Fall is certainly making it’s entrance! It was in the 30s at night this week and I had to wear a sweater coming out of work last weekend! It’s nice, but kinda sad at the same time. I just need to accept the fact that summer is over and fall is here for the next month or two. I need to enjoy the cooler weather before we have to pull out the winter paraphernalia!

I did make some gingerbread last week and that is one of my all time favorite fall comfort foods. It’s even dairy free and gluten free and I’ve made it egg free with success before! I’ve had a sinus infection for the last week and went to see the chiropractor yesterday. We took some gingerbread with us to share and they even thought it was good… paleo or not!

SPOILER ALERT!!! There were pumpkins in our box too! So bring on the pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins and pumpkin lattes (although I haven’t figured out how to make those yet!)

So what did we get?!?!?

Tomatoes – Beefsteak and heirloom cherry too! We had an awesome taco soup last week that was fantastic! It called for chicken stock a few tomatoes and a few other veggies including peppers and onions. I pureed it all together and then added black beans, grilled chicken, tortilla chips and cheese at the end. It was a huge hit! I think we may be having this again this week!

Rainbow Swiss Chard – This is best in green smoothies or sauteed with some onions and garlic! Sometimes I add a little chicken stock if it’s getting too dry. Sometimes too, I’ll chop it up and add it to salads with other greens and no one ever notices. The colors this week are beautiful!

Kale – I love the greens being back in the fall! We had LOTS of them early in the summer, and we were DONE with them then… but it’s ok… I can take some more since it’s been so long since we’ve gotten any! We sure love our green smoothies around here, so it will be nice to have some on hand! It’s also nice to have the last little bit before winter! AND now that it’s fall and the start of soup season you can start adding the kale to soups too!

Potatoes – As I mentioned in the past we don’t typically do a lot of these, but it’s also been nice for a change. Potato soup is one of my kids favorites and it’s not quite the same with sweet potatoes. I’m thinking of making this again this week too. Also, last winter I made a fish chowder  which turned out absolutely fantastic. And believe me… I’m not one to usually like fish in my soup, much less as a comfort food! It really was deliscious! You could probably even add the kale or chard to this too!

Red peppers – Again, raw is our preference. I actually haven’t made my stuffed peppers once this summer even though the kids will eat them that way! Also they are good for soups too! I also have a dip I’ve made wichi is really good… it’s a roasted red pepper walnut and tahini dip.

Broccoli – There are SO many ways to eat this! I remember having broccoli soup as a kid. But now I REALLY like it in stir fries, especially our beef tip and broccoli stir fry!  It’s good roasted with a little coconut oil or bacon grease on top with salt and pepper. It’s REALLY good with some other root veggies and sausage links broiled in the oven! It’s a simple one dish dinner and one of our favorites!

Cayanne peppers – More peppers. These are a different variety than last week, but they are still cayanne peppers, so not tons of heat. We’ve added them to breakfast eggs, chili, veggies (thrown in with the roasted broccoli), and we’ve also dried a few for use later in the winter!

Pumpkins – Oooohhh! These are my favorites! I LOVE baking with pumpkin. All the heavy spices fill the house with sweet savory smells! Pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin pie and the list could go on! I also made a dessert with butternut squash, but pumpkin could easily be substituted!

Apples – Each fall I usually make a big batch of apple sauce and fill the crockpot and let it cook down to apple butter. We use a lot of it in our oatmeal bake that we eat lots of through the winter. It’s also really good on biscuits with coffee if gluten is still in your diet! I really do miss eating that. It’s SO super yummy!

Enjoy your veggies as the summer is quickly coming to a close!