The Bounty Hunter

The Bounty Hunter is a website about cooking and eating delicious, seasonal and local foods.

Fall

Carrot Spice Muffins

This muffin recipe is one I have been baking for a while and felt it was time to share as it reminds me of my parents (I just shared a story about them and Serenity Farm) and the cool and crisp days of fall. Baking was the first thing I learned to do in the kitchen when I was little and I fell in love with the process and the results. While I love cooking, I still find the greatest comfort in baking. There is something about homemade baked goods that just can’t be beat.

The amount I bake and the ingredients I use has changed a lot over the years but I love the process just as much as when I first learned. Muffins were a fairly common happening around our house growing up and we would often have them Sunday morning for breakfast with fruit and cheese. Nothing like waking up to the smell of fresh muffins. These muffins are gluten and dairy free and sweetened with maple syrup. The smell of the cinnamon and ginger will be sure to fill the house with the ultimate smell of fall baking.

Enjoy!


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Island Time

This glorious fall continues. I spent this past weekend on Gabriola, a small island off Vancouver Island where my Grandma, Aunt and Uncle live. It is a beautiful island with small farms, arbutus trees, and stunning beaches. It is peaceful, it is quiet.

It was a lovely, cool fall weekend with family. As to be expected, there was lots of delicious food. We arrived to fresh baked cinnamon buns. There were soups made with garden fresh ingredients, preserves to remind us of summer’s bounty, a slow cooked roast with root vegetables and there was coconut cream pie. We chatted by the fire, looked at old photos and took walks along the water.

We stopped to watch and listen to a raft of sea lions just off shore. We happened upon a little self-serve fruit stand with over a dozen varieties of heritage apples and the cutest little Conference pears. The apples will become pie to be shared with friends.

The landscape was studded with red rose hips and the last of the turning leaves hanging on to the trees.

There were wild turkeys on the side of the road, sheep grazing and this old neglected farm house.

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Orange and Cardamom Roasted Pears

It has been an incredible fall. One of the prettiest ones I can remember. Until November hit we had very little rain and so many beautiful sunny days. The colours of the trees have been stunning and the light, oh the light. I love fall and the light at this time of year brings such intensity of colour to everything. I love walks in the crisp air, leaves crunching under foot and curling up with a good book and a warm drink.

I have been enjoying watching the little maple tree turn colour outside my bedroom window and the way the light hits it in the late afternoon. It is currently raining yellow, orange and red leaves all over the road and cars parked on the street. Soon the rain and wind will wash and blow it all away until next year.

Then there is the cooking and the baking. Lots of soups, stews, and roasting happening in the kitchen these days. Lots of roots, dark leafy greens, apples and pears and warm spices. There have been ginger cookies, banana cake and roasting fruits.

Apples and pears will be the main fruits for the coming months. Roasting is such a nice way to enjoy fruit in the winter, it brings a warming quality that is much needed on cold winter days. The combination of the honey, orange and cardamom with the pears is really lovely and the cardamom has a warming thermal quality to help keep you cozy.

The orange and pear juices, honey and butter cook up to make almost like a cardamom scented caramel that works perfectly to spoon over the pears when you serve them.

The pears are delicious served with thick yogurt and drizzled with the pan juices. You could also do whipped cream or ice cream. I had some maple granola with slivered almonds that I sprinkled on as well for a little crunch. Some chopped toasted nuts would be good too. The pears are also tasty sliced up and served over waffles or pancakes or on top of a warm bowl of oatmeal.

I think the best parts of fall and winter cooking (aside from the eating) are the smells that fill the house, this one is no exception. Hope you are enjoying the cool days and keeping warm and cozy in the kitchen.

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