Three Things I’m Doing Now to Prepare for Fall Cooking and Baking

We’re still soaking up summer days here while looking towards autumn and all the delicious recipes we’ll enjoy during that chilly season! So even though our temperatures are soaring over 100 degrees some days, I’m going ahead and doing three things now to prepare my kitchen for fall cooking and baking.

#1 Drying Fresh Herbs

It’s so nice to cook with fresh herbs during the summer and I like to keep those same herby flavors in my fall soups, casseroles, and breads. So, I’ve been clipping and drying herbs in batches to enjoy all fall and winter. I clip my herbs in early morning before the hot sun draws out the oils from their leaves. This heightens their flavor whether you use them fresh or dried. Then I wash the herbs and spread them over paper towels on my kitchen counter. 

There are many ways to dry herbs, but I’ve always dried mine in the refrigerator (except rosemary dries in the freezer), rolled in either paper towels or cheese cloth. This year, however, I’ve switched to paper bags which seems to be working great! For the herbs with larger leaves (like basil) I place just the leaves in the paper bag, but for the smaller leaves (such as thyme and oregano) I place the stem with the leaves still attached in the bag. The bags are labeled and sealed with a paper clip (or whatever you have on hand). They take about two or three weeks to dry completely before they’re ready to crush. I give the bags a good shake each day and every now and then I just have to open a bag and take in a big whiff. Ahhh, the aroma is heavenly! As soon as they’re completely dry, I’ll crush them and place them spice jars. 

#2 Sourdough Starter

Years ago, I kept a sourdough starter and loved making bread with it. But after it exploded in my fridge one day, I couldn’t find anyone who had the same starter to share, and I was too intimidated to try and start my own. In the last year or so, I’ve been interested in sourdough again and decided that one of my projects for this summer would be to get a starter going again so it would be ready for those fall evening meals of hot soup and crusty bread! 

I set out to try two different starters just to improve my chances of something working. For Mother’s Day, my younger daughter gave me a sourdough cookbook called Artisan Sourdough Made Simple which gave instructions for mixing and activating a starter. I had also purchased a dried starter from the Heritage Homestead Farm in Texas last spring. The dried starter was looking pretty good for a couple of days but then began to mold–eew! The starter recipe from the cookbook won out and is going strong!

I definitely haven’t perfected my technique yet, and I’m almost embarrassed to show these photos for some of you expert bread bakers out there to see, ha! But I’ve had so much fun experimenting with recipes! My family is loving all the sourdough sandwich bread, pizza dough, chocolate chip loaves, and pancakes and waffles. I can’t wait to dip a warm crunchy hunk of sourdough bread into that first bowl of creamy tomato soup this fall!

#3 Homemade Vanilla Extract

Years ago, a sweet friend gifted me some vanilla extract she’d made herself and it was way better than any other vanilla extract I’d ever purchased from a store. Not too long after it ran out, a lady at church just happened to find me one Sunday and ask me if I’d be interested in going in with her and some other ladies on ordering vanilla beans and then getting together to make vanilla extract. So, I joined their vanilla party and learned to make the extract. That batch has since run out, but I was able to order more beans through the same lady at church and made a large batch of extract a few weeks ago so it will be ready and oh so flavorful for fall and holiday baking! When it’s fully infused, I’ll pour it into some pretty glass bottles with the beans. The half pound of beans I purchased made 1/2 gallon of vanilla extract!

Vanilla Extract

(I quadrupled this recipe for my half pound of beans) 

1/8 lb. vanilla beans 

16 oz. vodka 

quart jar

With a sharp knife, split the beans in half longways, almost end to end, to expose the caviar inside. Open the slit and scrape the caviar with your knife. Place bean and caviar in the jar. Repeat with remaining beans. Pour vodka over the beans, seal the lid, and place in a cool, dark area of your counter or pantry. It will look like dirty pond water at first but get darker as it the weeks go on. For the first couple of weeks, give the jar a good shake once or twice daily and then let sit to infuse. The extract will be ready in six weeks but gets better with time. 

Ok, friends, there you have it–herbs, sourdough, and vanilla for all the fall soups, breads, and desserts our hearts and stomachs desire! I’m ready!