Something in October {Carnival Squash Soup with Maple}

There's an old poem by Bliss Carman called A Vagabond Song.  The first stanza goes like this...

There is something in the Autumn that is native to my blood-

Touch of manner, hint of mood;

And my heart is like a rhyme,

With the yellow and the purple and the crimson keeping time.

I must have first read this poem years ago as an English major in college.  I think of it often, walking down the tree lined streets; crimson, purple, and yellow in all their autumn splendor, leaves drifting, soft as feathers, to land on the curb below.

But it's not the first stanza of that poem that's resonated within me all these years.  It's the last...

There is something in October sets the gypsy blood astir-
We must rise and follow her;
When from every hill a flame
She calls and calls each vagabond by name.

I've always felt that I have a bit of gypsy blood flowing through my veins, passed down from my father, no doubt, an author and artist by nature.  The blood of an artist is never satisfied.  There's always that deep pulling, that ever distant calling to go somewhere different, to wander, to explore, to look beyond the veil that separates reality from the imaginary, to stretch the limits and to reach for more.  All the while nurturing this thing within.  This thing that will eventually be called ART, if it doesn't drive you mad first. For me this feeling is especially persistent in October, when change buzzes like electricity through the chill fall air.

From A to Z . . . {Shredded Zucchini & Beef Burritos, Pickled Red Onions, & a Fall Apple Tart}

. . . or from Apples to Zucchini.

As fall begins, I feel like I'm holding on to summer for dear life!  I love fall, it's my favorite season, but summer went by far too quickly and I'm not ready to let it go!  The garden is dying but my counters are overflowing with courgettes and zucchini, and baby green tomatoes waiting to ripen.

My work schedule has been intense but extremely gratifying!  In fact, I just returned from an outstanding weekend in Las Vegas at the Food Allergy Bloggers Conference, where freedible was a sponsor!  With all that's been happening these days, it almost feels as if I've missed out on an entire season!  Consequently, I've had little time to write (as you've probably noticed and which I truly regret -- I have an ever expanding collection of recipes that, like cheerful stories told around the warmth of a fireplace, must be shared!) and even less time to tackle the growing mounds of produce that cover nearly every surface in the kitchen.  The time I do have is packed full of the adventures we should have had in summer, before school started.  To tell you the truth, it's rather nice to get out early on a cool fall morning and explore this beautiful region of Colorado.  Hikes, day trips to ski resorts, a drive in the mountains.  And of course, apple picking in the country.

Of all the perks living in Colorado offers, I think the one I enjoy the most is visiting these orchards which are just an hour away.  We drive out here every year, usually to the same orchard, on the same dusty dirt road, in the same sleepy town.  This year I was in the mood for change.  A friend mentioned that we should try an orchard in Penrose called 3rd Street Apples.  Through I'd never been there, the name sounded warm and familiar enough that I had to check it out.