wheel racing
- Tractor-karting
- Pumpkin launching
Yeah, it was awesome.
I took a break to enjoy the scenery, collect some baby pumps, and eat a caramel-apple snack before the adventuring resumed.
Have I ever mentioned how much I love corn mazes? Especially corn mazes with a quest (you know, other than to find your way out…), like when they do “Barnyard Clue” and you have to find six clues hidden in the maze who discover “whodunit” or when you discover a secret playground in a clearing in the middle of the maze, or when you have to find five finger-painting stations in the maze to determine your silly assignment. I’m a sucker and a schmuck.
With the maze conquered and all five finger-painting stations miraculously found, it was time for the crown jewel of the autumn season – the pumpkin patch!
The pictures are only a mere sampling. The pick-your-own patch was huge! I took home a real beauty of a pumpkin (and, uh, an ear of corn I plucked from the corn maze), perfect for the pumpkin carving and subsequent seed roasting party & fall potluck next weekend!
And because the party can’t end at 3, I took off to my second adventure of the day…a winery tour and tasting at Casa Larga Vineyards! I fully intend to enjoy the fact that I live in wine country. From the get-go this authentic Italian vineyard looked quality. It totally was. Count me impressed. I would definitely bring family and friends to this winery when they come for a visit (so come visit!). It boasts a beautiful country setting overlooking the gorgeous vineyard, the winery tour was excellent – far more informative than other wine tours I have been on – and the wines were definitely top quality…and absolutely tasted so! Delicious!
- Vineyard
- Beautiful juicy grapes…the grapes in this region are fantastic and taste incredible…unlike any other grape I’ve had before.
- Mmmm, wine.
Most impressive was their ice wine…a true ice wine made of vidal grapes that are frozen on the vine for up to a week then picked and harvested in the dead of a cold winter’s night. It was phenomenal. Casa Larga’s ice wine won the best ice wine in the world award. A well deserved honor. They even make a red ice wine, which is especially rare. You better believe a bottle or two of that ice wine is on my Christmas list!
And finally, I took the pretty road home :)
Hope you all are making the most of your fall!
It goes by so fast…enjoy it while you can :)
And happy football season (Go Pack!)
Festive Fall Fasions
I love alliteration. Duh.
If some kind angel were to gift me $500 to spend on the basics of a fall/winter/early spring wardrobe of very much needed cold-weather, work-appropriate clothing I would be forever grateful because this Texas girl doesn’t own hardly any work-appropriate, cold-weather clothes, so I’m gonna be a little cold and/or naked for the next 6 months stock up on the following fall and winter goodies (not these exact ones, per say, but something of the kind…):
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Dear Winter Clothing Angel….please visit soon.
The Other Soup of Fall
Evidently I’ve been on a soup kick lately. But really, when it’s all blustery and colorful here, can you blame me?
Last night, on the heels of the delicious tomato soup I made earlier in the week, I tried my hand at this roasted cauliflower and aged white cheddar soup using the massive head of homegrown cauliflower I scooped up at the farmer’s market last weekend.
Another perfect fall soup! Though truth be told, it was actually really tasty even before I added the cheese and cream/milk. It was good with the cheese and milk too of course, but I think if you wanted a really healthy option (just roasted cauliflower, veggies, veggie broth, and seasoning), you could leave out the cheese and milk entirely and still have a great tasting roasted cauliflower soup! I think I’ll try it that way next time. :)
The only things I did differently from the recipe was to use light half and half instead of milk, and to add a few drops of liquid smoke at the end to give it a nice subtle hickory flavoring. I topped it with bacon crumbles, scallions, and a slice of sourdough bread. Totally delicious…another must try!
On an entirely unrelated note, I made this soup while “watching” (I use that term loosely) the show Little Shop of Gypsies on TLC (this is what happens when I unexpectedly wind up with cable for two months). The culture and lifestyle of the travelers/gypsies in England is absolutely fascinating! Crazy, completely different, a little wild, a little sad in some ways…but really fascinating!
Hope you have a great weekend!
The Soup of Fall
A few nights ago I made the most fantastic tomato soup ever! Think La Madeleine, only better. I thought the recipe looked tasty when I found it, but I was totally blown away when I took my first spoonful. I envision myself making this often throughout the rest of the fall and winter. It truly is perfect for a blustery autumn day – paired with a chunk of fresh sourdough or baked mozzarella cheese balls, it’s unbeatable. A true must try recipe. For added health factor I doubled up on the veggies, cut the sugar altogether, and used light cream cheese. I also doubled the recipe because if I’m going to go to go through the effort of making a soup without access to my food processor or blender to puree it, then you better believe I want to get more than two meals out of it.
