October's Six — Six Gardens

The aim of this series to corral some favorite things and share them in a short and sweet post. Whether it’s a new favorite song, book, recipe, tip, or product, hopefully you will find some inspiration in this list.

1. This Jon and Vinny recipe is so good and so simple. I served it with mixed greens and crusty bread to scoop up every last bit of the creamy, tomato-y sauce.

2. My husband and I plan on visiting apple orchards this fall. Among the things I will be making with our haul is chunky, cinnamon applesauce. In fact, I have already made a batch using store-bought apples and look forward to making it again with more flavorful apples straight from the orchard. To make this fall treat, use the slow-cooker setting on your Instant Pot or use the low setting on your slow-cooker. Roughly dice about 8-10 apples (I love to blend honeycrisp and granny smith varieties) and throw them in the pot with 2-4 tablespoons of sugar, a splash of vanilla extract, 1-3 cinnamon sticks, and about ¼ cup of water. After 6-8 hours, you will be left with perfect applesauce and a sweet, fall-scented kitchen. A few notes: the cinnamon, vanilla, and sugar are all to taste, and the water should be used as sparingly as possible just to prevent the fruit from burning and sticking to the pot. Check on the sauce a few times during the cooking time to give the fruit a stir.

3. I’m With Her just released their debut full-length album. Listen to this song and check their tour schedule here.

4. A good friend of mine recently shared with our friend group that she is puzzle-obsessed. When she shared this, I realized that the patience and dedication required to finish a jigsaw puzzle are probably worth cultivating as an antidote to all the things we do that shorten our attention spans. I aim to substitute at least some of my Netflix binges with slower-paced activities that are conducive to conversation and quality time with my loved ones.

5. I am not embarrassed to admit that I’ve been waiting to bring out Mrs. Meyer’s apple cider cleaning products. It’s finally time! Upgrade your cleaning routine for only $11 with this set.

6. On my “to make” recipe queue are these festive, frosted sugar cookies. With browned butter frosting and cinnamon-spiced dough, these cookies are next level. By the way, @halfbakedharvest is a delight to follow on Instagram!

Alison