October 8th Gathering

On Friday we gathered to honor the array of vibrant blooms growing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the autumn season. Below I have listed some of the blooms, veggies and the farms they were sourced from to supply Friday’s gathering. We had such a marvelous time but if you missed it do not worry, the flower and food recipes are all here!

Seasonal Blooms
Honey Locust, solidago, geranium, eucalyptus, amaranth, dahlia (Linda’s Baby, Snoho Dojo), mini zinnias, Queen Lime zinnias, marigolds

Sourced from: Jig-Bee, Laughing Lady, Bloom Flower Farm, Foraged

Seasonal fruits and veggies features:
Cauliflower, pomegranates, honey-nut squash, pumpkin

Sourced from: Trader Joes (there are often local veggies and flowers)!

The Flowers

Dancing and floral arranging feel like similar arts. They are both an expression of movement using the raw arms and legs of bodies. One body is grounded in the earth, the other moves about freely with the majesty of tip toes. Often as I am arranging, I think of dancers and picture the sculptural elements of my centerpieces. Before we began designing on Friday, we moved our bodies. The loosening of tension in our shoulders echoed the space we were creating for our arrangements, away from tightness and towards open handed welcome of all the blossoms and food set before us.

Below are the ingredients and process for creating a sculptural autumnal arrangement.

Fall Centerpieces

Ingredients

• Honey Locust

• Golden Rod (Solidago

• Geranium

• Eucalyptus

• Amaranth

• Dahlias

• Celosia

• Zinnias

• Marigolds

Prep

1. Once you have gathered and sourced your flowers and placed them in a bucket, select a container or vase and fill it with clean water. 

2. Begin processing your plants by stripping away the leaves while leaving some as you see fit. You do not want any leaves touching the water in your container as it will shorten the vase life of your arrangement.

3. Give your flowers another snip at the ends before placing them back in your bucket.

My Process… yours might be different and that is okay

1. Take the Honey Locust and establish the height and shape for the centerpiece keeping in mind the rule of thirds. Add the geranium and eucalyptus sprigs to support the lines of the sculptural and asymmetrical shape in the arrangement.

2. Cut a bulkier piece of the goldenrod and place at the base of the arrangement to ground it the arrangement

3. Take your flowers with the largest stems (dahlias and amaranth) and place them in the arrangement, next. I recommend placing one amaranth near the tallest part of the arrangement and the other, towards the opposite arm reaching out toward the lower curve. Do not be afraid to really trim the amaranth down or have it hang down.

4. Dahlias are the focal flower and you want them to steal the show! Make sure they are not tucked back into the arrangement where they cannot be seen but rather place them as if they are reaching toward the onlooker. Think about where your arrangement will live and how the dahlias might greet their onlookers. Think about the natural lines your dahlias create in your arrangement.

5. Add the larger cream color marigolds just behind the dahlias, serving as a highlight and supporting the eye toward the stunning nature of the dahlia.

6. Add celosia lower in the arrangement to add texture. You do not want to see the stem of the celosia.

7. Similar to the celosia, add the goldenrod lower but used its length to cover up any exposed stems.

8. Add the zinnias and the smaller Burning Ember marigolds as another way to add height and offer a fluttering element.

9. Once all elements are added, assess the arrangement for balance. Notice if anything needs to be pulled out a bit.

The Feast

When I think about fall foods, the variety of squashes, pomegranates and nuts come to mind. Like the squirrels, I crave walnut, pecan and cashew accented dishes as my.taste for tomatoes and summer flavors slowly fade. The dishes I chose for today’s feast were infused by these roasted nut varieties in order to bring out the flavors of the season more fully.

The following recipes are vegan and can be made paleo by omitting the rice.

Roasted Nut Trifecta

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of cashews

• 1/2 cup of pecans

• 1/2 cup of walnuts

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Pour all nuts onto a pan and place in the oven for exactly 8 minutes.

3. Bring out nuts, separate into different bowls and let cool

Vegetable Curry
(serves 5-6)

Ingredients

• 1 can coconut milk

• 4 ounce jar of Thai Green Curry Paste

• 1 head of cauliflower- chopped

• 3 cups golden potatoes- diced

• 6 carrots- sliced

• 1 c of green beans -halved with ends cut off

• 1-2 Tablespoons of Coconut Aminos

• 2 cups vegetable broth

• salt to taste

• 1/2 cup of roasted cashews

• 1 lime

Instructions

1. Open the can of coconut milk and take the concentrated milk at the top and place in the sauce pan over medium heat. Place the rest of the can in a bowl and set aside

2. After heated, add the Thai curry to coconut concentrate and stir for 2-3 minutes

3. Place the cauliflower, potatoes, carrots and green beans and stir

4. Mix 2 cups of vegetable broth with the rest of the coconut milk and pour over the veggies in the sauce pan.

5. Bring to a boil and then let simmer with lid on for 15 minutes.

6. Serve in a bowl with basmati rice, a lime wedge and cashews to top it off

Honey Nut Squash

Ingredients

• 2 honey nut squash

• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil

• cinnamon

• 1/2 c of crushed roasted walnuts

• salt to taste

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 425

2. Cut the honey nut squash in half and clear out the seeds from inside.

3. Grease a man and line the honey nut squash face up on the pan

4. Coat with coconut oil and sprinkle with cinnamon and salt

5. Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes

Fennel and Pomegranate Salad

Ingredients

Sald

• 1/2 cup fennel peels

• 1 pomegranate

• 2.5 ounces of arugula

• 1/2 c of roasted pecans

Dressing

• 1/4 cup of olive oil

• 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar

• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Cut pomegranates into fourths and deseed into a bowl full of water. Remove the pomegranate carcass

2. Peel fennel and cut into long thin slices

3. Mix dressing ingredients together

4. Place pomegranates, fennel and pecans on arugula and serve with dressing

Almond Flour Pumpkin Loaf

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c of almond flour

• 1/3 cup of arrowroot starch

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon

• 1/8 tsp ginger

• 5 cloves

• 1 cup of pumpkin puree

• 1/4 c of maple syrup

• 1/4 c of coconut oil

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar

Instructions

1. Set Oven to 350

2. In a medium size bowl combine almond flour, arrowroot starch, baking soda and cinnamon

3. In a mortar and pestle, ground the cloves and add to the dry ingredients

4. In a separate bowl combine pumpkin puree, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla extract and ACV

5. Pour the dry ingredients in with wet ingredients and stir thoroughly until mixed all together.

6. Pour mixture into a loaf pan and place in oven fo 35 minutes

*Note: If you are paleo and not vegan, I would suggest adding an egg to add a little more fluff to the bread and help it rise.