This Japanese maple in my yard shows the season in New England right now – the opposite of some readers, but that’s what makes this monthly forum, started by Celia of fig jam and lime cordial, so much fun.
In my kitchen, I have stocked up on squash (including pumpkin) and cranberries. I already made a cranberry pudding (described in the previous post), but the season would not be complete without at least one batch of sauce, preferably with a bit of grated fresh ginger and Cointreau in it. I’ll be baking squash with maple syrup, another New England favorite, soon.
From my garden, I harvested the last of the sage to make an herbal tea – basically sage leaves boiled, then steeped for 4 hours before straining. It was so strong that I almost spit out the first sip, but then I ended up liking it chilled, as a refreshing and healthy alternative to the overly sweetened iced tea that Americans sip from carry cups as big as bowling pins.
A swap day at our local recycling center yielded a few more cookbooks for my ever-growing collection. This one, recipes from restaurants in all 50 American states published by Ford Motor Company in 1950, looks promising. Someone left a card in it listing recipes to try!
I’ve put my oven to work for a couple of old favorites: Indian pudding (a traditional New England mix of slowly baked milk, molasses, cornmeal, and spices) and actress Katharine Hepburn’s buttery brownie recipe. My month is off to a comfort food start!
heritagerecipebox 
What a wonderful month in your kitchen! I am intrigued by your cranberry recipes – I’ve not ever encountered a fresh one! The sauce sounds divine however! As for Katherine Hepburn’s buttery brownies – wow!!!
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Thanks for coming into the kitchen to take a look. Sounds like I need to post the Hepburn recipe. Will do soon!
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Gee that pudding sounds enticing!
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Thanks! A New England classic that’s great for breakfast.
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G’day! You had me at the Japanese maple and love those brownies! Katherine Hepburn was an extraordinary lady! Thank you for this month’s kitchen view also! Cheers! Joanne
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New England is so beautiful, I’ve never visited but when bloggers there post photos about autumn, I’m in heaven 😀
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This is the best time in New England – no snow and beautiful colors. Coming when the snow flies: More comfort food!
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What a beautiful Japanese maple. I just love autumn! We too halve been enjoying squashes. I lost count as to how many pumpkins I have baked! Thanks for the look into your kitchen.
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Thanks for coming into my kitchen and taking a look. Fall is the best time for root veggies.
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Oh that old cookbooks looks fabulous, not sure I could resist picking it up either if I saw it for sale! Your Japanese maple is beautiful, and I’ve never tried sage tea, although we do pick sticks of lemongrass from the garden and throw them into the teapot occasionally!
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I can’t imagine growing lemongrass! Sounds like a fun thing to scavenge from the garden. I’m trying to think of more things to do with sage before it dies off in the winter. It’s always good with turkey…
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indian pudding sounds interesting. oh yes cookbooks! when will it ever end? i just keep buying them…
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I’ve never heard of using sage in tea! Sounds interesting!
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I always think of peppermint for herb tea, never sage. It was kind of strong but a nice change from the usual herbal infusions!
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WOW! Those recipes sound intriguing, hope you get to share some with us. You Japanese maple is looking beautiful for Autumn. Thank you for letting us look in your kitchen, see you next month for IMK. It’s nice meeting you
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Thanks for stopping by!
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