Name that Southern Comfort Food!

Just like with our upcoming horse, party guests from Facebook named their favorite southern comfort food.  But this time, we’re going to do something a bit different.  I want YOU to help!  Vote on one of the featured foods or supply your own.  (Recipe must follow if you win :))  This dish will be featured in an upcoming novel in the series AND my promo recipe cards.

Mine’s fall, hands down.  From the crisp snap in the air to the gorgeous fall foliage, I LOVE the fall season.

Which is odd.  Remember, I grew up in Miami.  I’m not one of those Florida transplants, the kind of folks like my husband, who made the move south only to pine for the change of season he used to enjoy.  (He doesn’t pine for winter, mind you–only the change in season from summer to fall, winter to spring…)  Here in Central Florida, we have two seasons:  Summer (hot, wet, sticky) and Winter (warm, dry, pleasant).  That’s it.  In Miami, I had only one:  Tropical.  So how did it come to pass I “fall for foliage?” 

No idea.  But I do.   From apple cider and corn mazes to maple syrup and pumpkins, I count the days until the first nip clips the air, cuts the heat and promises a reprieve for the next six months.  It’s also a GREAT time to garden.  It’s not too hot, not too cold…why fall season would make a gardener out of Goldilocks, it’s so pleasant!

And isn’t this vegetable stand adorable?  If only it would look as cute on a sunny corner in Florida.  But alas, this display is better suited to apple orchards and corn fields–which are everywhere in Ohio–my husband’s hometown.  We recently visited family and friends and stumbled across these beauties (though I have no explanation for them, other than Mother Nature is an odd duck).

Monkey balls?  Seriously?

Apparently they work wonders for spider control.  And with an ample supply of black widows in our garage back home, my son wanted to pack up a crate of these bad boys and take them with us!  With gentle hands to his shoulders, I instructed, moving right along… 

Next on our tour through the countryside, we spotted this old log cabin.  Needless to say, the kids loved it.  Originally a telephone company, it now acts as a retail outlet for maple syrup and candy and the local Chamber of Commerce (but don’t quote me on that).  Yes, you guessed it.  “I’ll have one of everything, please!”

With my goody bag in hand, we made our way back to the car, back to the parental homestead where we commenced with a lively Italian family get-together, complete with red wine, sausage stuffed peppers, pasta and warm camaraderie.  Needless to say it was a good trip.  As usual, we wished we could stay a little while longer (okay, my kids want to MOVE everywhere we visit, but if “no-can-do” is the answer then an extension of their trip always ranks a close second).

But returning home is what makes our visits all the sweeter, isn’t it?  Not because of the syrup in our luggage, but because of the love.  In the arms of family, our world looks better, feels better, everything seems brighter, happier.  They say the only thing we can can’t on is change.  Well I for one, agree.  And the fall change is one of my favorites.