Wednesday 25 September 2013

Fall Flavours



After a very summery weekend, fall seems to be creeping in this week.  I lit the woodstove for the first time yesterday afternoon, making the house feel so warm in cozy.  It got me in the mood for “fall flavours”. 

I grew ground cherries in my garden for the first time this year.  I primarily used them as toppings on salads, but the kids also enjoyed snacking on them.  The papery husk gives you the feeling that you are unwrapping a little present from the garden – kind of fun for the boys!  I had been planning on trying a ground cherry pie, but never got around to it.  I had a small bowl remaining and thought I might pair them up with apples in a crisp.  I just tossed them into my regular apple crisp recipe.  I think it turned out fairly well.  My husband loved it, but the boys picked out the ground cherries in favor of the apples.  I topped it with Greek yogurt and maple syrup as a substitute for whipped cream.  I’ve been using Greek yogurt in place of whipping cream and haven’t heard any complaints so far.  Maybe it’s the maple syrup on top (:  No yogurt for me, of course, with my dairy-free experiment in the works.
Tuesdays are relaxed in our house because we have no after-school activities.  Since I wasn't on the run, I was able to roast a chicken for dinner while the boys puttered, played and had before supper baths.  I have been thinking more about incorporating a pattern in my meal planning.  Roast chicken on Tuesdays would mean leftovers on Wednesdays and soup on Thursday.  I think it might be my new kitchen rhythm for the fall (or at least until everyone is sick of chicken!!).
Anyone else have creative uses for ground cherries or favorite fall desserts?  Pumpkin pie is next on my list with Canadian Thanksgiving just a few weeks away. 


2 comments:

Andrea said...

Yum! I love your squirrel table runner. We get ground cherries at the farmer's market once in a while--my kids don't care for them, but I like to eat them plain (they taste kind of like pineapple to me--is that weird?) but I've never tried cooking with them. I wonder how it would work to use them like plums in a cake? Just dropping them on top of the batter? Or like a pineapple upside down cake? Now I need to find some and try it out!

Madame Melville said...

They do have a bit of a pineapple taste. I always expect a tomato and am surprised. I have a friend who made a peach/ground cherry pie which was super tasty! I wonder if they would work the same as plums..or cherries for that matter. Maybe a caflouti would be a good idea.