As the days grow shorter and the evenings become cooler, autumn invites us to slow down and enjoy the simple comforts of home. Today, I’m sharing two delicious homemade soups—one French and one Italian—along with a collection of wholesome books, movies, and television programs perfect for cozy fall evenings.
So come join me in my Texas Hill Country Kitchen as we prepare something warm and nourishing before settling into our favorite chair with a warm quilt and our favorite book, movie, or TV show!
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Table of Contents
- A Quick Glance: Cozy Fall Evenings
- Begin with Traditional French Pumpkin Soup
- More Soup Recipes
- Make a Hearty Chickpea and Pork Rib Soup
- More Recipes and Articles About the Saints
- Settle In with Cozy Fall Companions
- Create Your Own Cozy Fall Evening
- More Book Posts
- Farmhouse Teas (and Herbs!)
- Backwoods Home and Self-Reliance
- Mother Earth News
- Guideposts
- The Modern Pioneer Cookbook
- The Modern Pioneer Pantry
- Start Your Traditional Foods Journey
- Download Your Free 36-Page Pantry List
- Join the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy
- Kitchen Academy Videos
- Shop for My Favorite Items
A Quick Glance: Cozy Fall Evenings
In this cozy fall compilation, you’ll learn how to make a creamy Traditional French Pumpkin Soup and a hearty Northern Italian Chickpea and Pork Rib Soup. Once dinner is ready, I’ll also share some of my favorite books, classic movies, and comforting television programs for quiet autumn evenings at home.
Begin with Traditional French Pumpkin Soup
Nothing captures the beauty of autumn quite like a pumpkin, especially one of the lovely heirloom varieties often called Cinderella or fairytale pumpkins.
In the first part of our cozy fall compilation, I’ll show you how to turn one of these beautiful pumpkins into a rich and creamy Traditional French Pumpkin Soup.
A Seventeenth-Century Heirloom Recipe
This is no ordinary pumpkin soup. The recipe was inspired by a French preparation dating back to 1651!
Fresh pumpkin simmers gently with leeks, onion, traditional herbs, and chicken broth or chicken bone broth. Once the pumpkin becomes tender, we purée everything until smooth and finish the soup with butter, cream, and a delicate grating of nutmeg.
The result is an elegant but comforting soup with a beautiful golden color and a wonderfully silky texture. Serve it with toasted baguette slices for a simple autumn lunch or as the first course of a special fall dinner.
So don’t let those lovely heirloom pumpkins remain decorations throughout the season! Many of them are excellent cooking pumpkins, and this soup is the perfect way to enjoy them.
More Soup Recipes
From My Northern Italian Mother’s Kitchen: Old Hen Broth & Pastina Soup
Savor the warmth of Old Hen Broth and Pastina Soup, a comforting Italian recipe passed down with love from my mother’s kitchen.
How to Make a Lombardy Lentil and Barley Soup
A cozy, nourishing soup from Northern Italy made with lentils, barley, and love—simple ingredients with old-world charm and modern health benefits.
How to Make a Spring Detox Soup with Alpine Herbs
Packed with fresh greens, this soup is the perfect way to refresh and renew your body.
Make a Hearty Chickpea and Pork Rib Soup
Our second recipe takes us from France to Northern Italy for a satisfying one-pot meal called Ceci con le Costine, or Chickpea and Pork Rib Soup.
This rustic soup combines chickpeas, vegetables, tomatoes, greens, and pork ribs that slowly simmer until they become wonderfully tender. The pork adds flavor and richness to the broth, while the chickpeas help turn the soup into a substantial meal.
A Northern Italian All Saints’ Day Tradition
Chickpea and Pork Rib Soup is traditionally served in parts of Northern Italy for All Saints’ Day on November 1. That makes this recipe especially timely to prepare during the latter half of October as we approach the three days of Allhallowtide:
- October 31: All Hallows’ Eve
- November 1: All Saints’ Day
- November 2: All Souls’ Day
In my family, my mother prepared this dish with thick-cut, bone-in pork chops. Rather than shredding the pork into the soup, she served each person an entire pork chop in their bowl. It was truly an abbondanza meal—a meal of abundance!
You can follow my mother’s example or shred the tender pork and stir it back into the soup. Either way, be sure to add the rustic croutons and a generous sprinkling of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano before serving.
More Recipes and Articles About the Saints
The Feast of Saint Francis: A Joyful Celebration of Faith, Love, and the Annual Pet Blessing!
The Feast of St. Francis of Assisi celebrates his deep love for all of creation and the cherished tradition of blessing animals.
How to Make Saint Patrick’s Bacon Casserole
Enjoy this recipe as part of your St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
How to Make Herbal Digestive Bitters
Make homemade digestive enzymes for the best way to improve digestion.
Settle In with Cozy Fall Companions
Once we have prepared something warm and delicious, it’s time to settle in and enjoy a peaceful autumn evening.
In the final part of today’s compilation, I share my Cozy Fall Companions—a collection of books, movies, and television programs that are especially enjoyable as the evenings grow cooler and the sun begins to set a little earlier.
Timeless Books for Autumn Reading
There is something especially comforting about spending a fall evening with a well-loved book. Whether you enjoy a timeless classic, a gentle mystery, an old-fashioned romance, or a touch of Gothic suspense, autumn provides the perfect atmosphere for reading.
Some of my seasonal selections include works by:
- Jane Austen
- Charlotte Brontë
- Daphne du Maurier
- Elizabeth Gaskell
- Wilkie Collins
- James Herriot
- Winston Graham
Many of these books also have wonderful movie or television adaptations, allowing you to read the story first and then enjoy watching it come to life on the screen.
