I’ve been really missing the Fruit Loop in Hood River, Ore. That winding road that takes you to alpaca farms, vineyards, pumpkin patches, breweries and all the apple, peach and pear stands you could want. So, to fill my appetite for fallish things, we headed to the Triad farmers’ market. We were delighted to see all the beautiful pumpkins, gourds and other fall bounty.
The fig trees were still there, tempting me. Although, at $15 per tree, it doesn’t take much to tempt me.

Figs!
One farm had these pumpkins that were obviously treated to make them shiny. $10 for a pumpkin? Really? In Oregon, we bought ours for 10 cents per pound at the Fruit Loop. I think this is a good indicator of what we’ll also fork over for a Christmas tree this year.
In the spirit of bounty (and fall eating), here’s my favorite fall lunch or mid-afternoon snack (Heidi, this is for you!): brie cheese lightly melted with fig jam, crisp apple (these were gala) and sea-salt crackers (or any other salty crisp cracker – salty goes well with the cheese and sweet fruit).

Miss Heidi's Special
Happy fall, friends! I can’t wait to explore more of the South this fall – through food. xoxo