falling leaves + vegetables + calcium

Colorado in the fall

I freaking love fall. Why?

• college football/pro football
  
• long sleeve t-shirts + jeans + sandals
  
• colors + smells = sensory overload
  
• savory foods
• steel-cut oats for breakfast
• rain + snow
• THANKSGIVING!!

New Hampshire in the fall

My boyfriend, Alexander, is from the land of fall : New England. Every year thousands of people make their pilgrimage to the Northeast to view the leaves in his 'hood. I wish we could go this year, but it does not look like we will be able to make it in time. We will, however, be in Chicago and Wisconsin during the leaf change, so it should be interesting to see the foliage in that part of the country.

Corpus Christi year-round...lovely, yes...but no changing leaves

Where I am from there is no such thing as fall, which is probably the reason I love fall so much - I was deprived most of my life! In Corpus Christi the seasons are summer and...some other mix of the others. Leaves don't really change, and the weather is completely unpredictable, either burning hot, raining, or freezing.

Aspens & Evergreens

In Colorado the leaves are pretty interesting: most of the state is covered in Aspens and Evergreens, so the stark difference between the dark evergreens and the yellowing Aspen leaves is truly gorgeous. I can definitely feel fall in the air here this week. The temperatures are starting to drop and it's getting harder to leave the house without a scarf.

I was especially reminded of autumn today when we went to one of the last large farmer's market of the season. In just a few weeks there will be no farmer's markets in this part of the country, and that makes me sad. Today we got plenty of onions, squash, green beans, potatoes, and peppers. We have plenty of tomatoes and fresh herbs left in our garden, so we avoided those stands. In addition to the lovely veggies, we also got some handmade lemon-garlic fettucine, rustic bread, and sampled some great meats and sweets.

Leche

My favorite sample was from the local dairy, and I am wholeheartedly considering getting milk delivery. It's amazingly CHEAPER ($3.29/half gallon) than the organic milk I currently drink (Horizon Organic 1% with added Omega 3 @ $3.99/half gallon) and they also deliver all kinds of other dairy products and farm goods, such as free range organic eggs, all at the SAME price or lower than my local supermarket. But the pecan on the pie is that their non-fat milk tastes like sweet delicious nectar of the gods, not white water.

I digress...so tonight I am going to make a fab meal out of the veggies we got and have. A tomato harvest is on the agenda for later, and I think I shall make a delicious homemade marinara today. Throw that together with the pasta and zucchini, plus some steamed green beans with garlic, good bread, a nice Chianti Classico, and cool weather...perfect combination.

More later, after the harvest...

Namaste