blue artichoke

October is National Country Ham Month. GC's grandparents make a country ham breakfast for special occasions. For all the years that we were dating, I missed the Christmas morning country ham breakfast. Finally, they made one for us when we were in town visiting for another occasion, and I had one last Christmas. What a feast! And now, a whole month dedicated to country ham. Nice.

Here's a list of what else is in season this month:

n = newly in season p = peak of season w = winding down

Vegetables

• artichokes (p)
• avocado: Haas (w)
• avocado: Fuerte (n)
• avocado: Zutano (n)
• basil (w)
• beans: fresh shelling (w)
• beans: green (w)
• beets (n)
• broccoli (n)
• Brussels sprouts (n)
• cabbages (n)
• cardoon (p)
• celeriac / celery root
• chard (n)
• daikon (n)
• eggplant (w)
• garlic (w)
• greens: turnip (n)
• greens: beet (n)
• greens: parsley (n)
• greens: lettuces (n)
• greens: escarole (n)
• greens: arugula (n)
• greens: komatsuna (n)
• kale
• kohlrabi
• parsnip
• peppers, sweet (w)
• peppers, hot (w)
• potatoes
• potatoes, sweet (n)
• pumpkin (p)
• radish (n)
• rutabaga (n)
• spinach(n)
• squash, winter (p)
• tomatoes (w)
• turnips (n)
• yams (n)

Fruits

• almonds (p)
• apples (p)
• berries: cranberries (n)
• berries: raspberries (w)
• chestnuts (p)
• kumquat (n)
• lemons (n)
• oranges, Valencia (w)
• pears: Bosc (n)
• pears: Comice (n)
• persimmons: Fuyu-firm
• persimmons: Hachiya-soft
• pistachios (p)
• pomegranate (p)
• quince (p)
• walnut (n)

Artichokes! I'm also really excited about sweet potatoes, pumpkins, winter squash and cranberries. I love fall.

Getting to Know All About You: What's your favorite thing about fall?