Autumn in New York City

Autumn is hands down the best season in New York.

The weather is a blissful 70* all season long, the trees are fiery shades of red and gold, there are no bugs and even better- the tourists go home for the season! I still haven't figured out why NYC is most densely populated during the blazing heat of summer and the dead frozen tundra of December- go figure. Alas, that leaves the very best of the year (Autumn and Spring) to the locals who are free to prowl the streets, knit scarves wrapped snugly around necks, to enjoy the last golden rays of a fading summer and bask in the golden glory of the season to come.

Most people think I love Winter best of all seasons- I always seem to be several degrees warmer than everyone else and my friends use to joke that my mood swings affected the snowfall- and while I do not deny my Winter Princess Barbie tendencies, Autumn has come up as the very best of everything I love- the food, the spices, the fashion, the holidays- all culminating in one dense explosion of color, wool, and the smell of pumpkin lattes. I experience a slight twinge of jealousy as I see the girls getting off the subway, school uniforms pressed crisp, pencils tucked behind ears, chatting about the physics quiz... Who knew that season we once dreaded could inspire so much longing in our 20-something selves? For every Autumn I see now, that golden red streak of Back-to-School Fever illuminates the whole picture, until I'm lost in the blurry visions of my kickline uniform, and the smell of the auditorium and textbook covers and highlighters and chalk dust.

While the summer lover's lament of the dying tulips and the leaves falling like paper airplanes all over the city I revel in the golden glory of every shadow elongating, every crisp breeze lifting my hair and the warm cinnamon smells that envelope the whole city like a hot toddy. Every store puts out the cranberry cashmere sweaters, and the Italian leather boots and the fashionista's of New York come out in droves to parade whats what on the real runways- the city sidewalks. Orange and pink wool scarves, and wine colored plaid skirts, and brown leather purses slung low over barley exposed shoulders...while the fine misty rains obscure their vision and their rainbow painted galoshes splash in the glassy puddles- I can't do much but glide forward, smiling, letting the drops cling to my glasses, wondering how this wonderful time of the year goes so frequently unnoticed.

While they mourn the daffodils I douse my apartment in Halloween decorations, and silk maple leaves and baby pumpkins I draw tiny faces onto. I boil orange peels and cinnamon sticks until the kitchen is glowing with the spicy smells of apple cider and bake about 4 million cookies from here until December. I prepare my 12 halloween costumes, cover my apartment in cottony spiderwebs and pull out the orange and black napkins, and lay my collection of glittery masquerade masks over my bookcases and windowsills where they sparkle the fading afternoon sun. I begin my favorite Autumn recipes- pumpkin pies, pecan tartlets, spiced apple cider with rum, homemade apple butter and hearty chili and stews... Come spend a week with me- you'll need a gym membership before day two.

There's something wonderful and sort of secretive and alluring about Autumn in New York. While the tourists pack up and go, New Yorkers can breathe a little sigh of pleasure at the long walks in the fading sunshine and the empty sidewalks and the old bookstores begging us inside. It seems all my favorite people were born during this time of year- I seem to be inherently drawn to the haunted magic that gleams in the dusty sunlight and stretching shadows. Even those who are sad to see Summer go can appreciate the simple beauty of the leaves in Bryant Park burning up the sky in orange and red or the happy little tick-or-treater's toddling down the block or the first bite of the seasons apple pie. It's New York's best kept secret. Christmas may be the most wonderful time of the year- but Autumn is golden start to the magic of the season.

Ps- I just learned how to can my own fruits and vegetables. And it's easy and yummy and they make great Christmas gifts- so here's the recipe for Homemade Apple Butter :) xoxo

Apple Butter (yields 9 half pints)

9 Quarts of applesauce (I made my own by cooking down apples, then mashing them :) )
2 Tablesppons ground cinnamon
1 Teaspoon gorund clove
1/2 Teaspoon allspice or nutmeg ( I like nutmeg- it's spicier!)
4 Cups of sugar

Cook applesauce, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and 2 c. of the sugar in a slow cooker for 12-15 hours. Just leave it overnight on low- you want the applesauce to reduce to about half. The next day, add the rest of the sugar and let the apple butter cook for one more hour.

The sterilize your canning jars in a large pot of boiling water for five minutes. Put the canning lids in hot but not boiling water for five minutes. Pull the jars out and ladle the hot apple butter into the hot jars, leaving 1/2" at the top (it's called headspace and you need to ensure the jars seal with a vacuum seal). Wipe the rims cleans and put one lid on each jar- then scre the screw band on until you meet resistance. Then process (boil) the jars with 2" of water covering them for 15 minutes. Pull the jars out and set them on a towel in a cool dry place- you'll hear the jars seal with a small ping! Leave the jars untouched overnight. The next day, check to make sure they sealed properly. If the jar lid pops up and down (like a snapple top) it's not sealed. If it doesn't pop then congratulations- you've just made Apple Butter! It's good warmed up on vanilla ice cream, or on toast. It also makes a great Christmas gift :)