Fall is Here......

...or at least just around the corner.

In the harvest season when many tasty foods come into the markets, what are your favourite foods to celebrate the onset of autumnal bounty?

For me it is probably a nice breakfast omelet with sautéed chopped shallots and chanterelle mushrooms, with a light grating of nutmeg over the top.

For dinners, braised lamb shanks or coq au vin do very well.

...or at least just around the corner.

In the harvest season when many tasty foods come into the markets, what are your favourite foods to celebrate the onset of autumnal bounty?

For me it is probably a nice breakfast omelet with sautéed chopped shallots and chanterelle mushrooms, with a light grating of nutmeg over the top.

For dinners, braised lamb shanks or coq au vin do very well.

Fall means red wine weather, so my thoughts turn to game birds, mushrooms and Pinot Noir.

In the harvest season when many tasty foods come into the markets...chanterelle mushrooms...

So chanterelles are a fall thing up your way? In Germany/Europe it's summer, July/August being the peak.

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In the harvest season when many tasty foods come into the markets, what are your favourite foods to celebrate the onset of autumnal bounty?

Not sure I would describe it as 'autumnal bounty'.. Summer is the time when the market is overflowing with delicious and varied fruit and vegetable options. Autumn is the gradual narrowing, from all those delicious summer fruits to the apple-pear duo, with a short window of grapes. On the vegetable side, we eat well all year, but I don't find myself 'excited' to start eating squash and root vegetables.

So chanterelles are a fall thing up your way? In Germany/Europe it's summer, July/August being the peak.

In Northeast US as well! But Googling it is apparently indeed a fall thing in Pacific NW.
Like Rahsaan, I'm more excited about summer vegetable/fruit bounty (tomatoes, melons, corn, peppers, herbs) than Fall (apples, winter squash). But like Mark & Bill I am glad to return to braising/roasting weather, duck legs, lamb shanks, and the like don't get a lot of play in summer.

Still Summer here; just last week it was 109°, and this week it's in the high nineties. Mornings are nice, in the 60s. While I love cooking with seasonal produce, I cook what I want, regardless of the season. It does not bother me to turn on the oven in the summer months as the house has a dedicated a/c for the kitchen and laundry area. I do enjoy cooking braised meats and hot soups in the fall and winter. I also used to make large amounts of fresh applesauce for the freezer during apple time, but with one to cook for now, I have cut back on many things. Gene and I used to buy 10 lbs of Hatch Chiles this time of year; he would blacken them on the outdoor grill, and I would process them for freezing. We had lots of fun doing that. Now, I buy directly from Hatch their blackened, cut-up peppers in a jar. They serve the purpose.

In the harvest season when many tasty foods come into the markets...chanterelle mushrooms...

So chanterelles are a fall thing up your way? In Germany/Europe it's summer, July/August being the peak.

Yes, it varies considerably depending on region. Where I am on the Pacific coast, the season usually commences around late August. The Prairie provinces get them earlier - around July. I've seen them in the stores here for a few weeks but only recently in any abundance (and good condition).

[Jenise]

In Northeast US as well! But Googling it is apparently indeed a fall thing in Pacific NW.
Like Rahsaan, I'm more excited about summer vegetable/fruit bounty (tomatoes, melons, corn, peppers, herbs) than Fall (apples, winter squash). But like Mark & Bill I am glad to return to braising/roasting weather, duck legs, lamb shanks, and the like don't get a lot of play in summer.

Bill and I live only 50 miles apart, but we vary drastically in our food choices. I love love love summer vegetables and don't think we're different here in Washington/Oregon than you in the Northeast, though I do believe our season is shorter. We have about a six week window for local summer squashes, tomatoes, lettuces, cucumbers, greens, peppers and the like. Bill and Sue enjoy these things much less, and where I thrive on fresh fruit and cycle through the summer (cherries and berries are over so currently, plums and melons) Bill doesn't eat fruit at all. Not to denigrate his choices, I'm just saying that his habits aren't representative.

All that said, I love fall braises and enjoy turning to those as the days get shorter, even though this year I'm dreading it for obvious reasons.

I only saw chanterelles here last week for the first time, and they were pretty rough.

Ours were in good shape - did a chanterelle and shallot omelet this morning - yum!

[Jenise]

In good years, even the local Haggen will get tons of them at prices as low as $10/lb. Still early for us, though.