Favorite Recipes and Spices for October
October is here, friends! It’s definitely fall now, good and proper, no two ways about it. Sweater weather, apples galore, squashes and pumpkins, and Halloween on its way. The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting colder, and the kitchen is back in it’s rightful place, center stage.
Pumpkins, squashes and apple cider, ready and waiting at the grocery store in October.
Here’s what I’m usually thinking about when it comes to October cooking:
1) Fall harvest!
We’ve transitioned from summer to fall, and we’re gradually bending toward colder weather. Corn is here in the beginning of the month, but probably gone by the end. Apples are everywhere all month long, as are winter squashes, pumpkins, leafy greens, herbs and lots of other good things. This is still full harvest season, so live it up baby!
2) Busy season
Every year, about the second week of October I suddenly notice I’m Extremely Busy! The fresh optimism of the early school year begins yielding to the reality of interim report cards and sports schedules. I realize all at once that the holiday season is right around the corner and my business needs to get ready. And there’s often an election on the near horizon that involves some combination of volunteering, fretting and nail biting. On top of all of that, it’s time to get ready for…
3) Halloween!
Costumes to make or buy, parties to plan, decorations to dig out of the basement and hang. More decorations to purchase because one can never have enough. Candy to buy, then resist eating, then hand out to trick-or-treaters, then polish off yourself because you always buy too much (accidentally?). Pumpkins to carve and seeds to roast.
October cooking strategies and spices
October cooking is about nourishing meals, seasonal produce and not too much fussiness (because busy season!). The right spices set the tone with rich, warming fall flavors. Here are some October cooking faves:
Pumpkin Pie Spice - my own blend, a combination of cassia cinnamon, cloves and ginger. It’s a great spice combo for savory (a la butternut squash) as well as sweet (like, um, pumpkin pie).
Ethiopian Berbere Seasoning - it’s a little spicy, and a lot of fun. A blend of 12 single-origin spices from our partners at Brundo Spice Co. The perfect pairing with all things October: pumpkin seeds, squash, roast chicken, and lots more.
Mulling Spices - my own blend, for cider or wine, or steeped into hot tea. There’s nothing like a hot spiced drink to match the mood of changing leaves and pumpkin carving. A little fall warmth in a glass.
Aleppo Pepper - a little heat and a whole lotta flavor. Slightly smoky with hints of fruit, it’s warming and addictively tasty on everything from potatoes to caramelized squash to pasta to roast chicken.
Fave October recipes
Below are my favorite recipes for October. Warming foods, nourishing breakfasts, seasonal produce, everything apple (and nothing too fussy).