Fall | Bohemian Cottage

Giving Thanks

Our humble Thanksgiving table

There are so many great blog posts, articles, even entire books dedicated to the biggest food event of the year, Thanksgiving. At our house we usually keep it very traditional, serving pretty much the same meal every year. With so many resources about entertaining and menu planning and recipes on Thanksgiving out there, I just wanted to share with you some of what I am truly Thankful for.

Thanksgiving Table Decor

When my grandmother hosted it at her house, she managed to make the entire meal herself and every year, it was impeccable and exactly the same. Some of it was a little…different. Like lime jello salad with shredded carrots and pineapple. Without fail, it was always on her Thanksgiving table. Along with the cornbread stuffing and turkey giblet gravy with chopped up hard boiled eggs in it and tamales. The tamales became part of the tradition over time due to living in Arizona. It was one of 2 meals of the year that were served in the formal dining room with the fancy china. Christmas was the other meal served in there. Of course my brothers and my cousins and I were all banished to the “kids” table. That is where all the fun happened I’m sure! I am thankful for those family traditions that helped to form who I am today. (read more)

Stuffed Shells with Kale and Sage Sausage in a Butternut Squash Sauce

Stuffed Shells with Kale, Sausage in a Butternut Squash Sauce

The Shells pre-oven. They could easily be made vegetarian by leaving out the sausage.

Lately my goal has been to up the health and nutritional value of the food I make. Stuffed shells sounded like a good way to use some of the kale and chard in the garden, and to put a little bit more of an autumnal twist on the dish, I made a sauce with butternut squash instead of the usual tomato sauce.

We used Kale and Swiss Chard in the salad as well as cherry tomatoes all from the garden.

This was made for a Monday night dinner, though there are several steps to making it. If I was really taking my time, I would have made the sauce better by roasting some tomatoes with the butternut squash and added them along with some cream to the blender. Oh, and roasted garlic. Yummy, roasted garlic, tomato and butternut squash sauce with cream… that will be in a post for another dish. Soup anyone? (read more)

4 Fall Ideas to Bring the Season Indoors

The mini white ghost pumpkins I grew this year did quite well and look great gathered in a fall themed bowl.

With the transition of summer to fall, it’s the time of year I love to savor since it is so fleeting and so beautiful. I wanted to share some of the things I enjoy to bring fall into Fox Cottage. When I think of fall, it brings to mind certain scents, colors, textures and just an over all cozy feeling as the air starts to turn to that cooler, crisp weather. My go to fall fixes are:

Decorating with nature. Think pumpkins, gourds, flowers, twigs and leaves.
Candle light. Bringing in a nice warm glow.
Scent. Fall scents with candles, cooking and a fall simmer pot of natural fruits and spices that I will share with yo.u
Food. I love to switch the summer menu to fall with warming soups and stews, roasted veggies and other comfort food.
Sound. Music that helps reflect a fall state of mind are always playing in our house. Here is a link to our Spotify Autumn playlist.

Fall Floral Arrangement. Bohemian Cottage

Using nature and items found in the garden to decorate can make a big seasonal impact without spending anything.

Nature.

When planning our garden in the early spring, I always plan the garden around what I will be using the plants for. Some are of course edible and culinary while others are for pure enjoyment. I usually think ahead to fall at that time to plan for what crops we will be wanting like pumpkins and winter squashes, mums and marigolds to be used in fall displays. (read more)

Fall Tablescape Inspiration

Fall is slowly creeping up on us here in the Rocky Mountains. The air is crisp in the evenings and mornings, the first touches of changing leaves are showing on the trees and the pumpkins are getting big in the garden. We recently cleaned the back yard up really well and set a nice fall table for Sunday taco night. I made baked tilapia for fish tacos and had a bunch of different toppings cut up and ready. I also had the Shiner Bock Rubyred Summer ale to drink. It was really good!

To help get your fall table set, I curated some ideas from around the web, and also wanted to share our first of many fall table settings with you. (read more)