Fall is my second favorite F-word
What? Obviously, I mean food. Here's what to make in October.
If you’re new here, welcome! I’m Rebecca, a recipe developer and food photographer. You might know me from my recipe websites, Of Batter and Dough and A Little and A Lot.
My husband and I are nomads with an RV, a motorcycle, and a sailboat, so I write about life on the road, the incredible places we visit, and the experiences we have along the way. Plus, there’s recipes.
And, if you are brand new to Substack, I created this short video tour.
Happy October friends! This is my favorite month. And not because of Halloween, which I’ve never really gotten into. I mean, when the kids were young, we did the whole costume and trick or treat thing. The other day, our youngest and I reminisced about a Halloween party she (we) threw for her friends in 5th grade.
She always wanted us to really decorate for holidays. I mean really decorate, way beyond the basics, something for which I was not likely to do. That year was the exception and we went all out. Her party had a giant ghost in the living room and a gingerbread haunted house and a table full of Martha Stewart worthy treats.
And that was the last time I did that.
We are who we are and Halloween is not my thing. But, October is.
Steve and I will celebrate 31 years of marriage next week, the leaves will continue their kaleidoscopic transformation, I’ll pull my sweaters down from the top shelf and light candles in the evenings.
And, there will be soup and cookies and pot pie and casseroles (or hotdish if you live in Minnesota!), and sooooo many meals that include apples. Because these are the kinds of foods I crave when the days are still sometimes sunny and warm but the evenings are crisp and cool.
This year, October is on the bittersweet side because we’ll pull the sailboat out of the water and say goodbye to Michigan until next summer. After 5 months on or near the water, I am anticipating some separation anxiety as we travel next weekend with our home on wheels to Omaha, leaving the sailboat tucked away in dry storage.
But, that’s next weekend’s problem. This weekend, we are sailing.
What to Make in October
Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup With Parmesan Dumplings: Not only is this the kind of soup that’s thick and creamy and so packed with tender chicken, veggies, and rice that you could almost eat it with a fork, there are cheesy parmesan dumplings in there. I am in love with those dumplings. No joke. Full stop. IN LOVE.
Chocolate Chip Pistachio Cookies with Brown Butter: This recipe goes all in on that cozy vibe with brown butter, brown sugar, cardamom, plenty of vanilla, and a touch of almond. The result are buttery, nutty chocolate chip cookies that makes me long to eat them on a crisp, cool day, wrapped in my favorite soft sweater.
Split Pea Soup with Truffle Fried Potatoes: This is thick, rich, and flavor-packed, with just enough ham to make it interesting. But, at the risk of minimizing the deliciousness of the soup itself, I gotta say that the crispy fried potatoes are where it’s at.
Apple Upside Down Cake: This apple upside down cake includes a thick layer of apples drenched in an excessive amount of buttery caramel sauce, because in my opinion that gooey baked-on-the-bottom sauce is the best part of an upside down cake.
Spinach Artichoke Chicken Casserole: This casserole is everything we love about artichoke dip BUT a bit less rich and with plenty of cheese, tons of fresh spinach, and chicken of course. Plus a buttery, crispy layer of panko.
Chewy Brown Sugar Cookies: These little brown sugar cookies are outrageously soft and chewy with an intense toffee-like flavor that comes from brown butter, brown sugar, and vanilla.
Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash: This is one of those all-in-one, simple, satisfying, feel-good meals that I can happily eat from October to March. It just happens to be vegan and therefore dairy free but makes exactly zero sacrifices on flavor or that hearty stick-to-your-ribs feeling we all start to crave when the temperature drops and the days are short.
Honey Wheat Bread Recipe with Oats: Two loaves of this hearty bread will be ready to eat in about 3 hours, with only about 20-minutes of hands-on effort. Thanks to a touch of olive oil and milk, this bread has an exceptionally soft and tender crumb.
Black Bean Enchiladas with Creamy Tomatillo Sauce: If you’re looking for quick and easy with ingredients that won’t break the bank, these enchiladas are hard to beat. Besides being delicious, these are super easy to make in advance and can be halved, doubled, or tripled at will.
