I am well in the middle of my autumnal blahs – at least, I hope it’s the middle. It would be terrible to think that you’re halfway through some grim thing and in reality, you’re just standing on a crevice, looking down. But I think it’s already peaked and is packing up its black bags and heading home, really.
At one particularly grim point during the weekend, I considered deleting my blog, which I might have done had my husband not been busily working on finishing up the summer camp book ALL WEEKEND LONG. I don’t think I’ve been away from a computer for that long since 1995, and it felt very strange. So instead of a terse "C-YA, world!", I sat around reading cooking magazines all weekend and making long, long lists of all of the comforting things I will make, someday, these vast, consoling waves of sugar and butter. And then I made Shepherd’s Pie for dinner last night and some baked apples, which was also very good, although the kids refused to eat any of the Shepherd’s Pie, which they normally really like. Outside, the pretty part of autumn is ending and all that’s left are yellow dried up leaves and bare branches.
It’s a good thing I didn’t delete my blog on the weekend because that Shepherd’s Pie segueing right into bare branches thing I just did right there? ART. (and you can’t see this – or I HOPE not – but I just cracked myself right up back there. Hahahaha. Art.) So I think that I’m on the mend when I can make myself laugh again, and there’s also Thanksgiving to look forward to, as well as eating three Thanksgiving dinners. THREE. Good golly. But there’s nothing more comforting than Thanksgiving dinner, I think, the stuffing and the glazed sweet potatoes and the pumpkin pie and the soporific turkey and the endless family squabbles dug up from the mists of time. Awesome.
As soon as I’m done writing this, I’m going to go gather up The Baby and go to the store for eggs and laundry soap, and then we’re going to spend the rest of the day doing laundry and making oatmeal cookies to line our cooling racks and gluten-free molasses bread to rise in the bread machine and the house to put in order again, these ordinary domestic comforts as outside it gets colder and colder and the yellow leaves all fall onto my yard and my steps.
So tell me your favorite gloomy weather foods, what spells comfort for you – and tell me something cheerful and good to keep me company while I climb the stairs back out of this.
Favourite comforting fall recipes: presently it’s anything in any way related to squash; mostly squash soup (and I thank you for inspiration). As for cheerful: Yesterday I brought chili, corn muffins and butter tarts over to the house of the people that had a baby the same night we had ours because they just had another one (already!) and I got to hold him and he is tiny and beautiful and I think I want one. I think the LG wants one too because boy did she get excited about him!
Glad you didn’t do anything rash like deleting any blogs. I hope the beautiful weather this Thanksgiving weekend has helped to raise your spirits!
As for good fall comfort food: chili or stew. Either could be easily made in a slow cooker. Neither have to be made with beef or hamburger if you are sick of that. Sometimes I make a vegetarian chili with several types of beans and even corn (I like the colour contrasts of yellow vegetables like corn or yellow zucchini in chili). But I also often use chopped up hot-Italian sausage for the meat. Or if you have any left over turkey – why not throw it in a stew or chili? Or perhaps turkey a la king served over whole wheat toast?
I think turkeys are odd looking don’t you? (see http://ronerwin.com/web/largeN/no/B3670104.html)
Anyway hope you are having a Happy Thanksgiving!
Yes, no deleting of the blog allowed. Keep cooking, keep ranting, keep raving, keep pining, keep us laughing — but no deleting!
Autumny comfort foods? I love thick beany soups and chili. My husband definitely tolerates them (even appreciates them, I think) in the cool months, but if it’s above 60 outside I get the “Soup? For dinner?” so I have to capitalise on it.
I’m sorry you’re in the middle of blahs/being depressed, but so glad you didn’t end up deleting the blog! I go through periods of depression too, sometimes not knowing if it’s just hormones or if I’m really depressed…it’s awful being depressed. It’s good that you are feeling on the upswing and can laugh again!
yesterday, i made meatloaf, which i find very comforting…and today i ate not only a brownie but also bought a apple-berry crumble and shared it with a friend with vanilla ice cream. i’m all about the comfort foods to keep me sane during colder weather blahs…i mean, it’s better than hard drugs,right?
