Autumn Seasonal Eating: Finding Rhythm in the Kitchen

Autumn Seasonal Eating: Simple Rituals for Slower Days

Lately, the mornings greet me with a kind of hush — that in-between stillness where the light stretches differently across the counter, and the air tastes faintly of woodsmoke. My body responds before my mind catches up: slower movements, heavier blankets, an instinct to cook something warm.

The other day, I stood in front of my CSA box - over a perfectly golden butternut squash. It was the kind of squash that practically glows, like it’s been kissed by the last light of summer.

I roasted it with olive oil and a few fresh sage leaves from the pot on my windowsill. The edges browned just enough to release that sweet, nutty aroma that fills the whole house. While it baked, I found myself remembering my grandmother - Yiayia Giannoula - how she would sing songs to herself while preparing phyllo dough, her movements unhurried, her presence soft but steady.

Somewhere between those memories and the scent of caramelized squash, something inside me quieted. My thoughts stopped racing. My shoulders dropped. Dinner was simple - pasta swirled through the creamy sauce, a little lemon for brightness - but it tasted like exhale.

Listening to the Season in Your Body

Do you ever notice how the season speaks through your body?

Maybe you’ve been craving something slower too - a gentler pace, simpler meals, time away from the noise.

Sometimes it’s not that we’ve lost motivation; it’s that we’ve lost rhythm.

What might it look like to find yours again - not by pushing, but by softening?

This is what I love most about autumn - how it mirrors the body’s own wisdom. The trees shed. The days shorten. We are reminded to release, to ground, to nourish.

Cooking with what the earth offers now - squash, roots, hearty greens - is how we listen. It’s a dialogue between nature & the kitchen, one that has existed for generations. My ancestors in Greece didn’t talk about “autumn seasonal eating.” They just lived it. The season told them what to cook.

My Creamy Butternut Squash & Sage Pasta was born from that same listening - a bowl of comfort that doesn’t just fill the stomach, but steadies the mind.

Read the full recipe

If you’ve entered my Seasonal Reset Giveaway, this is the heart of what we explore together - how to find rhythm through food, breath, and the rituals that hold us. There’s still time to join before entries close on October 21st. Enter the giveaway here.

Kitchen as Sanctuary: Returning to What’s Enough

And if butternut squash finds its way to your cutting board this week, may it remind you that the earth moves slowly - and so can you.

P.S. Next month, we’ll be baking with squash in a new way...

— a golden butternut galette for my Thanksliving Cooking Class. Until then, keep cooking close to home.