Seasons & spice pairings: Fall

As much as I love summer and it’s fresh herbs, there’s nothing more comforting this time of year than pumpkins, squashes and warm spices. Instead of posting just one recipe today, we’ve partnered with McCormick’s to share some of my favorite ways to use fall produce with their Gourmet Spices. Most of these are simple non-recipe ideas, so feel free to use these pairings as a jumping off point to get a little creative with your favorite fall fruits and veggies.

Acorn Squash: Roast with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and ground ancho chile or chipotle spices. Stuff with a quinoa or rice pilaf made with a variety of nuts, seeds & dried fruits.

Apples: Slice in half and bake them topped with a quick crumble made from crushed walnuts, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg. Or slice them and make apple crisp. Spice it up with ginger and allspice, if you like.

Pumpkin & Butternut Squash: Obviously, you can make pie, but my favorite fall food is soup. Roast pumpkin, apple slices, and onion slices in the oven until soft. Blend with coconut milk, a bit of veggie broth, and spice it up with ground cardamom and freshly grated ginger. (recipe here)

Carrots: Roast in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, with olive oil, salt, pepper, and ground cumin. Remove carrots from the oven when they’re browned and caramelized on the outside, but before they’re mushy on the inside.

Beets: Scrub whole beets and wrap them in foil. Drizzle with olive oil and roast until fork tender. (about 40 minutes, depending on the size of your beets). Remove from oven, let cool, then slide the skin off under running water. Slice and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and ground coriander. For a quick salad, toss them with a splash of balsamic vinegar, bit of honey, and some feta or goat cheese.

Sweet potatoes: Make sweet potato fries with a sweet & savory kick using cayenne and saigon cinnamon. Or make a version this sweet potato chile or spiced quesadillas with ground chili powder, cumin, and a pinch of smoked paprika.

Sweet Potato Greens: These soft greens remind me most of spinach or Japanese mizuna greens. Slice them (stems and all), then quickly sauté them in a pan with coconut oil, hot madras curry powder and a splash of coconut milk.

This post is in partnership with McCormick. All thoughts, words and images are my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that support Love & Lemons!