Fall is in the Air

Well, technically, fall doesn't come anywhere near Grenada. It's still hot and sunny here. But at least the aromas of fall have been wafting through our apartment in recent days. As much as I love living on a tropical island, I do miss this time of year back home where the air is crisp, I can pull out my favorite sweaters from the attic, and drink a cup of coffee outisde without breaking a sweat. But I found a few ways to incorporate this beautiful season into our lives by way of some delicious new recipes.

Just last week I came across a recipe for Spiced Mango Chocolate Chip Muffins. Since a sweet family at church had given us a bag of fresh mangoes, and I had all the other ingredients on hand, I decided to give them a try. You could also make these muffins in a loaf pan like you would banana or zucchini bread. The spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger) gave the muffins a distinctly autumnal flavor. Ryan may or may not have eaten three in one sitting.

Our second fall recipe actually took a couple tries to get it right. A couple weeks ago I made a roasted pumpkin quiche with caramelized onions and sage, based on this recipe.

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I used gorgonzola as the recipe suggested, however, we found that the flavor of the cheese overpowered the other, more delicate flavors. So I made it again the other night using just some simple mild cheddar that I had in the fridge. The result was night and day. The only other change I made to the recipe was making a regular pie crust instead of using phyllo dough. A pound of fresh pumpkin is only $1.15 in the grocery store, and the remaining ingredients are things you likely already have, making this recipe very inexpensive. The levels of flavor acheived from roasting the pumpkin and caramelizing the onions give this dish a gourmet look and taste. This is definitely a new favorite in our family.

What fall recipes does your family enjoy making around this time of year?