# A blustery wind



## shimmer (Jan 26, 2001)

It became apparent to me a few days ago as I was wearing a t-shirt in temperatures in the lower 40s, that winter is coming. It must be fall, since it's past the 21st! 

I want to know what your family traditions are for the fall. Not just specifically on holidays, but do you do anything special? It could be family outings, specific recipes you use or associate with this time of year, or whatever.

I like learing about traditions so I can start making my own!

~~Shimmer~~


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## kimmie (Mar 13, 2001)

Great topic!

Apple picking and a hay ride is always a joy during the fall; then figuring out what to do with the apples is _the icing on the cake!_;

Shopping for the biggest pumpkin you can find and carving it for Halloween.

...next


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## coolj (Dec 12, 2000)

Family traditions, well for starters, one that's sort of new, is going on bus trips to Kelowna to cheer on our Kamloops Blazers, not really a food tradition, but it is a fall tradition. Kimmie one thing a person can do with left over apples, is play apple ball, exactly the same rules as baseball, only using apples.

[ September 27, 2001: Message edited by: coolJ ]


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

Me, I like to kick back during the first week of October. Every year during the first week of October I get hemorrhoids - a sure sign that the sun is headed south for the winter.


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## kimmie (Mar 13, 2001)

OOOOOOOOOOOO, messy but way too cool, coolJ!!!

Too funny Koko!

Kyle:


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

Ain't nothing like asstronomy.


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## coolj (Dec 12, 2000)

Well at least you can joke about it Kokopuffs !


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## mezzaluna (Aug 29, 2000)

We used to pick apples and also go to country farmers' markets for branches of bittersweet, gourds, pumpkins and Indian corn. We'd drive north along the Mississippi River, sometimes as far north as the Mississippi Palisades State Park to see the sandstone cliffs and formations along the river, across from Clinton, Iowa.


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

Oh yes, Coolj. Butt, it hurts to laugh.


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## bayou (Jul 30, 2000)

We've had our first cool spell here in Louisiana. The low temperature got down to the upper 40s. This is the beginning of what we call "Gumbo Weather."

Personnaly, this is the time of year I like to roast (parch?) peanuts.

... from the Bayou


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## pastachef (Nov 19, 1999)

Kokopuffs, you're too much  Maybe you should do a name change. Fruity Pebbles??? LOL! October is the neatest time. That's when I used to give the girls at the sorority house a haunted house in the basement, complete with the chain saw guys and fog machine. So what if the fire department came three times:0. No more fog machine  I love to cook Fall things and decorate the outside of the house for halloween. I especially like to bake pumpkin bread and cranberry bread. Our new vendor is a chef and gave me a recipe for a beautiful Fall soup, using two different squashes and apples and cinnamon. I guess you all heard about the tornado that tore through College Park on monday. I was looking right at it, too terrified to move. I mean I just froze, and it was an F4. It was my first experience with a tornado and has always been my worst fear. I've had many nightmares about them. I couldn't believe how LOUD it was, or the feeling that it was pulling everything towards it, even though it was a half mile away from me. I went into shock. When I got home, I cried for hours. The girls had seen the seek cover immediately message on tv and grabbed their plates of food and fled to the basement. They never miss a bite  Nobody knew I was outside waiting for a taxi. There were several car accidents up on the highway close to the tornado. If my taxi hadn't come late it could have been me. Two college girls who were sisters were killed. Several hundred students are displaced, but we're all sharing space and caring for them. THIS is one Fall I'll never forget


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

Heard of people who predict weather changes according to the pain in their joins. Never knew you could do it with hemorrhoids...  

There has to be apples and pies and cinnamon. Applesauce too, thirty pounds of apples gone in one afternoon. 

Tomatoes. Lots of them, 60 pounds or so, and sauce. Lots of sauce, enough to last until next spring. What a job, is it worth it? You bet. 

Leeks cleaned, cooked and frozen. For soup and quiche. 

Fruit ketchup. Not too much, a few jars. 

Starting to feel like a squirrel saving up for the cold months. 

Then there are leaves to rake, lots of them. Rainy and cold Sunday afternoon. Perfect cooking weather. Everyone’s in the kitchen working together, sharing stories and recipes. 

So much food so little time.


