by Maria C Collins

Created on: November 25, 2009   Last Updated: January 29, 2010

We do not celebrate the coming of fall in the same way as we celebrate the advent of spring and summer. That is a shame. Autumn is a beautiful season. The red and gold colours of the leaves shine in bright autumn sunshine and the berries are like jewels on the bushes. There is a plethora of fruits and vegetables on market stalls and in supermarkets. We should celebrate the coming of fall. There are many ways to take pleasure in autumn.

Get outdoors at every opportunity in fall and make the best of those sunny autumn days.

Small children take great delight in shuffling through fallen leaves and hearing the rustling sound they make. We all did that as children, but when is the last time you did it? It is still just as satisfying, childlike joy is much underrated.

Take a walk in the fall sunshine and marvel at nature. Look at the berries on the bushes and the animals gathering their winter provisions.

Get outdoors at every opportunity in fall and make the best of those sunny autumn days.

Walk through a country street market and enjoy the abundance of fruit and vegetables arrayed on the stalls. Look at all the different colours of the fruit and vegetables. Buy some and take them home and cook something hearty and warming with them. A fall casserole, stew or soup with some chunks of fresh bread is a welcoming meal. Stews, casseroles and soups are really easy dishes to make and make good use of fall vegetables.

A hearty warming and filling autumn soup recipe:

Butternut Squash soup; Dice some potato or some sweet potato and fry in a little butter and/or olive oil until it begins to change colour, chop some onions finely, add to pan and fry until gold. Add some spices, not huge amounts; you are aiming for a hint of heat, not to overpower the delicate taste of your vegetables. Whatever spices you fancy, a pinch ginger or curry powder or garam masala or chilli powder or some combination of all three work well. Fry stirring all the time for a few minutes to release the flavour of your spices. Add some chicken or vegetable stock and cook until the vegetables are soft. Blend or liquidize, return to pan and serve, topped by a spoonful of cream or crme fresh and accompanied by crusty bread or rolls.

Make good use of the long fall evenings too; if you are a craftsperson use those lengthening autumn evenings to brush up on your crafts or complete your Christmas presents.

If you are a cook, early fall will be taken up with making preserves. Enjoy the sight of those neatly labeled jars on your cupboard shelves; look at the colours inside the jars. Feel a sense of pride and satisfaction that you have made good use of the harvest.

There are many ways to celebrate fall. Take your inspiration from children. They embrace each new season equally, with a joy and delight that adults should emulate.

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