Sep 21, 2022·edited Sep 21, 2022Liked by Scott Hines
I don't think it's officially fall until you can wear a hoodie or 3/4 zip-up sweater outside. The forecast says it won't get above 63 on Friday, so that counts. As for what I'm looking forward to:
- Northwestern going winless in the non-conference but then unexpectedly winning the B1G West (checks record and that it's an even year -- yep, totally on schedule!);
- the veritable battalion of kids from the bus stop trick-or-treating together (and the Halloween adjacent parties for them to trade candy while adults drink and eat chili);
- speaking of, chili! It's back after the summer away! Also back: boozy brown cocktails!
- That sweet zone where temps have dropped enough to kill/demotivate all the mosquitos, but then rebound and aren't so bad to prevent you from being outside in the evening.
- Family pictures with fall backgrounds to use on the Christmas card
We’re finally getting back to chili weather! (I could eat chili any time, but the weather is finally right.)
Going apple picking this weekend, gonna get cider and donuts. Fall was always our favorite season so I’m going to have some feels but in a healthy way.
My 38th birthday is this Sunday. I spent my entire youth lightly seething at an early fall birthday because a new class means new classmates and they aren't very eager to attend a stranger's birthday party. I've come to appreciate the timing in adulthood though. I can have friends over for football games. I can smoke something without being absolutely blasted by the sun and its oppressive wave of heat. I get to enjoy all these little fall things and pretend that they're here just for me.
You’ve written a few times now about that Don Ciccio liqueur discovery kit. I grabbed one of my own the other day after realizing exactly how close they were to my office. Do you have any general suggestions or recipes for how you’ve used them that are good (but obviously not so good that you’d be burning future newsletter content by disclosing)?
I know it's a stock photo, but I can't stop wondering what the arrow beside "Fall" is pointing to. I'm imagining a stairwell without stairs, a ladder with a broken rung, or something equally unexpected.
Pumpkin spice (outside of a pumpkin pie) can get flecked.
I am jealous, Scott, you are in the beautiful country this time of year. College in the foothills of the Appalachians was blissful every fall.
"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall."
F. Scott Fitzgerald was from Minnesota and a college football fanatic, he understood the concept of "football weather."
It's cool, but not cold. It's chilly in the morning, maybe you need a jacket, but a nice quarter-zip can get you through. The sun is present, but not unrelenting, where you're welcoming the warmth rather than dreading it. There's a burst of color in the leaves, and the madness of college football comes into full focus. It's wonderful.
Oh and my local coffee shop/bar makes something called an Apple Pie Chai that is a delightful seasonal drink involving apple cider, chai, and a dash of caramel syrup.
I'm sure I mentioned it in the Charcuterie Garnie thread, but ACB, I think you'd love Bigos. It is definitely the thing I'm most looking forward to cooking this fall/winter.
Bigos is a Polish "Hunter's Stew" - basically chunks of various meats(probably "whatever we've got around" originally), stewed with sauerkraut and fresh cabbage, plus onions, mushrooms, and various seasonings(juniper being the weirdest one, but also often garlic, marjoram, allspice, etc.)
The fun part about it is that it has been made for so long and in so many regions that you basically can't go "off recipe," because there are so many different variations already - my grandmother's recipe is different than my Polish neighbor's recipe is different than my cousin's husband's family recipe, etc., etc.
I wish we had more full immersion into seasonal holidays like we do with fall.
We certainly get something in winter with Christmas, but I think the problem there is that Christmas is too early into the season and while it steers pretty cleanly into New Year's, Valentine's Day is just haphazardly thrown in at the end.
Spring really only leans into Easter and maybe St. Patrick's Day, but there should be more to it than that! If fall is harvest season, spring surely can leverage some of its produce! And summer is more an idea than any actual themed season. Images of beers and boats and water don't seem to come to fruition for me as much as one would think when the season is basically built on those ideas.
I want season themed clothing! Season themed drinks! Season themed cakes and breads and snacks! Season themed television programming! Season themed seasons for all!
Saving for a month from now as it is still upper 90s here.
So I think I have become less annoyed with Christmas holiday creep now that every holiday is occurring all the time. Still prefer my Christmas music after thanksgiving, but now that I see Pumpkins in August, Turkeys in October, Hearts in January it just feels like everyone is looking forward to the next event.
I really like making stews. My wife is getting serious about bread baking. If the weather ever cools here in Alabama, we might really be on to something
Fall is hands down the best season (imo) and it's only partially because of college football. Some of the things I'm most excited about are:
- Getting married
- Being able to make many many soups
- Candy corn
- Appropriate stout and porter drinking weather
- The opportunity to wear sweaters, and more importantly, dress for style over survival (the minute it's over 85 and humid I cannot function)
Preparing to transform into Mr. Autumn Man at the farmers market this Saturday; can't wait.