I found the recipe here. Try it with the mozzarella balls…you’ll be glad you did :)
I also continued my epic park quest with a run through this beautiful park and a hike through a trail in the autumn woods. Gorgeous!
Here’s a brief sampling of the other parks I checked out this week.
I’d say despite the adjustment to the cold and the occasional bout of homesickness or anxiety, life is pretty good.
But soup always makes this better, right :)
The Park Mission
My mission: Explore a new park after work nearly every day this fall.
I can get used to this… :)
There’s so many beautiful places for me to go running I can hardly stand it!
This one had hundreds of friendly deer, dining in its meadows.
Ted’s lucky I can’t fit deer in my Buick. We almost had new pets.
It’s perfect for jogging, biking, frisbee, and with all those steep hills it’s going to be perfect for sledding, skiing, and snowmobiling in the winter!
A Wholesome Saturday
– Ran the Photo Finish 5k…in the cold…in the rain…at 8 a.m…on a Saturday morning when sleeping in was so appealing. This is the first 5k I’ve registered to run instead of walk. I jogged two miles along the canal after work several times this past week to prepare and I came in at a time of 31:41, shaving about five minutes off my usual walk time! And I jogged the whole time without stopping. I’m pretty proud, and it really felt great!
– Went for breakfast with my race mates. Pumpkin pancakes and hot chocolate with whip cream is the perfect autumn breakfast!
– Picked up another bunch of fantastic grapes (living in wine country rocks!), yellow teardrop tomatoes, a bushel of McIntosh apples, and the biggest head of homegrown cauliflower I’ve ever seen at the public farmers market. I eat the grapes and tomatoes like candy, the apples make tasty applesauce, and that cauliflower will be finding its way into a roasted cauliflower and aged white cheddar soup in no time!
– Volunteered in the afternoon and evening for a gala event at an art gallery to raise money for the parents of the sweetest, most wonderful, articulate and intelligent, little 3 and 1/2 year old boy with spinal muscular atrophy to get an accessible van that can transport his motorized wheelchair so he can get out and explore the world beyond his neighborhood. The event was amazing and heartwarming, I met lots of great people, had a ton of fun, and I really cannot think of a more worthy use of my time on a Saturday night.
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Hope you had a nice Saturday!
Fallspiration – Eats Edition
I think it’s obvious that fall is my favorite season.
“What’s that you say? Is it?”
What gave it away? Ted’s pumpkin patch marriage proposal, the pumpkins that lined the church and served as the ring bearer in our wedding, the bonfire or pinecones or birch stumps or hot caramel apple cider or bushels of hay or pumpkin or leaves that decorated our October wedding, my oft carefree and likely maniacal prancing through freshly raked piles of red, yellow and orange leaves, the umpteen pictures I take of autumny things every single day? No, really…which one?
Chic scarves, tall boots, swirling leaves, bold hues, pumpkins, bonfires, corn mazes, crisp air, apple cider, mulled wine, spiced scents, leafy decorations, Halloween, Thanksgiving, homemade applesauce, glow sticks, ghost peep s’mores (yeah, you heard me)…I look forward to autumn for nine months every year.
The food is no exception.
Yeah, don’t tell me you weren’t drooling.
This sassy sampler from my Autumn Eats Pinterest Page (which you should totally click on right now, especially if you’re a foodie, fall fan, or just a glutton for punishment) didn’t even include my awesome homemade Texas chili, caramel apple cider cookies, fresh cinnamon applesauce, or epic pumpkin chocolate chip muffins that I adore so dearly.
You’re welcome.
We have a fall fest ladies day in the works…I’m thinking of bringing apple cider glazed pound cake and the pumpkin mac n’ cheese that was such a huge hit at last years fall fest party.
(Of course this isn’t my final consensus yet because what potluck would be complete without salted caramel pretzel park, chipotle-cinnamon-orange candied pecans, mulled stovetop apple cider, or an apple/craisin/walnut/yogurt cold salad?)
Do you have any favorite fall recipes? I’m always up for more, so share away friends!
Just A Thought
“The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one’s “own” or “real” life. The truth is, of course, that what one calls “the interruptions” are precisely one’s real life – the life God is sending on day by day.” – C.S. Lewis
I’ve been doing a lot of research on Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis lately for Freud’s Last Session. I rediscovered the quote by Lewis yesterday whilst perusing the dramaturgical packet for inspiration, and the day before someone posted the image to Facebook.
Though the timing is only coincidental, they’ll be handy reminders over the next few months.
Just a thought.
P.S. It’s October!! My favorite month! :)
Of Markets & Museums
