Falling into the next season

Happy Autumnal Equinox! It is fall time. Here in California, we share the same shortening of the days as everyone, but we are still eating tomatoes and watermelon, though they won't last much longer. I have personal chef friends and colleagues all across the country with whom I share recipes along with many other business related ideas. Gone are the postings of tomato and salad recipes. Our in boxes are full of soups, stews, and winter squash ideas. 
Eating seasonally has become as trendy as being a locavore these days. This is a good thing! Eating locally and seasonally is not a new idea. It goes all the way back to caveman/woman days. You ate what you could harvest and hunt. You relished the fresh greens out of the ground in the spring,filled your bellies with berries in the summer, dug roots in the fall,and saved what you could keep over the winter.  

Fall is the season for harvesting, reaping what we have sown and nurtured through out the summer. Think of this on the physical, emotional, and spiritual level. Fall is a time of balance of the light and the dark, time to work on our own balance, again inner and outer. What in your life is out of balance ?

We naturally gravitate away from the cold refreshing foods of summer - salads, juicy fruits, cold and tart.  Now is the time for roasting root vegetables, making pots of soup that fill the house with their aroma, sipping hot tea instead of iced, baking. 

Go to the farmers' market if you can, or look in your favorite grocery store for what is fresh and in season. Have you ever had a roasted parsnip ? celery root? a yellow or chiogga beet ? When was the last time you ate turnips, if you ever have ?? Roasting root vegetables is a delicious and easy way to enjoy the fall bounty.

Roasted Root Vegetables

Use what ever vegetables you like or want to try. These work well... carrots, potatoes, beets, parsnips, celery root, turnips, rutabaga, onions. The celery root you will want to peel, but I don't bother with the rest. Just make sure they are clean and cut out the bad spots. I like bite size chunks. Just make sure you cut everything approximately the same size. Preheat your oven to 400º. Fill a large sheet pan/baking sheet with your veggies. Coat with olive oil ( several Tablespoons), salt and pepper. Depending on your tastes you could add garlic ( whole cloves or granulated), Herbes de Provence, red pepper flakes, rosemary. Roast in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes. Check after the first 15, stir and turn over the veggies for even cooking. You want some crispy caramelization.  Enjoy. I like the leftovers with eggs for breakfast.