Is fall here yet?

Today is a cooler-than-normal day in Edmonton.
It makes me want to bake!

Today, I'm making ciabatta. I actually started it last night, made a poolish that fermented overnight. It's now mixed and risen once and it's on the counter in a slab rising again as I update.

Summer, it's great and all. Gardens grow, flowers bloom, homemade ice cream and fresh fruit and veg for everyone! kinda thing.

But I LOVE LOVE LOVE fall!!!

I could live in fall all year. Seriously. I could.
Now, I know, it's always better when you have to wait for it kinda thing, but there's something about fall that I just can't get enough of.
Some of those things don't happen without a summer, which is why i haven't invented a weather machine to bend the seasons to my will ;)

First, cool weather is sweater weather! Too cool for a shirt, too hot for a jacket, sweater weather. Cozy, plush, knitted, warm sweaters. Plus a hot cup of tea, cocoa or coffee and a fire. Nothing in the world could bother me at that point.

Second, bringing in the harvest (thus, i need summer). Digging potatoes, carrots. Getting tomatoes and beans and the last of the peas (usually seed at this point). Braiding onions and garlic to hang downstairs.
Blanching then freezing, drying and canning. All wonderful things that say, "Time to slow down and take stock, prepare and be thankful that we have wonderful food for the winter."

Third, the sights and smells. Balsam poplar. Bright orange leaves and a scent that will send anyone into a state of bliss! We have a pile of them at my parents place by the old barn and in the fall when they were all orange I would make excuses (and sometimes just go!) to go out there and walk and sit and take it all in.
The rose hips are also ready at this point to gather for tea or potpourri. All the bugs have pretty much gone away, but the bears are out.
Animals are going to the butchers and packages of meat go into the freezer. Family members go out hunting and (usually) return with prize in tow, ready to be made into jerkys and sausages and roasts and chops/steaks, etc.

Forth, I love that I get to cook differently in fall. In summer I hardly cook. It's too bloody HOT! Plates of fresh fruit and salads and things to cook on the bbq are all i try to do. Now, I admit, I am quite the charcoal bbq efficientado (smoked chicken, pizza, grilled veggies to toss in pasta with goat cheese, etc) but braised meats, roasts and stews. Hearty soups with fresh bread or homemade crackers. I like to eat them, I LOVE to cook them :)

That's one of my problems. I love to cook more than eat. But I hate wasting food, so I don't cook as much as I would like. And when I do get into a cooking/baking streak, while I try to give some away, I usually end up eating it. Thus, I'm heavier than I'd like to be lol
Doesn't help that my baby weight hasn't left me yet...

Such is life. I try not to dwell on it. It just means that I have plenty to eat and share and that's something I should be thankful for :)

(Feel free to invite yourselves over to dinner at my home one autumn evening :) )