Every year since we moved into our home we have had a garden.
This year we had a banner year, minus our pumpkins.
Since I am always looking for a reason to celebrate we enjoyed the harvest from our garden today with a feast. Â Gorgeous, fresh, flavorful food is my definition of gourmet and when all {well, most of it} comes from you own backyard it is the epitome of budget friendly!
Tonight’s Menu…
I have never made homemade tomato soup and now I will never be able to go back to store bought again! Â This great recipe for tomato bisque which is tomato soup mixed with milk or cream {I know, pure fabulousness} was beyond easy!
I used tomatoes that I had canned last year but you could certainly use fresh as the recipe suggests or canned tomatoes from the store.
I served it with Caramelized Onion Focaccia which I made with my pizza dough recipe. Â I rolled it out thinly, drizzled it with a little olive oil, topped it with the caramelized onion, and baked it per my dough instructions.
Our next course was our beautiful roast and root vegetables. Â We raise our own beef so we are blessed to have access to grass fed beef whenever we need it. Â Every family is different and when it comes to meat, I try to buy what looks fresh and what is on sale.
I had a 6 lb roast, approximately.  I preheated the oven to 500°.  Using two ribs of celery I created a roasting rack by chopping them in thirds and setting them up on a baking sheet.  Set the roast directly on top of the celery.  I then created a paste with 10 cloves of garlic, finely chopped and smashed with 1 tsp of course salt.  I rubbed the garlic paste on top of the roast and surrounded it with root vegetables drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper.
I roasted it at 500° for 30 minutes to get a nice crust then continued to roast it for 2 hours at 275°.  The result was a juicy, tender, and delicious roast!
The last course was one of my all time favorite desserts…apple crisp!
I baked the apple crisp while we ate dinner so it would be warm when I served it. Â We quickly cleared the dishes, scooped out bowls full of apple crisp and topped it with vanilla ice cream.
It didn’t last long! Â The recipe I used is below for you to print using a new format! Â I hope you like it.
Ingredients
- 5-6 large apples
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 2/3 cup rolled oats
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 6 tbslp butter, softened
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Clean, peel, and slice the apples. Place them in a 8 x 8 baking dish.
- In a medium bowl combine the dry ingredients except the walnuts. With a fork work in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in the walnuts.
- Pour the mixture over the apples and bake for 30-35 minutes.
- Serve immediately with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
Next time – invite me please! What a great meal! Did you all take a long nap afterwards?
HA! Next time, it’s on! It was a great meal and a nap was definitely needed afterwards but not achieved (4 little boys thought it would be more fun to play).
Wow, a fantastic and really fresh feast sourced from your own garden, that’s really great! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! I look forward to this time of year as soon as our garden gets planted. I just love walking outside, picking something, and eating it fresh!
This looks like an amazing meal. I love the way you’ve styled your table and included a menu. You’ve got me hungry for a good roast now!
Thank you, Christina! I hope you are able to cure that craving for roast soon!
Looks wonderful! I love fall and fall foods.
Thank you for the apple crisp recipe.
Crystal
Memphis, TN
Thank you, Crystal! I hope you are able to try that apple crisp recipe. It is so yummy!
OH YUM! I am going to try that tomato soup, i make mine with fennel and tomatos but yours sounds fabulous. Nice meal!!
Thank you! That was a great recipe for tomato soup but I bet fennel would be fantastic in it! I love that the recipe can be canned before you add the roux. Talk about 5 minute dinner!
thank you so much for visiting me!
And I looove your blog~it’s so beautiful, and you seem to be a great cook. Everything looks so gourmet and professional.
Thank you so much, Ellie! I still have a lot to learn and luckily have some great cooks around me I can share with!
this all sounds wonderful!
Thank you, Brandi! It was delicious!
Oh my gosh! What a perfect meal. Wish I lived closer and could join you!
Great menu! I’m with you on the tomato soup. I made it once and I’ve never bought it again.The apple crisp looks delish as well.
Thanks, Naomi! I’m such a fan of your treats…you are pure genius!
Now this sounds like a perfect meal! Love this idea, and recipes.. making my mouth water:)) Congrats on 24×24!!
Thank you, Sandra! It was a fun meal and the kids loved eating things from our garden!
That’s quite a spread! There is such a sense of satisfaction when your own homegrown goodies find their way to your table. I love that! Well done!
Thank you, Lori! That means a lot! It was such a satisfying meal in more ways than one.