In style party favors: FALL FUN

VISIT AN APPLE ORCHARD. NO ORCHARDS IN THE AREA? CHECK OUT A FARMER'S MARKET OF LOCAL PRODUCE STAND. ENJOY THE CRISPNESS "NAKED" IN IT'S WHOLE DELICIOS FORM OR BAKE SOMETHING YUMMY

BAKED APPLES

Easy Autumn Baked Apples
4 apples (recommended: Fuji or McIntosh)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup chopped pecans or almonds
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup maple syrup
Slice the top of each apple off, then hollow the center of the apples out with a paring knife. Brush lemon juice across the top of the apples to keep them from turning brown. Place the apples in a baking dish.

In a large bowl, combine flour, butter, sugar, oats, pecans, and cinnamon. Use a fork to combine until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Spoon the mixture generously into each apple. Drizzle each with maple syrup.

Place about 1/4 inch of water into the bottom of the baking dish. Bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until the crumble on top of the apples is golden brown, and the apples are soft.

Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if serving for dessert.

SPIKED APPLE CIDER

Ingredients

1/4 gallon of apple cider
1/2 cup of dark rum
1/2 cup of cinnamon schnapps
Granny Smith apple, peeled , chopped into 1" cubes
1/2 cup of lemon juice

Mix all liquid ingedients amd chill.

Roll apple chinks in cinnamon, skewer 3-4 cubes and serve with each drink

VISIT THE PUMPKIN PATCH CHOOSE PUMPKINS FOR PIE MAKING OR DECORATING.

MARTHA STEWART (of course) CARVED PUMPKINS

CHIPOTLE PUMPKIN SOUP

Chipotle Pumpkin Soup Recipe

If canned chipotle in adobo is not available, you can use chipotle powder, start with one teaspoon and increase to taste. If chipotle powder is not available, use 1/2 teaspoon of regular chili powder, increasing to taste, and a dash of liquid smoke. Note that fresh pumpkins vary in their moisture content, so you may need to add more liquid, either water or stock, to get to the consistency you want, depending on how thick or thin you would like your soup to be.

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1-2 chipotle peppers (canned in adobo, 1 for mild, 2 for spicy), chopped
8 cups chopped, cooked pumpkin* (1 7-8 pound cooking pumpkin to yield 8 cups cooked pumpkin, or 3 15-ounce cans of canned pumpkin)
4 to 6 cups chicken stock, depending on desired thickness and how thick your pumpkin purée is (use vegetable stock for vegetarian option, can sub water for some of the stock)
1 teaspoon dried oregano or 1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
2 teaspoons salt, more to taste
2 Tbsp lime juice

Garnishes:

Toasted, shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
Cilantro
Creme fresca, creme fraiche or sour cream thinned with a little water so that it's runny

*To cook fresh pumpkin, use a good cooking pumpkin (i.e. sugar pumpkin, fairytale pumpkin, hubbard, or kabocha pumpkin), cut in half, scoop out the seeds, place the pumpkin cut side down on a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for about an hour, or until soft. Scoop out the pumpkin flesh or cut away the skin. Let cool. Freeze for long term storage.

METHOD

1 Heat oil in a large pot (8-quart) on medium high heat. Add the onions and cook for 3-4 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic, cumin, and chipotle, cook for 1 minute more.

2 Add the pumpkin, chicken stock, oregano, and salt. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, partially covered.

3 If you are working with raw pumpkin seeds, now would be a good time to toast them. (If your pumpkin seeds are already toasted, skip this step.) Just spread them out in an even layer in a frying pan on medium high heat. Stir with a wooden spoon while toasting, until the pumpkin seeds are fragrant and are lightly browned. Remove to a bowl.

4 Remove the soup from heat. Working in batches of 2 cups each, purée the soup in batches, holding down the lid the your blender tightly while puréeing, and starting on a slow speed. Return the puréed soup to the pot.

5 Add lime juice. Adjust seasonings to taste, adding more salt, cumin, oregano, or chipotle to taste. If the soup is too thick, add more stock or water to desired consistency.

Serve with toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas), crema fresca drizzled over the top, and chopped cilantro.

Yield: Makes 2 to 2 1/2 quarts.

VISIT A CORN MAZE