making the most of fall 🍂🍁
the best ingredients, recipes, habits, & more to enjoy the season + a new video!
Happy Sunday! This weekend the high in Boston was in the mid-60s which means the time is here, sweaters are out, Copley is extremely uninterested in her now-darker morning walks, and the seasonal cups have made an appearance. Tomorrow is officially the first day of fall and the change in seasons in New England is unmatched. Adapting my recipes and routines to match the season is one of my favorite things!
We just dove into TONS of recipe inspo in my 10 days of fall dinners series (if you missed it catch up here!!). Since you all loved that series, this week’s Youtube video gives even more inspiration for cozy, delicious, and nutritious recipes to make this season. I have another 10-recipe round up to get you inspired and excited!!
recipes shown include: 🔟 one-pot caramelized shallot and thyme pasta, 9️⃣ roasted garlic, cauliflower, and tomato soup, 8️⃣ creamy greens, beans, and sausage skillet, 7️⃣ maple cider tofu with sweet potato mash 6️⃣ sheet pan autumn quinoa salad 5️⃣ creamy pumpkin rigatoni 4️⃣ creamy mushroom and wild rice soup 3️⃣ harvest chickpea salad 2️⃣ cauliflower lentil bowls with green tahini sauce, and 1️⃣ creamy tortellini soup with chicken sausage
I also shared this month’s Substack bonus recipe Friday + a dinner plan, ICYMI that’s here!
And to go with it, today’s newsletter is a bit of a round up and rundown on fall: what to prep and make in your kitchen and some little tidbits I’m loving to make the most of the season, even if you’re in CA where it’s 90+ degrees! This is the kind of post where I encourage you to grab a fun drink and take a minute to indulge and enjoy.
🚨 some announcements
⭐️ Don’t Think About Dinner is still on sale, which means you can order it now to secure your copy and lock in the low price guarantee! If the price drops any lower before pub day, you’ll automatically get the lower price! You won’t be charged until the book ships in January and you’ll be one of the first to receive DTAD 🤭
📹 Substack LIVE! I’m bringing back more live cooking demos here on Substack this fall and I’m back this week with the iconic !! Carla and I will be live this Wednesday at 12pm EST making her Gochujang Broiled Salmon Bowls and answering your questions—you can join from the Substack app or desktop!
📚 For those local to Boston, I’m excited to moderate Eli Rallo’s book tour stop here on October 16th! Her book Does Anyone Else Feel This Way?: Essays on Conquering the Quarter-Life Crisis takes an honest, relatable, and of course, funny take on navigating life in your twenties. Hope to see you there!
seasonal ingredients & how to make them stretch
I might sound like a broken record over here, but shopping seasonally is a great way to save money and the late summer and fall season (late sept through december) has hearty, versatile produce that will keep longer than more delicate summer produce. Even better when squash or potatoes (aka the heavy produce) are sold per unit instead of per pound—I shamelessly search for the largest vegetable I can find to get the most bang for my buck. Some ingredient recommendations for seasonal recipes:
chickpeas — chickpeas can be used year-round, but in the fall they’re especially handy to add to bulk up a sheet pan meal. Make it stretch: add one drained and rinsed can of chickpeas to your sheet pan with chicken thighs or meatballs for extra protein and you’ll get ~2 more servings out of your meal!
cannellini beans — since it’s soup season for the foreseeable future, beans are your best friend! This creamy greens, beans, and sausage skillet is a cozy saucy meal that’s perfect for fall, if you’re new to using beans to bulk up a meal, try out this one. It’s also freezer-friendly! Make it stretch: Throw a can into your next pot of chicken or tortellini soup for extra protein and a hearty texture.
sweet potatoes — if you’re not interested in tackling a hard squash this season, sweet potatoes are the way to go! Technically winter is their season, but they’re something you can grab year round (we love a reliable veg!). Add them to a sheet pan for extra bulk. They’re quite moist so they can take a longer roast without crisping too much. If you want to skip the chopping altogether, i love a stuffed sweet potato, the extra sweetness compared to a russet potato is delish and hearty. Save time: pop the potatoes in the microwave to steam for 5-7 minutes.
beets — specifically red beets are my favorite to add to a roasted veggie sheet pan, their color is incredible and roasting them brings out their natural sweetness. You all know I love a good bowl, now I’m wondering if the next bowl recipe should include roasted beets? Save time: grab precooked beets at the grocery store.
