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Fresh Approach: Bringing the tastes of fall into our kitchens The last cherry tomatoes of the season. [Photo by Jan Roberts-Dominguez] Wednesday Oct 18, 2017 at 12:01 AM By Jan Roberts-Dominguezfor the Mail Tribune So there it was. The last vine-ripened beefsteak tomato my garden would be offering this year, sliced and nestled between crisp sheets of lettuce and bacon, with a slathering of mayonnaise on whole wheat toast. The taste was immense. Perhaps better with the knowledge it would have to last me nine months, since purists make bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches only while their gardens are providing the tomatoes. Then I started in on the cherry tomatoes. I made what would be my last sweep through the vines, seeking out all remaining perfect specimens to plop into my Corvallis Fall Festival find, a gorgeous porcelain bowl from Eugene potter David Parry of Whistle Post Pottery. I always get this way in October, wrestling with the idea of letting summer go. It’s such a five-star season: fabulous weather, memorable hikes into the Cascades and bountiful crops from which we produce delectable meals and a pantry full of luscious preserves. How dare autumn intrude. But it arrives despite my protests. One year, so did a letter from my mother. At the bottom she had scribbled a quote from Thoreau: “Live in each season as it passes. Breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of each.” Thoreau’s words helped me move forward, that year and forever after; leaving summer behind and getting on with making the most of autumn. A very good season after all, with its truckloads of cranberries, hazelnuts, apples and pears — all of which will find their way into our kitchens. Caramel Spice Pear Butter About 15 large, firm, ripe pears ½ cup water 6 cups granulated sugar, divided 1 teaspoon ground cloves 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground ginger 2 tablespoons lemon juice Wash 9 half-pint jars. Keep hot until needed. Prepare lids as manufacturer directs. Wash and core but do not peel pears. Slice and put in a 5-quart non-aluminum pot. Add water, cover and cook over low heat for 30 minutes or until tender. Let cool slightly and force the mixture through a food chopper or whirl in a food processor until finely chopped; return to kettle. In a wide frying pan over medium heat, melt 1½ cups of the sugar, stirring often, until it caramelizes to a medium brown syrup. Pour immediately into the pear pulp (syrup will sizzle and harden, but dissolve again as the preserves cook). Stir in remaining 4½ cups sugar, cloves, cinnamon and ginger until well blended. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and cook, uncovered, for about 45 minutes or until thickened. To prevent sticking, stir frequently as mixture begins to thicken. Stir in lemon juice just before removing from heat. Ladle the hot mixture into 1 hot jar at a time, leaving ¼-inch head space. Wipe jar rim with a clean, damp cloth. Attach lid. Fill and close remaining jars. Process in a boiling-water canner for 10 minutes (15 minutes at 1,001 to 6,000 feet; 20 minutes above 6,000 feet). Yields 9 half-pints. — Recipe from Sunset's "Canning, Freezing & Drying"   Tyee’s Mushroom Hazelnut (or filbert!) Pate I discovered this recipe through Margy and Dave Buchanan, Corvallis-area hazelnut growers and co-owners of Tyee Winery. They have served it on several occasions in the wine-tasting room during the annual Thanksgiving weekend open house. It's heavenly, spread on thin slices of sourdough bread. 1 cup hazelnuts ¼ cup butter 1 small onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed ¾ pound mushrooms, sliced ¾ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon thyme 1/8 teaspoon pepper 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (preferably hazelnut oil) Toast nuts in a 300-degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and then rub the nuts in a towel to remove skins. Melt butter in pan, over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, mushrooms, salt, thyme and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft and most of the pan juices created from the mushrooms have evaporated. In food processor, puree nuts to form a paste (Note: Margy says it never really quite becomes a paste). With motor running, add oil and whirl until creamy. Add mushroom mixture, and continue blending until smooth. Serve with crackers or French bread It's definitely best with thin slices of sourdough French bread, says Margy. Will keep in the refrigerator for two weeks or longer. Yields about 1 pint. — Recipe from: "Sunset Vegetarian Cooking," by the editors of Sunset Magazine and Sunset Books.   Chanterelle Soup with Dried Apples, Hazelnuts and Apple Brandy 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 3 ribs celery, chopped 2 parsnips, peeled and chopped 2 yellow onions, chopped 1 bulb fennel, trimmed and chopped 1 leek (white part only), washed and chopped 3 teaspoons salt 2 tablespoons water 2 pounds fresh chanterelle or cremini mushrooms, or a mixture, wiped clean and thinly sliced 8 cups chicken stock or broth 1 cup apple cider 3 medium-sized Yukon Gold or russet potatoes, peeled and chopped 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, toasted and ground (see note) ¼ cup apple brandy or hard apple cider 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper ¼ cup chopped dried apples ½ cup hazelnuts, toasted, skinned, and finely chopped 6 fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced crosswise In a heavy 4-quart pot, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over low heat. Add the celery, parsnips, onions, fennel, leek and 1 teaspoon of the salt and saute for 5 minutes. Stir in the water and ½ pound of the mushrooms, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the stock and cider and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and ground fennel seeds and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. Let cool. In a food processor or blender, puree the soup, in batches if necessary. For a very creamy soup, press the puree through a fine-meshed sieve; set aside. In a heavy 4-quart pot, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the remaining mushrooms and saute until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the brandy or hard cider, vinegar, pepper and the remaining 2 teaspoons salt and simmer for about 5 minutes. Pour in the pureed soup. Heat until warm. To serve, ladle into soup bowls. Garnish with the apples, hazelnuts and sage. Makes 8 servings. NOTE ON FENNEL SEED: There are two methods for toasting; an oven method and a stove-top method. For the oven method, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Put the desired amount of seeds in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan. Toast in the oven for 10 minutes, or until they begin to darken, occasionally shaking the pan so the seeds will toast evenly. Remove the seeds from the oven and pour them onto a cool pan. For the stove-top method, preheat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the seeds and cook, shaking the pan, until the seeds begin to darken and become very aromatic, which will take about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the seeds from the pan to a cool pan or plate. Grind the seeds to a powder in either a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle. — Recipe adapted from “Wildwood, Cooking from the Source in the Pacific Northwest,” by Cory Schreiber.   — Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis food writer, artist and author of “Oregon Hazelnut Country, the Food, the Drink, the Spirit,” and four other cookbooks. Readers can contact her by email at [email protected], or obtain additional recipes and food tips on her blog at www.janrd.com.