Happy Fall!

At an ungodly hour on Saturday morning I grouchily got into my car on a desperate mission to get coffee. As I passed the fields on the way into town I was pulled out of my crabby mood by the sight of bundled up cross country runners, huddled together among bright orange and red trees, their breath creating little clouds, as they waited on grass blades covered in the first shining frost. This perfect scene was a clear sign that fall is here!

I love autumn. I love the boots and sweaters, I love snuggling under blankets, I love the cool crisp air, and of course, I love the food. Pumpkin and apple might be the two greatest flavors ever. It is safe to say that apple pie is my favorite food. If I could find a way to eat it for every meal and not gain 300 pounds I would. Pair that with a pumpkin hot chocolate from my favorite shop and I am in heaven. They put real pumpkin puree in there and I can’t get enough! The first time I realized that it blew my mind. I immediately started scheming on other ways to use pumpkin puree (jump to the end to see how I used it with apples for the perfect combo for C). C is loving fall too. It's his first one and it's safe to say he loves it as much as mama.

We had a blast selling pumpkins at our church and a far as he is concerned, baby pumpkins are better than any toy. He is currently throwing them around my living room. We also have some awesome farms in this area and apple picking season is in full tilt. Have I mentioned that I love where I live?! C has recently discovered apples in all their natural glory. He blew my mind the other day by eating an apple straight off the core. He's had apple in various forms and I always show him the whole apple before I chop it up, but when I handed it too him whole I had no clue that he would just start munching it! It felt like my constant chattering about ingredients while cooking was paying off! He knew what an apple was! To be fair, he also tried to eat the dog's ball and a small pumpkin, but I'm still marking it as a win. I have never seen someone laugh with so much pure glee while eating. In fact I think it's a very appropriate reaction to discovering a new awesome food. Why don't we act like that around the table more often?

At any rate, while I could eat pumpkin muffins and apple pie for days I'm not sure it's exactly the best diet for a 10 month old. OK, fine, it's not the best diet for a 30 year old either, but I'm the cook so I eat what I want! In an effort to let C experience the flavors of the season without the added sugar I’ve been experimenting with ways to introduce them to him (since I’m certainly not sharing my pumpkin hot chocolate). I will be posting some of my favorite pumpkin (and other fall) recipes from some true chefs as the season continues, but to kick us off I’m going to share a super easy and delicious combo of pumpkin and apple that is baby friendly for 6+ months. It would also be yummy with a oatmeal crumble topping as dessert.

Happy munching!

Pumpkin Baked Apples

6 apples -I use gala

1 cup pumpkin puree - I used some I had made and frozen last fall

From a can is fine, but if you can, roast up some pumpkins and store the puree in 1 cup portions in the freezer. It lasts forever!

3/4 teaspoon curry powder

3/8 teaspoon cumin

1/4 cup maple syrup (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Mix spices into pumpkin puree

For a more traditional flavor replace the cumin and curry with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. I make it both ways and they are both delicious.

3. Chop apples in half and scoop out core and enough apple to make a little bowl for the pumpkin. I use a grapefruit spoon and leave as much as the apple as possible. It doesn't need to be pretty.

4. Place the apple halves on a baking sheet and fill with pumpkin.

5. If you want drizzle a little maple sugar over them. It's delicious, but I tend to leave it off if I'm making them for C.