P.S. And for goodness sakes, please don’t delete the Blog x 2! Cause we would miss you!
When life gets me down and I am gloomy, I take a moment and read your blog, it always cheers me up, even if it is a sad blog that day. You are the only book I read : )
Spring! Spring is what keeps me going : ) If we didn’t have fall and winter we wouldn’t appreciate the spring and the summer. It would be the same all the time. What I don’t like about this time of year is that winter is coming so that means I have to clean off my car and go out in it each and every morning to work with my boss walking by my desk to ensure I am not a minute late. If it weren’t for that, and if there were days I could sit infront of a fire place and eat popcorn… (which I don’t have a fire place) but … fall and winter would be so much better.
In the fall, let your children gather pretty leaves, and put them between wax paper and iron them. (keep the wax paper on and cut it nicely into shapes, or take the leaf out. Place them lovingly in a scrap book. And each year your children will love to look back on them.
The leaves in your area are beautiful… try living in the City…they just lack something. I wish for the days when I could take a beautiful fall drive and enjoy all the colours it has to offer.
And although the leaves fall and you are left with bare branches … think of it as snuggle time over the long haul ahead to spring : )
Hugs to ya Becky : )
I have been craving stew. Now that the weather is cool and crisp I must have STEW.
I’ve got the blahs, too.
My comfort food involves hot, melted cheese in some form. A little cholesterol always seems to help.
Okay…Here’s what really helps my mood…Wallflowers. Do you know what they are? They’re those plug-in scents from Bath and Body Works. I recommend Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin or Creamy Nutmeg. True aromatherapy for fall and guaranteed to pull you out of the doldrums. (Along with a brisk walk at dusk.)
Hope you feel better soon! I’m a newcomer who is glad your blog is still intact since I haven’t read all of it.
=)
Okay…Here’s what really helps my mood…Wallflowers. Do you know what they are? They’re those plug-in scents from Bath and Body Works. I recommend Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin or Creamy Nutmeg. True aromatherapy for fall and guaranteed to pull you out of the doldrums. (Along with a brisk walk at dusk.)
Hope you feel better soon! I’m a newcomer who is glad your blog is still intact since I haven’t read all of it.
=)
Hey there!
I am new to your blog. Let’s see…fall comfort food…crockpot macaroni and cheese all gooey and great. Although right now we live in South Texas and I kid you not, it was upper 80’s today, which makes me crave ice cream for comfort.
Take care,
Julie
Ah, the Autumn Blahs. I was starting to wonder, because every other post lately has contained how you’re feeling gloomy or depressed, but that explains it. I hope that you are, indeed, on the upswing, and that comfort foods will comfort.
My favorites in autumn are: anything made with apples or squash, hot dishes (most of the world knows them as casseroles), soups and stews. Hearty things that fill the house with the aroma of a hug.
I can’t imagine deleting an entire blog.
Don’t do it. So glad to hear you read recipes instead.
Favorite autumnal foods that spell comfort:
I think anything that is slow cooked, like braised anything. Or maybe creamy mac and cheese – with buttery, cheesy breadcrumbs on top. 🙂
We just finished off about a ton of muscadines, which down here are THE fall flavor, I think. At least for those of us who grew up down here, eating them right off our grandparents’ vines.
Serious deja vous there…
did I say that LAST autumn?
I seem to recall you having the blahs last autumn, as well – so be of good cheer, it will pass like it did last time. There’s nothing like fall to make one sentimental, nostalgic, and blue. What a good excuse, though, for good eats. And there, my dear, is your silver lining! 🙂
Beck! If I had discovered you had indeed deleted your blog I think I would have sunk into a deep autumnal depression myself. Don’t you dare!
I made Boiled Brown Bread today–which sounds icky but it was amazingly wonderful and delicious and is now my favorite autumn food, even if we don’t really have a proper autumn here. I got the recipe in this month’s Cooking Light.
Oh Beck. Be still my heart! Deleted your blog? You can’t do that, you’re one of my very first blogging buddies! Before you’re little finger ever, ever goes near that button you email me! Ya here?!
Hope you’re feeling a bit better today. Sending hugs your way. I hate when that sad sad stuff comes. But that’s why we’re here, to lift you up and tell ya how much we love ya!
