Although I like to nitpick about when the REAL [sidereal] New Year is, fall is a bit more subjective for me.
Phil Plait, the Bad Astronomer pointed out when the Autumnal Equinox comes around, people call it the beginning of autumn, but he considers it to be in the middle of the season. The borders between seasons are fuzzy and vague, so for people who like fine lines in their lives, the point at which the day and night are equal in length (or technically, where the equator crosses the ecliptic) is a simple way to demarcate a seasonal transition.
Although the tilt and orbit of the Earth are the chief factors in the timing of the seasons on the Earth, there are atmospheric and biotic factors to consider. Largely due to global warming, this year spring arrived over a week earlier than it did 30 years ago. On average, 9.6 days earlier. Flowers popping up, insect larvae crawling around, and migrating birds aren’t going to wait for the vernal equinox!
So why should we call the autumnal equinox the beginning of autumn? Like for spring, we must find comparable biotic indicators to determine the most scientifically useful date or period of dates to initiate the come of the season of leaf senescense, darkening days, and crop harvests. Allow me to propose a suitable criterion:
It’s not fall until…
I make my Butternut Squash Soup. Mmmmmmm!
I used this recipe - sort of. After omitting the salt, flavorless cream, herb, and parsley, I ended up altering the recipe further to suit my tastes:
- 1 1/2 quart jars of canned butternut squash. (I canned it last year. For fresh squash, use an equivalent volume of squash. you can also use “pie” pumpkins, but it could be stringier)
- 3 medium granny smith apples (too many of these and it will be noticably too appley)
- 1 medium (yellow/white) onion, chopped.
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon black pepper. (Hey this isn’t an exact science. Even though the pepper came out of test tubes…)
- 3 14-oz cans of chicken broth, or 3/4 of a huge 49.5 oz can. (I use the low sodium kind, to each their own)
- 2-3 cups water (depends on how thick you want it)
- Heaping spoonful of strong sour cream per bowl.
From original recipe: Peel squash and seed it. Cut into chunks. Combine all ingredients, except sour cream. Bring to boil and simmer uncovered 45 minutes. Puree’ soup in blender. Return mixture to sauce pan and bring to boiling point. (Put a lid on this - you’re going to have a bubbling mud pot of soup) Reduce heat. When serving, put spoonful of sour cream in each bowl.
You can try adding a spice such as rosemary, or even better, a trio of nutmeg/cloves/cinnamon. But don’t add too much, you’d want to taste the butternut!
Butternut Squash Soup is not for everyone. It is a very sweet soup, and you will need to offset it with something sour or bitter to be able to finish your bowl. Strong, good tasting sour cream is the best in my opinion, although I’ve heard of people using bitter veggies instead. But I hate endives. Talk about a vegetable desperately needing a breeding program… yuck. It I wanted to taste something that bitter, I’d drink denatonium. Try it for the first time as a small side-dish to see if you like it.
I tried it on a whim and now I’m hooked. Ariela, however, won’t have it.
More for me!
