Warm Hearth

Over a hundred recipes celebrate that magic moment that comes late in September, when a breeze picks up and you notice it feels and smells different...just a tiny bit cooler and touched with the scent of dried leaves. It may be very subtle, possibly only a subconscious wish, but it is enough to make you stop and think maybe you will make some soup this weekend. Warm Hearth is a celebration of Autumn... a farmer's market harvest of turnips, carrots, beets and potatoes, sizzling in a bit of olive oil and sea salt...an acorn squash fragrantly filled with shallots and sage...or something thick and peasant-y...like a succulent cassoulet or lamb stew. Everything gets a little bit richer and a lot heartier. The days grow shorter and after the stretched out, languorous, sultry evenings of summer, chilly darkness starting to creep in at five o'clock can be a little freaky. This is the exact time to have a substantial, soul and body nourishing pot of French onion soup simmering on the stove and a cinnamon-y apple crisp, fresh out of the oven... hot, delicious and comforting... waiting to warmly welcome every one back home.