(savory) pumpkin — I feel like collectively we’re a bit over the whole pumpkin spice fall thing? I love a little creamer in my coffee or latte occasionally, but I’m firm on savory over sweet pumpkin. Unless you’re adding a source of sugar to the pumpkin, it’s not a naturally sweet flavor (have you ever tried plain pumpkin puree??) but pumpkin does have the power to bulk up a dish or make it extra creamy. This one pan orzo was a star of the 10 days series, and this turkey pumpkin chili is an oldie but a goldie! If you don’t use up the whole can, make some muffins, overnight oats, or freeze the leftovers in an ice cube tray!
sauces — fall is a great time to play around with sauces with all the savory aromatics, herbs, and pantry staples. It’s hard to not come up with a delicious sauce no matter what you put together—I usually grab tahini for my creamy sauces. You also have to try the balsamic fig dressing from last fall’s ingredient prep guide, it’s the epitome of easy but fancy! If you’re a football fam (or just there for the snacks and support), bring this butternut squash queso & a bag of chips.
No, I’m not telling you to go out and buy anything you don’t need or don’t already have, but if you’re looking for tips, here are some key kitchen tools to have at the ready for cooking this fall. Prepping in a smaller kitchen space means I often rotate through my frequently used kitchen tools and keep the rest stored away or on the top-top shelves (apartment girlies get it) so I like to bring out things I use most each season:
dutch oven — my team and I were joking that everyone is asking about the pot again when I posted day seven and day three of the fall dinner series. But seriously, I always get questions about the gorgeous green dutch oven I use for soups, it’s amazing and such a good price for the quality. I also love this high-quality pick. Others highly recommended checking out Marshalls/HomeGoods for good finds!
kitchen utensils — I use things like ladles, large serving spoons, and my immersion blender the most this time of year so making sure they’re front and center in my utensil bin is essential. This silicone utensil set is an amazing deal.
sheet pans — this is really a year-round essential for me, but especially with squash season among us, I’m doing loads of roasting. This is the largest sheet pan I have (it comes in a bakeware set!), this set is budget friendly and comes with various sizes. I’ve invested in a few great non-stick sheet pans like this one and this one and I rarely need to use a liner to prevent sticking!
souper cubes — if you haven’t heard of these before, Souper cubes are the single best way to store soups, stews, rice, basically anything that you can fit into a mold. If you’re doing a meal train or stocking the freezer, these are key. I think the saying goes, if you’re cooking, might as well make double! And if that’s your motto, these cubes will make reheating portions a breeze.
all my kitchen essentials live here :)
+ every month I put together what I’m loving, if you want more, head over here!
Does anyone else feel like fall is really the mark of a new year? Maybe it’s because in New England we’re low key prepping for a big shift in seasons. Whatever it is, I feel like I can finally catch my breath in fall after the travel and out-of-routine nature of summertime. Some things I love to do to set the tone for the new season:
setting the mood — this candle that my friend gifted me has been burning nearly around the clock since September 1st rolled around, it smells like literal fall in a candle. I’m squeezing the last bits out of it and refuse to accept that I should have replaced it at least a week ago. I’m the first to admit I don’t always decorate for the seasons, but small touches make such a difference, like swapping out throw blankets and dish towels to warmer colors and textures.
mood boards — one thing about me is that I love a pinterest board, I’m really trying to get back into it this season, there’s so much inspiration to be drawn for cozy meals, decorations, outfits, DIYs, and just about everything else in between. I saw
posted their september moodboard and I have to say it gives all the cozy vibes I’m looking for.fall baking — I recently baked some pumpkin protein muffins (recipe coming in the october meal prep plan!!) and truly hadn’t baked anything in a long time, but it reminded me how fun it is to have a treat like muffins around for a snack. I also have been dreaming about this coffee cake I made last year, so good for autumn.
fresh flowers — I discovered the incredible rococo flower shop this year in Somerville and my life truly has not been the same since. There’s something so magical about bringing home a fresh bouquet from a real flower shop, bonus points for the adorable containers they come in too. I snagged a bunch last week and it reminded me to stop and enjoy the little things :) Highly recommend looking up a local florist or farm near you and picking up a bunch for the week.
skipping the takeout — it’s literally my job to cook and make food, but there’s always days where it’s just not going to happen! I’ve been more conscious of skipping out on takeout even when things are busy, there are so many easy recipes to make for fall that require minimal cooking or chopping, and I love a cozy night in. And I recently remade my Copycat Trader Joe’s Crispy Orange Chicken!
That’s all for today, I hope you all have a lovely week, and be sure to stay tuned over on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to see what I have for y’all this upcoming week!
stoked for salmon bowls with you this week!
RIP tomato season