Get harvesting! You know your bellies are calling for some Brussels. Though commonly unpopular among kids, you and yours will absolutely love them in this perfect and wholesome autumnal dish.

Fall Quinoa Salad With Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Cranberries

If your children grew up on raisins, substitute the cranberries for a couple handfuls of raisins. This is an incredible and complete dish for all to enjoy. For an additional oompf, toast up the pecans (or walnuts, for added creaminess) on the stove, perhaps with a dash of sea salt or brown sugar if you’re feelin’ it! This dressing is to die for, too. You could go all out and even try it with some real Canadian maple syrup tapped right from your parents’ trees or from your nearest sugar shack. Spend a day at the shack all bundled up and come home to unwind warmly to this beautiful dinner for the family. If you don’t already, you will soon love the Brussels.

Autumn has come. Let’s embrace these moments of transition, shall we? During this time, our natural surroundings invite us to come back inside, to go deep within the center of our being. Slowly, slowly, the air is becoming a little bit more crisp, the sun is rising and setting just a little bit later each day, and the geese are preparing for their winter stay in the southern states. I invite you to take a moment now to look outside, to be still, and to sense into the slow changes unfolding all around you, both in nature and in your life. Breathe with these beautiful times. We are blessed to experience such changes.

A good friend of mine really taught me to embrace this season the last time autumn arrived at our doorsteps. Her childhood took place primarily outdoors, and so her love of feeling the cold come across the land eventually rubbed off on me, and for this I am so grateful. It happens – summers end and winters come, but right in the middle we are given this great gift. For her, the fall is always a time to reflect on the summer’s seeds that had blossomed, and to weed out and let go of anything that no longer serves, making space for the inner journeying that winter calls for. It’s also a time for a lot of apple picking!

Here on Wolfe Island, the changes in season are truly stunning! We are fortunate enough to have our own permaculture garden that produces right up until the end of our Shanti season at the end of November. We’ve got our kale still with us, some squash coming through, and Brussels sprouts searching for our bellies. We like to do autumn right! Good home cooked meals eaten fireside with our Shanti team, hot chocolates, walks in the wind, and big, cozy socks for it all. You too can embrace this season – just dress warmly, brew so many pots of tea and be sure to gather loved ones to cook hearty harvest fall meals with. Don’t forget to breathe in these beautiful temperatures and colours, remembering to smell the scent of every falling leaf, freshly reddened.

By Andrew Burrows

Late summer sees an abundance of many delicious offerings from nature. Most notably guests at Shanti have been enjoying eggplant parmesan prepared with tomatoes, basil and garlic from our own organic permaculture garden and eggplants and onions from Wolfe Island’s Okee’s farm.

This classic Italian comfort food will keep you warm as we head into fall.

Ingredients

15 roma tomatoes

2 large eggplants

3 white onions

4 cloves of garlic

Handful of fresh basil

Handful of fresh rosemary and thyme

Splash red wine vinegar

1 cup spelt flour

3 organic free range eggs, beaten

3 cups breadcrumbs, we like to use spelt

2 cups fresh Parmesan

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

salt

pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 o. Halve 15 Roma tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for 30 minutes.

Cut two large eggplants into ½ inch thick disks, rub with salt and leave to rest in a colander. This draws the water out of the vegetable and will prevent the eggplant becoming soggy during cooking.

To prepare the tomato sauce, start by sautéing 3 chopped onions with a generous handful of chopped rosemary and thyme in olive oil. When the onions have softened, add in 4 cloves of crushed garlic. Add a splash of red wine vinegar and your roasted tomatoes straight out of the oven. Leave to simmer on a low heat and season as necessary.
Meanwhile prepare 3 dishes for coating the eggplant. Flour (gluten free flours such as buckwheat work just as well), 3 beaten eggs and finally a bowl of breadcrumbs. Pat each eggplant disk dry with paper towel, coat first in flour, dip in egg, shaking off excess, and finally coating in breadcrumbs.

We like to bake the eggplant, instead of frying it as it is traditionally done at this step. These will be baked on 375o for around 30 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are golden and a knife can easily pierce the centre of the eggplant. It is best to flip the slices over half way through baking to evenly cook them.

While the eggplants are baking the sauce can be taken off the heat and blended.

Grate 2 cups of fresh parmesan (mozzarella will also work well) and tear up a handful of basil leaves.

Remove the baked eggplants from the oven. Cover the bottom of a 9×13’’ pan with sauce, some basil and then layer eggplant and cheese on top.

Finish with a covering of sauce and return to the oven to bake for around 20 minutes until the cheese has melted.

Enjoy with roasted vegetables or a lightly dressed salad and share with loved ones.

We ate it up so fast that there was no time for step by step photos, but we will be sure to capture it next time!

By Sheran Owens, Shanti Cook 2015 season

So, you’ve decided to take retreat in the cooler months with us here at Shanti. What a gift to give to yourself. Upon your arrival, settle in and create warmth in the body in your yoga class before enjoying a fall harvest meal. Prepare your taste buds… sweet potato and squash stew, spicy vegetarian chili with garden herb biscuits, cheesy nut loaf with mushroom gravy. We’ve got lots to share.

On Saturday morning, perhaps rise a little earlier to join the sun for a refreshing fall walk in nature or here through our labyrinth. Breathe in the crispy climate and allow yourself to feel so nourished by your environment, appreciating these cooler times to the fullest. During your free time, we encourage you to make up a big cup of everyone’s favourite Bengal Spice tea, and to snuggle into a chair by the fire for a good read. Perhaps take another walk as the sun slowly begins to set, or relax into our infra-red sauna, sweating the autumnal chills from your bones, creating heat from the inside out, before resting into sleep.

On Sunday before you depart, get bundled up and perhaps have a sit by the trees to enjoy the Great Oak and Wonderful Willow dancing in these chilly breezes, truly taking in how serene these times can be once we surrender to the incoming and release the outgoing.

Autumn is the perfect time to give thanks for all that spring and summer brought into your life, and to refresh your connections with loved ones as you together prepare for the nourishing winter hibernation.

By Andrew Burrows