It’s the time of year when seemingly overnight the spice of the summer forest passes its seasonal baton to the musk of fall. As the trees dim to dormant and the canopy begins its annual light show, my own routines at the barn make a shift. Still there is morning coffee at my outdoor desk while reviewing my notes for the day, but now sandals are traded for clogs and a thin wool sweater and light blanket make a debut. Though the crickets continue their early dawn discussion while the neighbor’s dog barks through the valley (possibly trained by the rooster on the other side of this mountain) there are signs of change both in the woods and in the kitchen.

October 1 is the autumnal Wednesday. The hump day between the carefree long evening cocktail and pulling a steaming something from the oven with the windows dark by 6pm. It’s the liminal space between laying a thick slice of tomato onto hot, buttered bread and unpacking a container of July tomatoes from the freezer, stewed for the days that have more darkness than light. True, this is opening season on pumpkin spice, but there is so much more to autumn cooking than this heavily marketed blend.

If you keep reading with me through to next May you’ll find my enthusiasm for stone fruits, fresh peas, and the southern summer trifecta of beans, tomatoes, and okra to be as gleeful as for the season that has dropped into our kitchens on this first day of October. But now it’s for the young, sweet leafy greens kissed by autumn’s first chill that has me penning plans for the savory pies and gratins welcomed by cooler weather. I fall in love easily.

Our first class at the barn opened- finally, finally- this past weekend which currently has the barn countertop heaving with both the last of the summer produce and the early yields of fall. Amongst our prep list has been sweet pickling the last of Old Dial Road Farm’s green tomatoes, conserving their gnarly skinned pears with sugar, lemon rind and bay leaf, and blanching and freezing loads and loads of young kale and chard. We have been variously sautéing, freezing, and dehydrating the wild Chicken of the Woods mushrooms found around here this time of year, to be used in compound butters, spice blends, and broths throughout the months ahead. Harvest season is a busy one both on the farm and in the kitchen.

And there have been visitors in addition to our first guests. The fox have prowled their way back toward their winter dens around the property, the evidence going unnamed in case you are eating. The birdsong has shifted as migrating species try to make nice with the crows, woodpeckers, and hawks that run this town. Even the utility workers seem to like it here, with the electric company meter reader staying for an hour this week to share stories of his great grandmother who was the midwife on Flat Rock Mountain and knew all the medicines of the forest. He’s coming back next time with her photos and staying for coffee. After all the work that has gone into this barn it makes me delighted it is felt a welcoming place to be.

Certainly our first guests thought so and clearly understood the assignment, arriving early to enjoy the welcome breakfast and staying late to lounge in the meadow with their after meal coffee and sweets. And in between we cooked and cooked the precious Georgia-grown jewels of produce and meats to make a meal which was declared by all (drum roll, back pat) to include the best chicken they have ever had.

Since I can’t quite reveal that chicken recipe until you visit I can give you a similar, faster version I believe would make for a satisfying hump day meal. If I were you I would freshly toast and grind the spices suggested here. It’s easy and will be more pleasantly sweet and assertive than those you buy already ground. However, if you prefer to spar this point we can go rounds on the argument another day. This is hump day, so just getting dinner on the table is a win.

This recipe will look like this (minus the chopped rosemary)…

Roasted Chicken with Coriander and Cumin, Turnip Roots and Greens.

Serves 2. Easy to scale up for more mouths.

For the chicken.

Preheat oven to 450F. In a small bowl mix 1 tablespoon ground coriander, 1 tablespoon ground cumin, and 1 teaspoon roughly ground black pepper. Set aside. Take two bone-in chicken leg quarters, season all angles with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and then massage in the spice mixture.

Place chicken in small roasting pan that has been slicked with olive oil, skin side up (could be a small pyrex, large pie plate, heavy bottom saute pan- you pick from what you have, just something that can take high heat and caramelization while securing liquids). Add a quarter inch of water and 2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar.

Place in the hot oven, uncovered. After 20 minutes reduce the temperature to 350F, and fan out a little of the heat with two flicks of the oven door. Cook another 20 minutes. When a thermometer confirms the meat has reached 165F pull the chicken from the oven (don’t touch the thermometer tip to the bone- it’s hotter on the bone than in the flesh). It may require an extra 5-10 minutes in the oven if the quarters are on the larger side.

For the turnips and greens.

After you place chicken in the oven it is time to scrub the turnip roots (do not peel) and rinse the greens. Depending on the size of roots, cut to approximately one inch chunks and rough chop the length of greens into two inch segments. Place a steamer set over boiling water on your stove (one of the origami type inserts, a colander over a stock pot, steam tray, etc). When the chicken is 10 minutes from finished, place the roots into a covered steamer for 5 minutes and then add greens for another 3 minutes (again: covered).

To finish.

Plate half the roots and greens as a bed on which you will place one chicken quarter. Spoon half the liquid over the chicken and greens. Repeat for your dinner mate(s) or set remainder aside to cool and be put away for leftovers. Grab your fork and knife, and enjoy!