I suppose it’s been here for a while now — the crisp morning air, the changing of the guard from green to gold, the shorter darker days, the thin sheets of ice that blanket my car in the morning, my convincing Sly that we need to go to Anthropologie every weekend to find some warmer clothes, the overpriced Thanksgiving airline tickets (damn you Airlines, damn you), the absolute NEED of starting every day with a hot drink. When we left for Puerto Rico, the huge tree in our front yard was ablaze in orange. I remember telling myself that I needed to take photos of that tree sometime this season. Of course by the time we returned, the leaves had already more or less fallen to the ground and scattered in the wind.
Last weekend we packed a small lunch of pumpkin apple butter grilled cheese sandwiches (recipe below) and hiked around in the woods behind our house. After a mile or so on the trail we found a picnic table nestled among the trees and sat in the golden Autumn sunlight and ate our sandwiches (delicious I might add, a new fave for sure). The wind picked up as we walked home, rustling the trees and swirling leaves all around us. By the time the weekend was over many trees had been plucked of all their plumes. It won’t be long now until Winter is here.
Recipe // pumpkin apple butter + grilled cheese sandwich (vegetarian)
Once again, this can hardly be called a recipe since it’s literally as easy as slapping two pieces of bread together and cooking it, but what makes this sandwich so delicious is the combination of ingredients which seem kind of weird at first glance but when combined is the perfect mix of slightly sweet and savory. Plus I’m a sucker for things like “apple butter” and “pumpkin butter.” It’s the perfect Fall sandwich. and we have been craving these all season.
Ingredients
– Pumpkin Apple Butter (we bought ours when we went apple picking a million years ago and I’ve seen various renditions of apple butter at farmers’ markets and country stores. If you cannot find pumpkin apple butter, apple butter is just as good and can be found in any grocery store).
– Whole grain bread (or whatever bread you like)
– White cheddar cheese
– Dijon mustard
– Butter or olive oil
Directions (basically like cooking your standard grilled cheese sandwich:
– Spread pumpkin apple butter on one slice of bread and the dijon mustard on the other slice. Add as much cheese as you like to the sandwich (we like ours pretty cheesy – at least 2 slices) and then close the sandwich. Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon of butter or olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan over medium heat. While the pan is heating up, brush the tops of each sandwich with olive oil or butter. Place the sandwiches butter/olive side up in the skillet. Cook until the bottoms are golden brown and flip. Continue to cook until the other side is golden brown and warmed through.
