Finally, it’s Fall! And once again in Kelly’s Kitchen it’s all about sugar. After all, that’s what makes those leaves turn bright red; the glucose that’s in the leaves account for the red, brown from just plain old waste trapped within the leaf, and purple? That from anthocyanin pigments (check Wikipedia) but it’s the same pigment you’ll find in purple grapes, red apples and violets. So there! For the first time in many years, Kelly’s Kitchen will be up in the northeast and checking out the fall colors. I can’t believe how much this means to me. I have very good memories from my childhood of a place we used to call “The Apple Farm” but was actually Mapleside Fruit Farms in suburban Cleveland (Brunswick to be precise). It was family owned with the best apples from their orchards right on the property. That’s where we got our pumpkins, and never left without a cup of hot cider and a cinnamon sugar doughnut. Now it’s a restaurant and the orchard just might be another housing development. I think I prefer my memories. As far as carving pumpkins, my Mom asked me the other day if we do pumpkins and set them out front. Well, I think our temps pretty much rule that out down here, but there’s plenty of displays to check out and arrange in our own homes. If you have a wonderful autumn memory you’d like to share with us in Kelly’s Kitchen, why not send it, and pictures are also appreciated. The best one received by Wednesday the 26^th will receive a choice of cookbooks from the Kelly’s Kitchen Collection! Send those to ann.kelly@coxinc.com. I’m looking forward to sharing your memories with everyone else at the table in Kelly’s Kitchen. I'll make sure to post some of my own from the trip.

   We've got a lot to cover over the next few weeks; we'll be hearing from The Hungry Girl, Amy Traverson will tell us about her new book that features one of my fav fruits - the apple, Chef Rocco DiSpirito has a new book  that focuses on healthy Italian recipes, a visit from Tony Little and something special from The Kitchen at Jannus Live. I love this time of year!

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM KELLY’S KITCHEN

There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the summer is not heard or seen, as if it could not be, as if it had not been!  - Percy Bysshe Shelley