It's September, alright, but it's about time to start getting chilly. Now, don't mistake me, I love the afternoon thunderstorms and never having a good hair day as much as the next girl. But as the conversation at the water cooler turns from beach days and grilling to cinnammon brooms and chili, I start to get antsy.
It's okay, Summer, I realize you're going to steal September away in a wash of 90% humidity and possible tropical storm force winds, but at this time of year, I just can't help trying to force Fall. I have wants, too, you know.
I want to wear a sweater somewhere other than my office. I want to empty the stale potpourri from my coffee table centerpiece and fill it with gourds, squash and pumpkins.
I want silk autumn wreaths on my door and the smell of rosemary from my shrub outside. I want my nose to freeze and an excuse to wear a scarf and a velvet blazer. I want Fall!As much as I love grilling and light fish dishes and salads, I've been yearning for that comfort food we all adore. Stews thick with root vegetables, meat loaf, creamy chowders, stone-fruit pies. A co-worker mentioned that she loves to roast in the Fall, a thick cut of tough meat, rubbed with aromatic spices or braised long and slow in the Dutch Oven. "I like pork," she said. "But in the Fall, cow is King.' I couldn't agree more.
All of these things say Fall, and, I admit it, I forced it on an 85-degree evening.
Monday night, I braised short ribs in stock and wine, root veggies and onions, sun-dried tomatoes and thyme. I can't imagine a bowl of Fall any better than that, especially processing the braised vegetables in the Tupperware Quick Chef into a velvety sauce, topped with sauteed kale and garlic. It didn't exactly look like the photo (because I snatched the photo from a food mag), but short ribs are nearly impossible to mess up, and they look like this every time.
Some of my coworkers claim that their local Publix's are already carrying the cinnamon brooms I'm yearning for. I just can't enjoy them until it dips below 80outside. And, for that, I'll most likely have to wait until October.
Come on, Fall. Let's braise something.
*photo credit: Bon Appetit magazine
