It’s fall y’all!

Funny story- I once went to  TJ Maxx and found a candle that said “it’s fall y’all” on it. I got so excited but it fell out of my cart and smashed on the floor. I then awkwardly stood around the end of the aisle looking for someone who worked there because of the broken glass and I felt bad I broke merchandise in my excitement. When I finally found someone and alerted them to the glass and offered to pay, they didn’t seem to care (ok cool I’ll spend my $5 on more random stuff) and just walked away unphased. The sad part is that this was 2 years ago and I still think about that adorablely graphic “it’s fall y’all! on a perfect fall scented candle that I have never come across again. R.I.P- my basic chick candle bliss.

Anywho, with the fall season upon us, we are starting to harvest away. I want to write up a post separately this week about our new found hobby here- canning. Our harvest is plentiful, I basically have no room on my counters anymore and no more large bowls, it is all home to tomatoes. The end of September also brings another great harvest in New England- CORN.

And if you can’t get some corn at the farmers market because you’re too busy juggling work, dishes, a toddler, laundry, and a social life...this works with frozen bagged corn as well (because that’s what I did). This easy crockpot chowder is perfectly timed for the beginning of fall (and the school year). I’ve also found an amazingly easy recipe for homemade bread that paired perfectly.

 

You might be thinking- “Wait, what? You’re complaining about not having enough time to buy and schuck fresh corn but you’re making your own bread?”.  No seriously, it’s easy. You just have to time it right.

 

In August Brett and I celebrated 6 years of wedded bliss and we are not crazy gift givers, but we find it fun to look up the “wedding gift traditions” and try to get creative with it. This year was iron so he bought me this new cast iron dutch oven. This dutch oven has now become one of my most used kitchen items strictly for making bread.

The bread goes perfectly with a hearty soup on a crisp fall evening. The bread takes minimal time to prep and the soup takes even less. Perfect to let go in your crockpot during a day of apple picking.

Mix in a bit of butter and cream before serving and you got yourselves a meal. (I point out doing the cream and butter at the end because cream all day in a crockpot is um..not…ideal.) And don’t let the cream and butter throw you, this soup actually ends up still feeling light.

Crockpot Potato Corn Chowder

• 16oz Corn (frozen is fine)
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 tsp Onion Powder
• 1 tsp Dried Oregano (double for fresh)
• 24oz Red Potatoes, diced
• 1 tsp Thyme, dried (double for fresh)
• 3 Tbsp Flour
• 6 cups Chicken Stock
• 1/4  cup Heavy Cream
• 2 Tbsp butter
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Toss your diced potatoes in flour and add to crockpot. Add in corn, garlic, onion powder, oregano, thyme and chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper and cook on low 7-8 hours (or high 3-4). Before serving stir in heavy cream and butter.

Homemade Bread in Dutch Oven

• 6 cups Flour
• 2 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Dry Active Yeast
• 2 2/3 cups Cold Water

Mix all your ingredients in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 12-18 hours. I usually do mine before bed to bake the next morning. **It’s best to let your dough rise in a warm room, sometimes in the winter I have a bit of trouble finding a spot in my drafty house but you can leave it in any room**

On your counter put down a linen dish towel and a piece of parchment on top. Flour them well (I find too much flour is never a problem). Then flour a separate work surface and fold your dough (with well-floured hands!) a few times to create a loose ball (DONT OVERWORK! The more you work it the denser it will be). Transfer dough to the parchment paper and fold up loosely, then tie the towel that is under it. Let rise for an additional 2 hours. In that time put your dutch oven in your oven and preheat to 425 degrees (I usually start this about 30 minutes before the 2 hours is up).

Once your oven is preheated take the dutch oven out, flour the inside a bit, and quickly turn your dough out of the parchment and into the pot. I sometimes shake my dough a bit to make sure it evenly distributes around but it doesn’t have to be perfect. I find if I fuss with it too much the bread doesn’t rise well and tastes dense. Cover and cook for 40 minutes, then take the top off and cook additional 10 minutes to let it brown on top. Remove bread from Dutch oven and cool completely before slicing.