My Favorite (Farmer’s Market Friendly) Fall Recipes!
I am not much of a chef to be honest, but something about the fall weather and seasonal ingredients makes me excited to cook and cozy up at home. Even though I work from home, sometimes it’s still hard to get motivated to cook. I’ve found that shopping at my local farmer’s market on Sundays inspires and motivates me to use the fresh food I buy. I’ve also found that shopping at the farmer’s market eliminates some overwhelm or decision fatigue over what to make, since you only have what’s in season and fresh right in front of you!
All of these recipes are easy to make in less than 30 minutes and are great ideas for hosting small dinner parties without stressing.
Here are the recipes you’ll find below:
Fall Chili
Kale Persimmon Salad
Pumpkin Muffins
Pineapple Ginger Turmeric Mocktail
Bowling Pin “Butternut Squash” Soup
Now this is probably my most-made recipe during the fall and winter months because it’s SO easy, quick, and provides leftovers for days. Because I make it so often, there are a few modifications I make to switch things up.
Sometimes I use a combo of turkey meat and add one or two small sweet potatoes. Other times I use ground beef and add zucchini squash. When I add sweet potato or zucchini, I usually will add another can of diced tomatoes as well so it isn’t too thick. I’ve also seen people add bell peppers, and I’m definitely trying that next.
Our favorite produce place at the farmer’s market is J.R. Organics from the Rodriguez Family Farm. I am planning to sign up for their C.S.A. (community supported agriculture) box that I can pick up weekly from them. This helps them know they have a certain number of customers and makes my weekly shopping trip even easier.
We love getting our meat and eggs from the Hillcrest farmer’s market from the Da-Le Ranch. You can seriously taste the difference!
I also like to use black beans and pinto beans, but you can follow the recipe or use your favorite beans!
For toppings, my favorite dairy-free options are Violife Mexican Style shredded vegan cheese, avocado and green onion. I’ll use Siete tortilla chips or Simple Mills almond flour crackers as a grain free crunch!
I had this salad at a Christmas party years ago and it was SO good I have been making it every holiday or special occasion since! When walking around the farmer’s market the other weekend I was struck by the pomegranate seeds and persimmons I saw out and knew it was time to make this salad again. I use vegan feta cheese but honestly it tastes the exact same in my opinion. The dressing is also to die for and really easy to whip up. This dish is great as a side or prepare your favorite protein (I think salmon or chicken would be the best options) in the air fryer to make it a meal! Make sure you massage the kale really well so you don’t get an upset tummy.
kale, persimmons, pomegranate seeds & chopped pecans!
We love an easy baked good from a box, don’t we? Simple Mills makes enjoying desserts so easy and with much better for you ingredients than many boxed desserts like almond flour and coconut sugar. I personally like to add a scoop of Ancient Nutrition Vanilla Collagen for extra protein and flavor. Recently I added Enjoy Life chocolate chips to half of them and it was a 10/10 decision. It’s what grain free, dairy free breakfast dreams are made of. You can find the recipe on the box. It just needs some oil (I prefer coconut or avocado), water and eggs.
Pineapple Ginger Turmeric Mocktail
We love a mocktail at our house, and the shrub mixes by Cool Hand Co make it simple and delicious to whip something up with minimal time and ingredients! We found this brand at our local Bica cafe and buy it on repeat. Of course, you can add your favorite liquor if you’d like a real cocktail!
I usually like to mix the following in a cute cocktail class with ice and a lime garnish. Here’s the general recipe:
1/2 to 1 oz Cool Hand Co shrub
Sparkling Water
1 lime or 1 tbsp lime juice
A few drops of stevia liquid sweetener (taste before adding, it might be sweet enough already!)
Bowling Pin (Butternut Squash) Soup
I love this recipe because it’s quite sentimental to me! My grandmother would always make this for her partner, Donald and he called it “Bowling Pin Soup” because butternut squash looks like a bowling pin! I get nostalgic for this recipe and it’s perfect for fall. I don’t have the exact recipe from my grandmother and just make it from memory and intuition, but here’s the general recipe!
Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped
2 bunches of celery, chopped
1 bunch of carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 yellow onion (you can probably add a full onion if you want to)
2 cups vegetable broth (I eyed this so use your judgment!)
2 tbsp minced garlic
Cumin
Pepper
Salt
Directions:
Note: I learned last time I made this that there’s a sticky film on butternut squash when you peel the skin off. Supposedly putting it in the microwave for a few seconds helps prevent it from transferring, but beware if you buy and use a whole squash!
Wash, peel and cut the butternut squash, celery, carrots, and onion.
Add vegetable broth to a large pot on the stove.
Turn the stove on medium and add the vegetables to the pot. The broth should cover the majority of the vegetables but not all the way.
Add the spices: pepper, cumin and salt and stir.
Cover the pot with a lid and let it simmer together for 15 minutes. It should cook until the vegetables a soft and mushy.
Turn off the stove and let the mixture cool.
Once it has cooled a little bit, add the contents to a blender and blend until it has a smoothe consistency.
Serve with crackers or tortilla chips!
You’ll definitely have leftovers so store it in your refrigerator for up to a week or freeze! I will also sometimes pair it with a gf/vegan grilled cheese.
I hope you enjoy these recipes! Let me know if you make one of them!