Fave comfort food. Soup. My mom’s chicken soup. And pizza. Pizza makes me happy!
Dude, you have THREE Thanksgiving dinners and this year we will have none. There’s something for you to celebrate, and oddly maybe me too.
LOVE turnip casserole for Thanksgiving dinner.
Made easy and wonderful cinnamon buns yesterday. They rose like babies bottoms, and I lowered my face in and wahahaha. See! Art again…
Mashed potatoes nearly always cheers me up. And lots of chocolate. And hot beverages.
Homemade chicken soup with dumplings (the kind my great gramma made, kindof a combination of biscuit and spaetzle). My hubs doesn’t like soup (I KNOW, right? how odd…) so I get all of it….
Well even though I am glad you didn’t hit the delete button you probably would have kept going anyway, huh? Just start from scratch. And you would still be at five minutes for parenting and here. We would all get our fix of your blatant honesty and down to earth take on life one way or the other. But look at how well loved you are in the bloggy world…just look at everyone freaking out at the thought of losing your awesome blog to fill a moment of their day (including me).
That has to stir up at least some warm and fuzzies somewhere inside 😀
God Bless!
I can’t think of any comfort food right now because I’m hot. It’s a hot evening, although overall the climate here is great. But I just wanted to add my two cents worth of I’M SO GLAD YOU DIDN’T DELETE YOUR BLOG! AUGH! What a horrible idea, Beck! Squelch it firmly. Put it right out of your mind.
Oh Beck. I’ve felt your sadness many many days lately myself. It’s hard to snap out of it. But then there are days or people who make me laugh. Really laugh. And it all seems a bit better for the time being. Please, I beg of you, don’t delete your blog. You give so many of us a pick me up, even when you’re feeling blue.
I think you should make Thanksgiving food NOW and cheer up fast. But then I remember your Thanksgiving comes much sooner than ours? So you don’t have nearly so long to wait as me. I’ve been waiting to get out of my gloomy mood as well, which seems to have some sort of grip on me. Blech. So I pray, and I wait, and I hug my kids. And I enjoy new fall line-ups on the t.v. which provides me with plenty of distraction.
Something I enjoy daily (or almost daily)? Your blog. So PUH-LEEZ do not delete it!!!!!!
You felt so bad that you almost deleted your blog? That’s terrible! I’m glad you’re feeling a bit better. 🙂
I already posted this on F&T but good, old-fashioned New Orleans Beignets cheer me up every time. They are warm, sweet and salty, crisp and chewy, all in one. Plus, my DH and I went to New Orleans for our first date and honeymoon so they quickly transport me back to those happy times which helps, too.
NOOOOOoooooo!!!!! Don’t you ever delete your blog! EVER! You actually inspired me to start a blog. Yes YOU! You are to blame! 😉
I read one of your comments on Catherine Newman’s blog and followed you to your blog. I was hooked. I knew I couldn’t write as you did but I wanted to be part of the whole blogging thing after reading you. You are awesome.
So there.
DELETING YOUR BLOG??!! Surely you jest. You’re totally, totally, kidding, right? (Clutching the brow)
If you ever did such a scary thing, you wouldn’t have tons of people telling you every day, in so many words, that they love you. And when you’re feeling downdowndown, you need that — just to know that you’re loved, regardless of whether you feel very loving or lovable right now.
Praying for grace upon grace to you today …
Don’t even think about deleting your blog. Seriously, don’t scare me that way.
Autumn comfort foods: pot roast with gravy and homemade rolls (well, any kind of fresh bread with any meal), soups or stews, chicken pot pie–all things already mentioned. My spaghetti and meatballs. Oatmeal cookies and chocolate cake. Not necessarily TOGETHER, but I wouldn’t say NO, either.
Did you say delete your blog? Because that doesn’t work for my kicking-depression-to-the-curb campaign I’m waging.
*shudder*
Glad you are here. I’m all about pumpkins right about now, and soup.
I dust off the crockpot and make mashed potatoes. (My husband is out of town until Thursday and his only grocery request was meat and mashed potatoes that night. Good for the soul.)
Take care and please don’t go away.