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## bdwillms (Feb 26, 2001)

Fall traditions
Clean up the yard,tidy up yhe gardens etc
Still wearing shorts when I am not working,and I will try to until I can't bear it any more.Started wearing a jacket while working outside.No long sleeved shirts yet.One must have the right to bear arms.  
Did not need to know about the hems Koko, but got a laugh out of it.  
Canadians have Thanksgiving in October so that will be the next main event    
All for now   

[ September 27, 2001: Message edited by: bdwillms ]


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## kylew (Aug 14, 2000)

*Way* too much information!


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

Iza:
That's a seasonal change as opposed to weather change.

PastaChef:
I know what you mean about the weather disaster in Maryland. On Guam in '62 a typhoon with winds up to 230 knots leveled the entire island. Terrible destruction everywhere. We didn't have school for two weeks!


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## pastachef (Nov 19, 1999)

Wow, Kokopuffs. That IS scary. Nothing brings out humility in people more than a natural disaster. I'll never look at black clouds the same again. My brat dolls only got one day out of school after the tornado, but they will be cleaning up for quite a while.


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## pastachef (Nov 19, 1999)

Fruit ketchup? Ooo Iza, that sounds so good. What is it?


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

Pasta,

It's an old recipe my mother has, might have been from my great grand mother but I'm not sure. It's a ketchup made with tomatoes, peaches and pears and some spices I think. Every year my mother and I make a batch together. It's delicious on just about everything.


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## 1538 (Jun 3, 2001)

Crisp fall days and chilly fall nights... around here we call that "Good sleeping weather." Which is a wonderful way to celebrate; pull out the down comforter and get snuggly. 

This time of year I get the urge to 'rit up'the house for winter, spin (wool, not my head), and knit. Cozy, warm fall things.

Hmmmm - I think I hear my comforter calling...


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## nancya (Apr 30, 2001)

I'm with you CJ. Down comfortor has been out for about 2 weeks now --- but we are having Indian Summer out here in the wild west and it is tooooo warm again.

Used to enjoy playing in the leaves with my dog. Leaves are meant to be piled up then kicked all over the yard.


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## pastachef (Nov 19, 1999)

Iza, that fruit ketchup sounds amazing. Is the recipe the same consistency as regular ketchup? Has anyone ever noticed that candy corn and candy apples seem to only taste really good in the fall? I love gourds and Indian corn, and pumpkins, and crunching leaves under my feet, and the smell outside when everyone's furnaces are on. Fall is so beautiful!


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

It's not like Heinz ketchup Pasta, it's a chunky ketchup. The fruits and tomatoes are cut into chunk before cooking and they retain their shape. It's not reduce to a puree once cook. You can distingush the fruits and tomatoes when you eat it.

If you want the recipe just let me know, I'll ask my mother, she's the keeper of family recipes.


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## pastachef (Nov 19, 1999)

Iza, I would be so honored to be given your family's recipe for fruit ketchup. It sounds like one of those things that the girls would love. I imagine it sort of like a fruit salsa. Could you ask your mom if she has a recipe for tomato preserves? I made a batch several times a year, way long ago. But I can't find a recipe anywhere now. I can't believe how many people haven't tasted tomato preserves. That would be a sure recipe that the sorority girls would love too  Thank you so much!


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## pastachef (Nov 19, 1999)

Thank you so much, Iza  Tomato preserves is a jam.


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## pastachef (Nov 19, 1999)

Kokopuffs, I didn't mean to come off as if I were laughing at your dilemma. Been there, done that. Your ability to turn the whole situation into a joke-like thing made me laugh  I do hope you're feeling better by now.


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

Pasta,

I'll have the recipe for you tonight or tomorrow morning. 

I'm not sure what you mean by tomato preserve. Is it like a jam a sauce, a ketchup or something else?


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Last night we celebrated what was the last of the summer bounty. Our first frost came through six days ago but I managed to cover the basil so it's still going. It's gift basket time so I'm planning on doing basil jelly and some preserves/jams in the next few weeks. I gotta put something away for the winter months so I took made some plain old tomato sauce and froze it all. 

Kuan


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

I just came from the beach.
Today was as hot as July.

Khuan could you please tell me what a basil jelly is?

Thank you!


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

All I could find Pasta is a yellow tomato jam recipe. Never tried it though.


