A Cozy Autumn Day Harvesting & Baking with the Kitchen Garden Abundance

Join me in our small kitchen garden in the suburbs (zone 7a) where we are harvesting the last of the summer’s abundance and transitioning into early autumn. While the pumpkins are still ripening, we are harvesting honey nut squash, beans, zucchini, herbs, flower, and our first (and last!) watermelon. Next, we will head to the kitchen where I am baking up pumpkin seed & millet sourdough bread which is topped with roasted garlic and herbs from the garden. The overflowing basket of tomatoes and zucchini turned into a roasted tomato sauce for an easy pasta dish that I brought over to a my sister's house for dinner. Lastly, for dessert is a delicious Pear Almond Butter cake using the ripe pears harvested from the garden. This uses almond flour, almond extract, and slivered almonds for all the almond lovers out there. Pear Almond Butter Cake Recipe - Makes one 9 inch cake: 170 grams all purpose flour 26 grams almond flour 1.5 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp kosher salt (or 1/4 tsp table salt) 170 grams softened unsalted butter 190 grams sugar 2 eggs 60 grams yogurt 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 tsp almond extract 2 pears, peeled and diced Slivered almonds, for topping Mix above ingredients together, then fold in the chopped pears. Sprinkle with slivered almonds. Bake in a 9 inch springform pan at 350 degrees F for 45- 60 minutes or until baked through. Pumpkin Seed & Millet Sourdough Whole Grain Loaf: 350 grams bread flour 150 grams whole wheat flour 377 grams water 100 grams sourdough starter 10 grams sea salt 16 grams maple syrup Combine above ingredients together roughly until hydrated. Cover and rest for 30 minutes. Stretch and fold. Add seed soaker mix. Do another stretch and fold. Rest for 1 hour then repeat stretch and fold. Let dough rise until bulk fermentation is completed, when the dough is bubbly and risen. Seed Mix Soaker- soak for at least 1 hour 50 grams pumpkin seed (option to grind them up) 20 grams millet -50 grams hot water Shape dough into a round or batard shape. Retard in dough in fridge for 12-18 hours. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F for at least 30 minutes. Place dough in a hot dutch oven, spray with water, and cover with lid. Bake with lid for 20 minutes, then 20 minutes without the lid or until golden brown. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 0:38 Harvesting time 2:47 Pumpkin & Watermelon 3:04 Watermelon Cutting 3:33 Sourdough Pumpkin Seed & Millet w/ Whole Grain 5:15 Roasted Garlic Herb Butter 6:45 Pear Almond Butter Cake 8:32 Roasted Tomato & Zucchini Pasta If you love gardening, homemade baked goods, and nourishing meal ideas, I would love for you to follow along and subscribe!