Fall is here! We’re well into the thick of it at this point and that means it’s time to shift gears and start thinking about cold weather cooking. This time of year requires a little more time, just a little more concentration, and a little more creativity.

The summer is all about getting things on to the plate as quickly as possible – to keep things cold and at their absolute peak of freshness. When you move into the colder months, you’re typically working with heartier root vegetables that can’t be served raw and tougher cuts of meat that need longer periods of cooking in order to make them tender.

It’s an opportunity to slow down and really focus on flavor development and expansion of your culinary prowess. Flavour Fields is here to make that transition easier and a whole lot more fun. Our portfolio of spices and spices, edible flowers, and microgreens is really everything you need to become a master of the fall culinary scene. Let us show you how…

First, let’s chat about fall veggies. Gone are the days of tender peas, juicy tomatoes, and ripe sweet peppers. Veggies in the fall and winter season are grown to last longer through the winter months – stored in chilled barns or basements.

Because of this, they’re rarely very good for eating raw. Winter veggies are tougher, but still packed with flavor and require just a bit more nuance to really coax the flavors out of them. Take cauliflower for instance – it’s a delicious veggie in its own right, but just served raw it can be a little bland. Instead, try seasoning it with our Madras Curry powder.

This intense blend of coriander, turmeric, fennel, salt, cumin, fenugreek, caraway, and chili is complex, mesmerizing, and delicious. Simply rub the outside of a whole cauliflower with olive oil, kosher salt, and our very own Madras Curry. Then roast in a cast iron pan, basting occasionally with butter. Roast the cauliflower until tender. Depending on the size, this could take up to an hour. The flavors of the curry will permeate the cauliflower, soaking in and making it an aromatic masterpiece. Once pulled from the oven, allow the cauliflower to rest for 10-15 minutes, then you can finish it however you like!

We love to top it with flavorful accompaniments like chopped herbs, feta cheese, and pomegranate seeds. Serve with rice or pita and tzatziki if you want to make a wrap out of it.

It’s a super easy and flavor packed weeknight meal that will very likely provide some leftovers.

Spices aren’t the only thing we have to get you in the fall cooking spirit. We also have a plethora of microgreens and edible flowers that pair perfectly with autumn ingredients. Our Micro Shiso Purple is a perfect accompaniment to those heartier fall items.

It’s a beautiful shade of deep purple and forest green, with flavors of cinnamon, cumin, mint, and basil. It pairs well with just about any winter veggie you can dream up, but also makes an excellent partner with game meats like duck, venison, and rabbit. One of our favorite preparations involves gently rendering the fat out of fresh duck breasts.

Baste them with the rendered fat and allow them to cook through. Once done to your liking, remove the duck from the pan and allow them to rest for 5-10 minutes. Slice the breasts and serve with a tart cherry marmalade and our Micro Shiso Purple.

The shiso’s notes of cinnamon and mint pair beautifully with the rich gaminess of the duck.

Don’t forget about the flowers! Flavour Fields grows a bounty of beautiful edible flowers to pair with your culinary creation.

While these flowers are all available year round, we have a couple varieties that are exceptional this time of year. Marigolds are eyepopping shades of orange, red, and yellow – appearing much like fallen autumn leaves.

 They’re available in whole flowers, picked petals, and a tiny micro version that tastes like fresh citrus.

These magnificent petals aren’t just big on color, they also taste great too! Bold flavors of citrus and spice with hints of mint and tarragon pair beautifully with fall veggies like beetroot, carrot, and parsnip. Nasturtium is also a wonderful fall ingredient accompaniment, with similar fallen leaf hues of red, yellow, and orange.

The flavor is bold and bright, with nuances of honey and horseradish. We recommend pairing it with roasted squash, toasted brussels sprouts, or even dotting a bowl of fresh cranberry sauce.

We know that last pairing sounds a little unorthodox, but it works, we promise!

These are just a few suggestions to get you started. Hopefully they sparked your creative juices a little and got you thinking about fall pairings. If there’s one takeaway, it should be that cooking in the colder months doesn’t need to be complicated, but it does have a certain level of complexity.

Ingredients this time of year will generally require a little more time and care to get them to the plate. Pairing those ingredients with flavor boosters from Flavour Fields (like spices, microgreens, and flowers) will only enhance the final preparation and help to ensure you deliver a knockout dish to your guests. Bundle up and settle in, it’s fall baby!