Aww, I’m sorry you are still feeling the seasonal sadness. I never get this in the fall, but instead in the spring. Strange, I know.
I LOVE all of the foods that everyone has already mentioned. Also anything with squash or pumpkin: bread, soup, pie. Oh, also hot drinks like chai, cider, and cocoa.
And I think you probably do this already, but something that always cheers me up is to spend time outside every day, no matter the weather.
I’m so glad you didn’t delete your blog.
Hi,
I’ve never commented on your blog before, but I’ve been reading awhile and I have to say that I’m so glad you didn’t delete it! I relate so much to your blog, even though we seem like very different people. (I’m older, a mom of a 21-year (!) old daughter, married to my husband for almost 25 years and I live in Southern California). Your blog makes me laugh out loud, and sometimes cry some, too.
As for my comfort foods for gloomy weather (or just when I’m feeling gloomy), I love soup and homemade bread. Pot roast with roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes. Apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. A big breakfast for dinner. That’s just some of our favorites.
So glad you are still here. I have nothing good to offer you right now. I am in the midst of my own depression fueled by work and weather. Funny when I get like this I can’t thing of anything good. 🙁
Of course you can’t delete your blog. You just CAN’T.
I’ve got the bluey blues, too, but mine are more of a keyed up anxiety stemming from exams this week and my baby being cut open next week…hopefully, they will peak and decline soon.
You mustn’t delete your blog! It’s too far for me to drive to Canada and force you to type, but I will! : )
I was trying trying to find my friend’s recipe for rice & beans…that’s comfy food for me.
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things
Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things
When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad
Ya, if I had a dime for every time I’ve almost deleted the blog…
Minestrone with grated parm and pesto on top.
Borscht with sour cream
Curried apple soup
Hot buttered rum
Hot chocolate with amaretto cream liquer
Happy things? Mittens on strings. Pumpkins. Duvets…
I’m glad you decided to stay.
Fall is the time that I return to my cookbooks and plan, so inviting is the food. I love chicken pot pie with flaky homemade crust; beef and leek stew bubbling on the stovetop; buttermilk whole wheat biscuits to dunk in the stew; apple pie, fragrant with cinnamon and brown sugar. I even pulled my breadmaker out of storage again last week. Fall goes right to my hips.
Something cheerful? I opened the Local section of the paper today to see a photograph of my husband with our littlest perched on his shoulders, among a thousands-strong crowd of people at our local Run for the Cure yesterday. Collectively, that crowd raised over $500K for breast cancer research. That made me smile.
Well, Beck. Aside from fuzzy socks, long sleeves, beef stew in the crockpot and the way bread baking in my bread machine make my house smell, on of the things that comforts me most when we’re slowly heading into cold weather is…
YOUR BLOG! Don’t you ever, ever say you’re considering deleting your blog. Just don’t.
xo
FOM, in fact I am a stark-raving, blog-deleting lunatic. Look out, world!
Beck, your ART comment cracked me up, too.
Don’t delete your blog! I would miss you so. We make a lot of homemade soup in the fall. The kids especially like homemade chicken and stars.
Cold days should be spent under warm quilts, wearing knitted socks and drinking hot toddies and reading Icelandic sagas. Then come out for a meal of pot pies soup. That is winter. The end.
Don’t you dare go all Alpha DogMa on me! What is with you Canadians? You’re making us Americans look calm and reasonable. (btw, I’m just kidding. We all know us Americans are the looniest, most knee-jerk-reaction people of the bunch; but, I’d be seriously bummed if you deleted your blog, so no more talk of that, ok?)
Why? Why would you delete your blog? It’s the best thing out there!
My favourite gloomy weather food is chili with cornbread. I make the chili with different beans every time because Maggie likes black beans, but not red beans; Lisa like red beans, but not white beans; Bart likes white beans, and nothing else. They all eat it whatever way I make it, but they still have their little opinions!
I hope it’s towards the end of the Autumn blahs. Seriously, I hope you feel better soon. I am so, so glad you didn’t delete your blog. I love reading what you write.
I hate when I make something my kids like and then they don’t eat it…who knows why…I don’t even care why, it just makes me crazy.
Hang in there.