Easy Fall Recipes for the Adventurous Eater

Ahhhh, autumn. There’s a chill in the air, the leaves are starting to turn, and fall recipes are getting ready for their time to shine. Start the season off right with these must-try, unique recipes for adventurous eaters!

RECIPE: Cornmeal Rye Pancakes

The following is a recipe from The New Bread Basket by Amy Halloran. It has been adapted for the web.

Cornmeal and rye make a great fall pancake, hearty and sweet. The combo also reflects English colonists’ adaptations, and incorporation of Native American foods. Rye is not as fussy to grow as wheat – it can take colder temperatures, and soils that are not stunning, so it was a common grain in coastal New England.

Look for whole grain stone ground cornmeal and rye flour to make the best cakes.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup stone ground cornmeal
• 1/2 cup rye flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon yogurt

Procedure

1. Whisk together dry ingredients and liquids in separate bowls.
2. Pour liquids over dry mix, and stir just until everything is incorporated.
3. Let sit for 10 minutes before cooking on a hot buttered griddle.
4. Flip as bubbles begin to break on the surface.

RECIPE: Soft Pumpkin Polenta

The following is a recipe from The Occidental Arts and Ecology Center Cookbook. It has been adapted for the web.

Comfort food for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Serve mounded with savory stews or sprinkled with herbs and a tab of butter. Or take it in a sweet direction with a little maple syrup or a Rich Autumn Fruit Compote.

Serves 4–6

Ingredients

• 4 cups water or stock
• Plenty of salt—at least 1 1⁄2 teaspoons
• 1 cup polenta
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1⁄4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons butter or olive oil

Procedure

1. In a large pot, bring the water or stock and salt to a boil. Keep an additional teakettle boiling with more water nearby. Sprinkle in the polenta slowly by hand while whisking constantly to avoid the formation of lumps.
2. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, whisking often, until fully thickened (when little volcanoes erupt on the surface periodically and the polenta comes away from the pot a little when stirred). This can take as little as 15 minutes for quick polenta or up to an hour for traditional stone-ground polenta. *If the polenta becomes too thick or is still a bit crunchy, whisk in 1⁄4 cup of boiling water and continue cooking, adding more a little at a time if needed.
3. While the polenta is hot and soft, stir in the pumpkin puree, nutmeg, and as much butter or olive oil as your conscience will allow (2 to 4 tablespoons for a small batch, 1 to 2 sticks for a large one). Keep soft polenta warm in a double boiler to prevent it from solidifying, and serve hot.

Variations

Creamy Polenta Custard: Omit the nutmeg and pumpkin. The simple addition of eggs (2 eggs for a small batch, 8 to 10 for a large one) whisked vigorously into the polenta during the last few minutes of cooking time turns mundane polenta into a velvety custard and is a great way to sneak a little more protein into a vegetarian meal. For real creamy decadence, replace some or all of the water with milk.

Fresh Sweet Corn Polenta: Omit the nutmeg and pumpkin. Cut fresh sweet corn off the cob (2 cobs for a small batch, 8 cobs for a large one). Pulse half of it in a food processor. Add whole and processed corn to the hot, thickening polenta after the lumps have been whisked out, but while there is still some cooking time left to allow the raw corn to cook. Serve with cilantro butter. Biodiversity option: Use red, blue, or green fresh corn for added color!

* For slow-cooking stone-ground polenta, use a double boiler as this relieves some of the pressure to stir continuously.

Roasted Pork Sausage with Red Onion and Butternut Squash, from The Heal Your Gut Cookbook

RECIPE: Lost Nation Cider Pie