There’s something about the light this time of year that gives one pause; not quite stark winter light, but more a luminescent cast that makes color dance. Shadows deepen, and when night falls it does so like a curtain dropping with no long summer twilight. The temperatures change quickly too. We’ll be outside appreciating the warmth, maybe even having a meal on the porch, and in just a few moments, we’re headed inside to find our sweaters. 

What a beautiful autumn we’ve had! Mild temperatures, enough rain, with a mix of both nippy and warmer days. It poured all day yesterday, but this morning the sun came out and the colors looked even deeper, cleaned. The foliage has been superb and is lasting. We are not far from Lake Champlain, so we’re just at peak right now and the weather is picture perfect. When walking the dogs this morning, we didn’t even need a sweatshirt and I’m thinking dinner outside on the patio. I’m saying this now very quietly so as not to tempt the fates, but we haven’t had a frost here yet and none predicted, so I’ve still plenty of annual flowers and greens, although quite raggedy at this point. I know it will catch up with me since this feeling of endless summer has put me way behind on fall yard chores. It’s 60 degrees out, I don’t have to be thinking about putting away the hoses.

Time to get the wood in

But we’ve had our share of chilly nights, so plenty of sitting by the fire, although every log we toss on reminds us that we haven’t got our wood in yet, all of it still needs need to be hauled and stacked. One of our least favorite chores to do, but once done gives great satisfaction. There, the wood is in, we can exhale. We feel like squirrels all set for the winter.

Here comes the color, everywhere

In the kitchen, the fall vegetable lineup is here, dressed in brilliant colors to rival the foliage on our trees. Orange carrots and squashes, purple cabbages, broccoli, and sweet potatoes, bright pink, lavender, and black radishes, darkest of green kale and Brussels sprouts, confetti speckled beans, deep red and striped beets, blue roasting potatoes, lemon fingerlings and sweet turnips, and melon tinted rutabagas. You almost need to wear shades to the market!

The deeply colored vegetables are not just tasty, as the darker the color the higher nutrition. Thus, a blue potato will have more robust mineral content than a white one and the added benefit of being quite pretty as well. So when given a choice, a hot pink watermelon radish is slightly more nutritious than a white one, but both are excellent choices depending on what is available. 

Stew some vegetables, let them cook themselves

This is a perfect evening for a slow stew using some of those wonderful autumn vegetables, including something new. Here I chose a sweet garleek, a mildly garlicky leek of the same allium family that I’ve been seeing everywhere all of a sudden. Have you spotted them? They look like a massively overgrown scallion, smaller in width than a leek but about the same size lengthwise. Delightful to find them grown locally. In addition to this dish, I’ve also used them in a stir-fry and I loved the mild garlic flavor, but next time I will probably add a few garlic cloves as well because we all appreciate a lot of garlic.

You can spice these stewed vegetables any way you like, I started with the five-spice and sprinkled this and that in just for fun. Often when braising cabbage, I’ll add carraway seeds because it is a great flavor combination. If you have other sturdy vegetables such as beets, squash, or rutabaga, you can certainly use those.

Hearty and tasty

Quick to put together, effortless while it cooks itself, and a delicious and hearty end to a beautiful autumn day in New England or anywhere else in the world for that matter. 

I think I’ll make another pot, a really big one, and invite everyone over for a wood stackiong day. Are you busy? It won’t take us long.

Stewed Sweet Potatoes and Cabbage

• 3 sweet garleeks, or 1 large leek, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed, or if using leek, 5
• 1 tsp. Chines five spice
• 1 tsp. turmeric
• 1 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed
• ¼ to ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
• 12 oz. (320 g.) mushrooms, sliced
• 3 large carrots, sliced
• 1 lb. (450 g.) purple or orange sweet potatoes, diced
• 1 small head purple cabbage, or half a large one
• 6 cups stock or water
• 2 cups cooked garbanzo beans
• Balsamic vinegar

Into a large soup pot, drizzle a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and add the garleek. Sauté for a few minutes until softened, then toss in the garlic and spices. Give this a minute or so, and add the mushrooms, carrots, sweet potatoes, and cabbage. Let these get to know each other for five minutes or so, then add the beans and the water and season with salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil, cover, then simmer on lowest until everything is tender. You can also tuck this in the oven at 300 degrees F. (150 C.) and forget about it for a while.

When done, garnish each dish with a drizzle of your best balsamic vinegar if you like, or perhaps a squeeze of lemon to brighten it up. Or, you can just serve with a nice slice of crusty bread and sit by the fire – once the wood is in.

“And I rose
In rainy autumn
And walked abroad in a shower of all my days…” ~ Dylan Thomas

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