I don't think it's officially fall until you can wear a hoodie or 3/4 zip-up sweater outside. The forecast says it won't get above 63 on Friday, so that counts. As for what I'm looking forward to:
- Northwestern going winless in the non-conference but then unexpectedly winning the B1G West (checks record and that it's an even year -- yep, totally on schedule!);
- the veritable battalion of kids from the bus stop trick-or-treating together (and the Halloween adjacent parties for them to trade candy while adults drink and eat chili);
- speaking of, chili! It's back after the summer away! Also back: boozy brown cocktails!
- That sweet zone where temps have dropped enough to kill/demotivate all the mosquitos, but then rebound and aren't so bad to prevent you from being outside in the evening.
- Family pictures with fall backgrounds to use on the Christmas card
We’re finally getting back to chili weather! (I could eat chili any time, but the weather is finally right.)
Going apple picking this weekend, gonna get cider and donuts. Fall was always our favorite season so I’m going to have some feels but in a healthy way.
My 38th birthday is this Sunday. I spent my entire youth lightly seething at an early fall birthday because a new class means new classmates and they aren't very eager to attend a stranger's birthday party. I've come to appreciate the timing in adulthood though. I can have friends over for football games. I can smoke something without being absolutely blasted by the sun and its oppressive wave of heat. I get to enjoy all these little fall things and pretend that they're here just for me.
You’ve written a few times now about that Don Ciccio liqueur discovery kit. I grabbed one of my own the other day after realizing exactly how close they were to my office. Do you have any general suggestions or recipes for how you’ve used them that are good (but obviously not so good that you’d be burning future newsletter content by disclosing)?
I know it's a stock photo, but I can't stop wondering what the arrow beside "Fall" is pointing to. I'm imagining a stairwell without stairs, a ladder with a broken rung, or something equally unexpected.
Pumpkin spice (outside of a pumpkin pie) can get flecked.
I am jealous, Scott, you are in the beautiful country this time of year. College in the foothills of the Appalachians was blissful every fall.
"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall."
F. Scott Fitzgerald was from Minnesota and a college football fanatic, he understood the concept of "football weather."
It's cool, but not cold. It's chilly in the morning, maybe you need a jacket, but a nice quarter-zip can get you through. The sun is present, but not unrelenting, where you're welcoming the warmth rather than dreading it. There's a burst of color in the leaves, and the madness of college football comes into full focus. It's wonderful.
Oh and my local coffee shop/bar makes something called an Apple Pie Chai that is a delightful seasonal drink involving apple cider, chai, and a dash of caramel syrup.
I'm sure I mentioned it in the Charcuterie Garnie thread, but ACB, I think you'd love Bigos. It is definitely the thing I'm most looking forward to cooking this fall/winter.
Bigos is a Polish "Hunter's Stew" - basically chunks of various meats(probably "whatever we've got around" originally), stewed with sauerkraut and fresh cabbage, plus onions, mushrooms, and various seasonings(juniper being the weirdest one, but also often garlic, marjoram, allspice, etc.)
The fun part about it is that it has been made for so long and in so many regions that you basically can't go "off recipe," because there are so many different variations already - my grandmother's recipe is different than my Polish neighbor's recipe is different than my cousin's husband's family recipe, etc., etc.
I wish we had more full immersion into seasonal holidays like we do with fall.
We certainly get something in winter with Christmas, but I think the problem there is that Christmas is too early into the season and while it steers pretty cleanly into New Year's, Valentine's Day is just haphazardly thrown in at the end.
Spring really only leans into Easter and maybe St. Patrick's Day, but there should be more to it than that! If fall is harvest season, spring surely can leverage some of its produce! And summer is more an idea than any actual themed season. Images of beers and boats and water don't seem to come to fruition for me as much as one would think when the season is basically built on those ideas.
I want season themed clothing! Season themed drinks! Season themed cakes and breads and snacks! Season themed television programming! Season themed seasons for all!
Saving for a month from now as it is still upper 90s here.
So I think I have become less annoyed with Christmas holiday creep now that every holiday is occurring all the time. Still prefer my Christmas music after thanksgiving, but now that I see Pumpkins in August, Turkeys in October, Hearts in January it just feels like everyone is looking forward to the next event.
I really like making stews. My wife is getting serious about bread baking. If the weather ever cools here in Alabama, we might really be on to something
It's supposed to be 87 today but after that, the next NINE days are forecast with highs in the 60. I cannot wait.