How to Have a Delicious Fall

September has done its best to hang on to summer, but over the past few days I've finally begun to feel fall creeping up. Leaves are beginning to change, evening outings require jackets, football season is upon us, and my son got his annual apple picking permission slip sent home. Fall is here!

Fall more than any other season coincides with delicious recipes that I go back to year after year. Pumpkin spice, apple pie, the smell of warm cider with cinnamon sticks coming from the kitchen...

I decided to share with all of you some of my favorite gluten-free fall recipes. The first two are some newer favorites, while the last two are special family recipies that have morphed and changed and been carried on by word of mouth, that show up year after year on our fall dinner menus and I have altered to be gluten-free for my family. Enjoy and may your Fall 2016 be full of delicious, season inspired, gluten-free treats!

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread

Every lover of fall knows one thing to be forever true: Fall is the season of the pumpkin. Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin pie, and jack-o-lanterns. And yes, we may not be able to eat gluten, but that will never take away our right to a delicious, warm slice of pumpkin bread.

I've tried a lot of gluten-free pumpkin bread recipes over the years and could never quite find one that I loved. When I came across this pumpkin bread recipe from Gluten-Free Goddess last year, I knew my fall baking would be forever changed. It is perfection, ladies and gentlemen. Make a double batch, because it's going to go fast.

One Pot Curried Quinoa with Butternut Squash and Chickpeas

Fall is such a wonderful time to start making one pot dinners. I love one pot dinners for a few reasons: first of all they are usually fairly easy and quick to make, but most of all I love that they allow you to mix flavors and textures in a way that creates such an interesting mix of tastes and such a yummy smelling kitchen!

This one pot quinoa from Oh My Veggies fits the bill perfectly. It takes almost no time to make, and it combines curry powder, ginger, turmeric, cardamom, coconut milk, lemon juice and parsley to create a taste explosion that you're just going to have to take my word for it and try. I usually serve this with cornbread muffins and it makes for a perfect, amazingly delicious fall dinner with even tastier leftovers!

Here's the gluten-free quinoa we like from amazon.com.

Orange Soup

Orange soup is my absolute favorite recipe to make during the fall. Why is it called orange soup? Because orange soup is soup made out of orange veggies, and the more creative you get, the more delicious it is. There are general guidelines I follow but once you get this recipe down, you can bend it and stretch it and change it and it so easily adapts to different versions. The rules are this: sweet potato, carrot, pumpkin, butternut, acorn and summer squash, and even yellow beets, are all fair game.

Ingredients

3 large sweet potatoes
4-5 carrots
1 medium sized chunk of pumpkin, or 1/4 a butternut squash, or similar veggie
1 large onion
1/2 stick of butter
1 cup of cream
Sprinkle of nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Chop onion and cook in a large pot with the butter until soft (around 10 minutes).
Chop veggies into cubes and carrot into rounds, add to pot and cook for a few minutes longer along with the nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Add water or broth to cover the veggies. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes, or until veggies are soft.
Use a mixer or handheld blender to blend veggies and onion together. Add spices as needed and cream, return to pot.
Serve with a teaspoon of sour cream and chopped chives. Enjoy!

Apple Pancakes

Fall is the season that ushers in warm comfort food, and while we try to keep it healthy around here, we take exception and make apple pancakes for breakfast a few times. This is an especially fun family activity after a weekend apple picking trip and the pancakes go perfectly with honey on top!