My longtime friends, who have often listened to this California-born summer girl whine about Northeastern winters, would be surprised to know that today I was delighted by the chill in the air. I cheerfully shut the living room window for the first time in months, found space for the tender perennials that will overwinter indoors, and picked the green tomatoes. I smiled at the bright red leaves falling from a maple tree on my block and at the pumpkins lined up on a neighbor’s front steps. Yup, that’s right—I’ve gone native. I can’t imagine living without four distinct seasons anymore. What changed me? Food.

Maybe it was all the years of foraging and gardening here that finally caught up with me. Or maybe the year of extreme food activism, my 250-mile diet, finally pushed me over the edge. Perhaps it was the unusually warm fall we’ve had so far (I was out in sandals and a t-shirt yesterday).

For the first time ever I got tired of basil and tomatoes, fabulous as they are. I got tired of shorts and flip flops. I wanted potato and leek soup, wild mushrooms, and roasted winter squash. I wanted an excuse to delve into my store of dried and home-canned foods, not inferior to their fresh counterparts, but different—as raisins are different from grapes.

Of course, in a few months I’m sure I’ll be completely over apples, potatoes and cabbage and looking forward to the first fresh greens of spring. That’s is as it should be.

Meanwhile, I’m enjoying being able to fire up the oven without overheating my one bedroom apartment. There is bread on its second rise almost ready to bake. One of my favorite soups is on the stove. I’m not saying I don’t still love summer. Just that the cold months are delicious, too.

Here’s a recipe that includes apples, winter squash, and root vegetables. It’s pretty much autumn in a bowl:

Squash & Apple Soup

Serves approx. 4

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Cut acorn or small butternut or other winter squash in half and scrape out seeds (a grapefruit spoon is great for this). Place cut side down in a baking pan with about ½-inch water. Bake until squash is very tender, 45min. -1hr.

Meanwhile, in a heavy bottomed pot, melt:
1 Tbsp. butter or duck fat

Add and sauté over low heat about 10 minutes:
1 c. chopped leeks or onions

Add:
1 tsp. salt
2 c. peeled, cored, chopped apples
1 c. peeled, chopped sweet potato, celeriac, or carrots
2 c. water (no, stock wouldn’t be better)

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, 30-45 min. until everything is tender.

Scoop out flesh from baked squash and add to other ingredients. Puree with an immersion blender, or in a regular blender in two batches. Add salt if needed. Serve hot.