Autumnal Shabbat

I love the Fall. I love leaves changing colors, and sitting inside sipping hot chocolate and walking around in rustic-looking sweaters. But by far the best part of this season is all the great fall recipes there are. What with the harvest in the fall, there are so many delicious foods that you can make fresh this kind of year, and I try to take advantage as best I can.

Last week I had a bunch of friends over for Shabbat lunch and realized as I was serving the meal that it had a very autumnal theme. Included below are links to the best fall Shabbat recipes I could find. You don’t have to do a full meal made up of these, but consider doing at least one or two before these great fruits and veggies go out of season.

Pumpkin Challah— When Leah Koenig sent us this recipe she mentioned in her email that I should “run, not walk” to try this one out myself, and I always trust Leah’s advice. She did not let me down. The pumpkin flavor is present, but light enough that you won’t feel strange putting hummus on your challah.

Gypsy Soup— No gypsies are harmed in the making of this soup, and it is full of sweet potatoes, tomatoes and peppers.

Autumn Glory— My sister gave me this recipe, and though she usually makes it in a pumpkin, I cheated and substituted butternut squash. The presentation isn’t quite as good, but the taste is still delicious. I doubled the recipe and had lots of leftovers even after seven people ate it at the meal.

Roasted potatoes–I used potatoes from my CSA, and prepared them the way I’ve been doing for years: peel and then wash the potatoes, and then chop them into large chunks. Toss with olive oil, oregano, salt, pepper, thyme, and about five cloves of garlic, minced. Put them in a 9×13 pan and roast, covered, at 400f for 45 minutes. Take off the cover and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

My friend Sam brought a salad, but if I was going to make one, I would have used fresh spinach, beets, and walnuts, like in my famous recipe from the Food Network.

Cranberry Cake–I had a bag of cranberries that I’ve been wanting to use for a week, so I just googled Cranberry Cake, and used the first recipe that came up. They suggest making some kind of topping, but I skipped that, and no one complained.

It was a delicious meal, if I do say so myself, and it’s always nice to feel like you’re eating fresh and seasonal ingredients.