How to hold on to the small, sweet moments of life

Spending a bit more time offline

A recently-photographed hat I made: the Florrie beret, knit out of my hand-dyed Harvest Sport yarn in Blue Christmas. I’m loving the soft autumn light of my backyard and the gentle leaf motif of this knitted hat.

Welcome fellow knitters, yarn lovers and thoughtful people.

There are lots of new folks here this week, and I’m so happy to meet you—and to welcome back those of you who are my regular readers!

This is the third weekend of October, autumn perfection and ideal leaf-peeping time in many parts of the country.

In years past, I would be at the New York Sheep and Wool festival, affectionately known by knitters as Rhinebeck. I used to have simple feelings about Rhinebeck: it was part of my celebration of fall and a place to see friends I might only see once a year. It was also a place to show off and see beautiful knitting.

The pandemic prompted me to take a pause from this annual trip. And, then, as the world made a sort of truce with Covid-19, Rhinebeck became a bit of a fetish in the knitfluencer world, full of exclusivity and privilege, alongside heart-filled stories of connection and community.

Lots of things have changed in the world, and Rhinebeck now feels like a complicated place to celebrate fall.

And yet: this season has so much to offer us, no matter where we are.

My own fall celebration this year has been about apples and the dry, slightly dusty, golden feeling of a Northern California fall.

Even the apples can get sunburnt in Northern California.

I spent a glorious fall day, yesterday, at the Earthseed Farm in Sonoma County, about an hour+ north of my home. It’s a 14-acre solar-powered organic permaculture farm and orchard. It has lots of environmental education programs and ecological design features, all rooted in Afro-Indigenous wisdom.

As we pulled into the small parking area, at the front of the farm, I felt a memory tug at me: I had been here before. Fifteen years earlier, before its current and beautiful iteration as Earthseed, I had visited this land with my then three-year-old.

I have a special love for farms, you see, and had wanted to introduce my youngster to the “fruit kin” we love to eat. That particular trip, most of the trees were picked over, but we had enjoyed the day anyways, with my youngster pulling a little wagon and selecting pumpkins at the farm store, rather than apples from the tree.

Visiting this farm again, and seeing the trees dotted with small red apples, made me so happy. All of the orchard lanes were littered with happy memories, footsteps from years ago, and sights of a different family (and adorable toddler) picking apples.

Trees sharing their fruit, small children who will one day grow tall, and the slanting autumn light of yet another season … these things all give me hope. The kind of hope that isn’t found by picking up my phone. The kind of hope that isn’t found reading increasingly click-bait-ish news headlines.

There’s a special kind of peace to feeling the rhythm of the seasons—and to feeling all of it happen, all over again. To knowing that you are just one piece, in the larger fabric of life. You don’t need extra special experiences, like a trip to Rhinebeck, to celebrate fall. You can enjoy fall and apples and pumpkins and golden light right where you’re at. With the yarn and the project that’s on your knitting needles or crochet hook, right now.

The perfect autumn isn’t found online. It’s found right where you are, now.

The dusty orchard path of Earthseed Farm. Fall in Northern California is dry, when the last rains have happened in April and the next seasonal rains won’t start till later this month, or next.

I’m learning that I don’t need a classic “autumn” with orange, red, and gold leaves to feel the changing seasons or the beauty of fall. What’s happening right now, in my own backyard, is beauty enough.

I have a little fall gift for you today: a recipe for making your own apple cider donuts at home. You don’t need a deep fryer or even a donut pan. With some fresh apple cider, ingredients that are likely already in your pantry and a mini-muffin tin, you’re about an hour away from warm, crumbly cider donut holes.

There are a few tricks to this recipe: concentrate the apple cider to boost the flavor and add some Greek yogurt to make them extra moist.

I developed this recipe for the release of the Bandit cardigan booklet I published in 2020 with designer Jacqueline Cieslak’s Bandit sweater pattern, sized for both grown-ups and kids.

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Apple Cider Donut Holes at home

Recipe adapted from The New York Times and Smitten Kitchen
Makes 24 doughnut holes
~1 hour

INGREDIENTS

1 cup apple cider
2 cups flour (plus a bit for dusting)
1⁄4 teaspoon baking powder
3⁄4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1⁄4 cup granulated sugar
3⁄4 light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1⁄2 cup Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Spray vegetable oil

TOPPING

1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons butter, melted

STEP 1: CONCENTRATE THE CIDER

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, simmer the apple cider until it has reduced to about 1⁄4 cup. This concentrates the apple flavor and really adds to the final flavor. Set it aside and let it cool to room temperature.

STEP 2: MAKE THE BATTER

Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set them aside.

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Then, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl as necessary. Gradually add the reduced apple cider, vanilla extract, yogurt, and lemon juice, mixing until smooth.

Add the flour mixture and continue to mix just until the dough comes together. It will be very wet and shaggy.

Tip: If you’re not fussy about the shape of your donuts and don’t mind if they look more like muffins, you can skip Steps 3 & 4 altogether and just spoon the batter into your mini-muffin tin.

STEP 3: FIRM UP THE DOUGH

Put a sheet of wax or parchment paper on a cutting board, sprinkle a generous amount of flour on it, and then turn the dough onto the board. Flatten it with your hands or a spatula until it’s roughly a rectangle size “pad” about 1⁄2 thick. Sprinkle extra flour onto the dough if it’s still sticky. Cover the cutting board with wax or parchment paper; the exact type of covering isn’t important, just something to keep it covered and that won’t stick to the dough. Put the whole thing, board and all, into the freezer until it’s a bit firmed up, about 20 minutes.

STEP 4: ROLL

Take the dough out of the freezer and cut it into 2 inch squares. The dough is likely still sticky, which is normal. Dusting your hands with flour if you need to, roll each square into a ball and place it inside a well of the mini-muffin tin.

STEP 5: BAKE

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a mini-muffin pan with vegetable oil.

Bake for 14-15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. The donut holes are ready when they’re golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

STEP 5: PREPARE THE TOPPING

While the donut holes are baking, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon for the topping. Melt the butter.

Let the baked donut holes cool for about 5 minutes, then liberally brush the tops with the melted butter and dredge them in the cinnamon sugar mixture while still warm.

Eat immediately.

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The Baby Bandit cardigan, modeled by my wonderful young friend and knitting artist, Genevieve.

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This Sunday, whether you hope for a Rhinebeck trip one day or whether you—like me—are happiest away from crowds, I hope you will find some simple autumn pleasures to delight you.