This and That
I had the absolute privilege last week to speak to
who writes Caravan, a publication I just recently discovered. Bree’s writing speaks to me on multiple levels. She is smart and thoughtful, interested in the same kinds of things that I am, and wraps insight into stories in a way that makes them stick inside my brain and become a part of my own narration.But more than that, after talking with her on zoom for an hour last week, I just really like her. Five minutes in to our conversation was all it took to know she was a friend. You know how that is sometimes? When you meet people and right away know they are your people?
Anyway, Bree and I talked about what it means to flourish, a word I sometimes find difficult to define in my own life. She wrote about our conversation here and wrapped it up with practical, actionable ideas for application. Also, there’s John Coltrane and Bruce Springsteen. Like I said, she’s my kind of people.
In case you missed last week’s issue…
Those damn fishing boats
For new sailors, the fishing boats that hang out in the mouth of the channel connecting Muskegon Lake to Lake Michigan are annoying. The currents from boats coming and going and the constricted opening of a channel disorients and concentrates the number of small baitfish, which then, of course, attracts the larger fish that the fishermen are trying to catch. So, that’s why they like to hang out there. Or so I’ve learned from googling WHY, oh WHY do fishing boats hang out at the mouth of a channel???
The Let’s Get Lost Studio Store!
Did you know there’s a Let’s Get Lost Studio Store with hats, t-shirts, tea towels, journals, mugs, bags and other fun goodies?
Also, free or discounted shipping from now until the end of the year!
A couple of podcast recommendations
Two of my favorite podcasts are This American Life and The Sporkful. I’m sure I’m not alone in my love of these interesting, entertaining, and just really well done shows. But I listened to two episodes this week that had a big impact on me. If you haven’t yet listened, I highly recommend that you do.
What’s happening in the Lost Supper Club
*Exclusive content for paid subscribers. Find out more.
Chicken Pot Pie for Two + Foolproof Pie Crust
Two bonus recipes just for members of The Lost Supper club. The recipes for Foolproof Pie Crust and Chicken Pot Pie will make enough for two 6-inch double crust chicken pot pies. I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether one 6-inch pie is one serving or two. Steve and I typically share one pie and save the second one for the next day. But you’ll find no judgement here if you decide to keep an entire pie to yourself.
The No Recipe Required Cookbook
No Recipe Required dishes are more of a formula than a recipe. They are designed to be thrown together with whatever ingredients you like with one thing swapped out for something else, increased, or reduced as you like. This book is FREE for all paid subscribers!
The Weekly Recommendation List
If you were sitting around my dinner table this week, and I genuinely wish you were, one of the topics that would inevitably be sprinkled throughout the evening’s conversation is recommendations. For books, food, restaurants, clothing, places to visit, things to see, things to do, things we love.
Classes!
Here you’ll find information about upcoming classes and the replay links for past classes. LIVE classes are open to everyone who would like to drop in. Replays are available to everyone for a couple of days then available to paid subscribers (Lost Supper Club members)
Recipe Index: Get Every Single Recipe
This index + downloadable recipe cards for every single recipe (over 200 and counting!) is a perk of being a member of The Lost Supper Club (a paid subscriber.)
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Ugh, where do I start?? With the Nutella. Always with the Nutella. 😍
I'm so grateful to you, Rebecca, for the generosity of your time, of course, but more so for the generosity of your spirit. "You know how that is sometimes? When you meet people and right away know they are your people?" YES. Yes, I do. Cheers to us!
Just as important to comment on--that haunted house, dumplings of any iteration (my mom's remain my absolute, hands-down, most favoritest thing, from the recipe passed down from my great grandma Elsie), will be test-driving your stuffed acorn squash this week, and most importantly--Michigan will miss you, my friend!
My “normal” Minnesota wild rice soup was in the plan to make this week but now I’m psyched to try your great-sounding recipe with dumpling! Oolalal! I’m an October girly, too, just something wonderful about the crunch of cooler weather. 🧡