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Fall has arrived with below freezing nights and windy afternoons. Time for warm and comforting meals.

Recently I was in on a discussion about ham and beans served over cornbread, and how it is almost impossible to reproduce recipes from times gone by. Sometimes it is the people and the surroundings that made up part of the remembered flavor. So with no attempt to reproduce any recipe, just offering something good to try, I include Elsie's Bean Soup and Barb’s Corn Bread

Elsie’s Bean Soup

2 cups dry navy beans

1 meaty ham bone

2 quarts water, plus extra for soaking

Salt and pepper to taste

2 quarts whole milk

3 Tbsp butter

Soak beans over night in enough water to cover an inch above the beans. (Note: I like to add one tablespoon baking soda to the soaking water to reduce gas) In the morning, drain the beans.

Combine the beans, 2 quarts water and the ham bone in a large kettle. Cook slowly until meat and beans are soft. Pick meat from bone. Chop meat and return to the bean mixture.

Add milk and heat thoroughly, but do not boil. Season with salt and pepper. Add butter and serve. Yield: 8 servings.

Note: if you use skim or low fat milk, reduce the amount of milk to make a thicker soup. Also, a sautéed onion added to the soup is good. Two or three good size ham hocks could be substituted in this recipe.

Serve this soup over Barb’s Corn Bread. Her recipe makes a 9 x 13 inch pan of bread, enough for a crowd. Barb suggests eating this cornbread according to directions found the New Testament Book, The Gospel of John 6:35 and 48.

Barb’s Corn Bread

2/3 cup melted Crisco

4 eggs, well beaten

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 cups buttermilk or sour cream

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups corn meal

2 tsp baking soda

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with cooking spar and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together melted Crisco and beaten eggs. Whisk in sugar and then the buttermilk.

In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients, then gently stir into wet ingredients. Pour mixture into prepared pan and spread evenly.

Bake 40 to 45 minutes until golden brown and firm to the touch. Cool slightly and cut into squares to serve. Yield: 12 servings.

Note: I generally use melted butter in this recipe and often a mixture of sour cream and buttermilk, depending on what I have on hand.

Both of these recipes come from The Staff of Life II Cookbook put out by the now disbanded Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, in 1987, though the are also in other cookbook editions.

Billie O’Mack of Snohomish sent a recipe for Apple Carrot Zucchini Muffins last summer. I just got around to trying the recipe. If you still have a zucchini or two that missed the frost, this recipe is a perfect one for fall crops. I believe it would also work well with frozen, shredded and thawed zucchini.

Billie got the recipe from a friend who found the recipe at http://www.wineandglue.com.

Apple Carrot

Zucchini Muffins

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup shredded zucchini

1 cup shredded carrot

1 cup shredded apple

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 18 muffin cups with paper cupcake liners and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together sugar, eggs and vegetable oil.

In a separate bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar and egg mixture, The batter will be very thick. Gently mix in the zucchini, carrot and apple.

Fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 full.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick insets in one of the middle ones comes out with a crumb or two clinging. Note: I couldn’t resist adding 1/2 cup raisins to this recipe. Dried cranberries would be good as well.

Speaking of apples, baked apples are a warm dessert treat, but they take a bit of prep and considerable baking time. Apple Zapple Bake is a quick microwave treat and can be made in as many individual servings as needed. The recipe is for one serving, but you may increase as needed. I can’t remember where I got the recipe.

Apple Zapple Bake

1 sweet fall apple

1 tbsp granulated or brown sugar

Dash ground cinnamon

2-3 Tbsp quick cooking oat meal

1 scant Tbsp butter

Core and quarter, then thinly slice apple into a two cup baking dish. Sprinkle with sugar. Cover loosely and microwave on high 1 minute.

Sprinkle with cinnamon then oat meal and dot with butter. Microwave on high an additional minute or until apples are tender.

Remove from microwave and let stand one minute to cool slightly. Serve plain or top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or a dollop of whipped cream or Greek yogurt. If you want to be fancy, lightly sprinkle the ice cream, whipped cream or yogurt with ground nutmeg.

Quilters who have made sets of the microwave bowl cozies will find then handy for serving this treat.

Share your favorite fall recipes, cleaning up the garden recipes and preparing for the holidays recipes by sending them to:

Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Odessa Record, P.O. Box 458, Odessa, WA 99159, email therecord@odessaoffice.com or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in The Odessa Record office. Fall leaves, pine needles and straw make great mulch for your flowerbeds and shrubs during the winter, adding back nutrients to the soil.