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## pastachef (Nov 19, 1999)

That one would be fine, Iza. I may even remember the old recipe after seeing yours. I found several recipes online for lemon cream sauce for pasta. I can do, but I don't have a big imagination for recipes. Maybe I'm just too afraid to experiment except for a little bit here and there. And Kuan, I like the sound of basil jelly. What do you use it for?


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## cape chef (Jul 31, 2000)

saturday Morning we all bundled up and went to Beccas soccor game..Her team won 7/2 

afterwords some of my daughters friends came over,my brother and my niece,my sis in law and my nephew and we all headed to silvermans farm for some apple picking,cider making and a hay ride to the orchards.

got tons of Empire,macoun,cortland (my fav for cooking)masues,macs.
painting my front door today hunter green and will do a pork roast tonight with a autumn squash and brussel sprout stew.
I love Autumn.
cc


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Folks,

Basil Jelly, basically just like mint jelly, only with basil. I haven't decided how to make it yet, with applesauce or not, but either way, it will be good. This is totally new, I haven't figured out what I'd use it for. Perhaps as an accompaniment for a cold chicken dish, or if I need to make a quick glaze. Hey I just know if I need it it'll be there 

Kuan


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## athenaeus (Jul 24, 2001)

Thanks Khuan!

If you figure out something let me know. I have a forest of beasil in my veranta!
Do you know something wierd?
Although in Greece there is basil in every house during summer we do not use it in cooking.
I do not know why. Maybe because it's strongly related to Ortodox religion...


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

There you are pasta. sorry for the delay.

Ketchup aux fruits


8 pounds tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
4 peaches. peeled and chopped
4 pears, peeled and chopped
6 onions, chopped finely
1 pint vinegar
4 cups sugar
marinade spices in a little bundle of cotton
3 teaspoons salt


In a big pot put all the ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook uncovered for about 3 hours.


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## pastachef (Nov 19, 1999)

That recipe sounds really good, Iza. Thank you and please thank your mom for me. I am going to try it very soon. I have parents day coming up and a few other events. It will be nice to have for these things. I'm going to print it now. Thanks again


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

You're welcome Pasta. Let me know how you like it once you made it.


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## 1538 (Jun 3, 2001)

Blustery wind is moaning at the windows as I type. Our trees have started turning this week, which isn't exactly a tradition, more like a habit, but _so_ beautiful! And the weather report is calling for a spit of snow around the lake (Erie). Meanwhile, I've been enjoying the fields of goldenrod glowing as if they're soaking up the last of the summer sun.


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

This morning there was a dusting of snow in Duluth. I awoke to find a layer of ice on my grill, and any chance of a tomato resurgence (no matter how slim) is now gone. Too bad, 'twas a good summer for me. I'm gonna miss my dollar for ten lemongrass at the farmer's market.

Kuan


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## olive branch (Oct 2, 2001)

When my boys were young I'd always make spaghetti carbonara for dinner on Halloween. They'd be too full to try and eat all their trick or treat loot. Before they went out to ring door bells, I'd turn off all the lights, and by candlelight read them this poem (they called it a curse):

When the white dog is out and trots all about
Under the clouds that are over the moon,
And the hag with her broom rides high on the wind,
And the cat on the fence spits even at friends,
Then it is right to conjure a light
Against every spirit that shadows the night.
Let the pumpkin's candle glare into darkness everywhere. Burn all evil from the air!
When it is dark and the black trees roar
Set Jack-o'Lantern to watch by the door.

I don't know who wrote it, but it gave them a fun chill. I hope you have a ton of fun making your own traditions.


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Here's the basil jelly instructions.

13c sugar
2c white vinegar
4c water
2c fresh basil, 3c is better
12 oz liquid pectin
a little green food coloring (optional)

combine sugar, vin, water, food coloring. Tie the basil in cheesecloth and add to everything else. Bring to boil, turn off and let it infuse for about 20 minutes. Bring it back to boil and add liquid pectin. Bring it back to full rolling boil for at least a minute. Don't boil too long or you will wreck the gel. Remove from heat, skim the foam off the top. Put it into sterilized jars (don't forget to sterilize your tops) and process in hot water bath for 5 minutes. Remove and allow seal to form. TADA!

Kuan


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