Classic Movies and Comforting Television
If you prefer watching something while you work on your needlework—or simply relax with a warm cup of tea—I also share classic movies and wholesome television programs filled with memorable characters and uplifting stories.
These cozy selections offer a welcome break from the harshness, coarse language, and disturbing themes that have become so common in modern entertainment. Instead, we can enjoy stories that celebrate kindness, courage, family, faith, and friendship.
Create Your Own Cozy Fall Evening
A cozy evening does not need to be complicated or expensive. Sometimes the simplest pleasures are the most memorable: a nourishing bowl of homemade soup, a favorite chair, a warm blanket, and a good story.
You might begin the evening with a bowl of creamy French Pumpkin Soup or make the hearty Chickpea and Pork Rib Soup for your family. After dinner, brew a pot of tea (my mom’s favorite was Bigelow’s Constant Comment, and they even make a decaf version!) and choose a beloved book, classic film, or comforting television program.
These small seasonal traditions help us slow down, appreciate the comforts of home, and find moments of peace amid the busyness of everyday life.
I hope these recipes and cozy companions inspire you to create your own warm and memorable autumn evenings!
More Book Posts
Monasteries, Cookbooks, and the Beauty of Small Things
Reflect on monasteries, cookbooks, and the quiet wisdom of tending to life’s small things with love.
A Cheerful Gathering of Traditional Skills at the San Antonio Book Festival
In the last stop of The Modern Pioneer Pantry book, we celebrated our shared love of nourishing, homemade foods
Discover How Simple Fermentation Is—A Day at the Tucson Festival of Books
A joyful day at the Tucson Festival of Books sharing fermented hibiscus ginger tea and the ease of traditional fermentation.
Farmhouse Teas (and Herbs!)
If you are looking for an excellent source for dry herbs, look no further than Farmhouse Teas. And even better, they are offering my sweet friends a 10% discount off their wide selection of herbal tea blends and individual dry herbs.
You can also use my discount code and links below to get the ingredients to make the following natural remedies that I’ve shown you how to make in earlier recipe videos.
- Anti-Inflammatory Drinks
- Herbal Acne Salve
- Star Anise Tincture
- Herbal Elixir
Backwoods Home and Self-Reliance
The Backwoods Home and Self Reliance printed magazines are two of our favorite publications, especially since they deal with topics of interest to traditional foods cooks and modern pioneers.
- Special Offer: The publisher of Backwoods Home and Self Reliance is offering my sweet friends 50% off subscriptions to their printed magazines. This is not a sponsored post. I love these publications, and I’m grateful you can get them at a discount.
Mother Earth News
- Use any of the following links and code MarysNest10 at checkout to save $10 off any $50+ order of books, subscriptions, and more:
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Guideposts
Guideposts is a faith-based inspirational magazine with stories about ordinary people who overcome life’s challenges through faith and hope. An earlier issue of Guideposts magazine featured my Faith, Love, and Grace story. I’m a subscriber, and I know you’ll enjoy this uplifting publication too. Be sure to take advantage of the discounted rate below for new subscribers.
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Order YOUR COPY Now!
The Modern Pioneer Cookbook
Seasonal ingredients, traditional techniques, and nourishing recipes. Over 85 traditional, from-scratch recipes! Discover for yourself how you can use simple ingredients and traditional techniques to cook the modern pioneer way.
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The Modern Pioneer Pantry
Simple ingredients, timeless techniques, and a well-stocked pantry. Discover over 100 nourishing recipes to preserve food and turn pantry staples into homemade meals. Build a wholesome, traditional pantry—just like a modern pioneer!
Start Your Traditional Foods Journey
Sharing my passion for traditional cooking goes beyond my YouTube cooking school—it also comes to life in the pages of my cookbooks. Both of my books, The Modern Pioneer Cookbook and The Modern Pioneer Pantry, are proudly published by Penguin Random House.
The first is filled with time-honored recipes to help you create a traditional foods kitchen, while the second is your complete guide to home food preservation. Order both books today to start or continue your traditional foods journey.
Download Your Free 36-Page Pantry List
For an extensive list of the traditional foods you can make and purchase to stock your pantry, be sure to download my free 36-page Traditional Foods Pantry List. This comprehensive eBook is full of links to recipe videos, helpful articles, and more!
Join the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy
Are you looking for more traditional foods videos? If so, I invite you to join the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy. Members of this optional paid YouTube community get access to exclusive videos and other members-only perks. Plus, your YouTube comments include a special members-only badge.
Kitchen Academy Videos
How to Mix Whole Grains for a Warm and Nourishing Porridge
Learn to mix oat groats, barley, and other whole grains for a warm, nourishing porridge with easy make-ahead tips and tasty toppings.
How Much of Each Natural Remedy Should You Make?
Use your family’s needs, past experience, and seasonal habits to decide how much to prepare for your Healing Pantry.
Baking Questions Answered with Ted and Mary!
Join me and my husband Ted for a Q&A filled with practical kitchen tips, helpful techniques, and answers to your baking questions.
Stay in Touch with Mary’s Nest
- Subscribe to My YouTube Channel for Traditional Foods Videos (Free) - When you subscribe, be sure to click on the notification bell that will let you know each time I upload a new video.
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- Order The Modern Pioneer Cookbook - Get a hardcover book of Mary's nourishing recipes from a Traditional Foods Kitchen. This bestselling cookbook is published by Penguin Random House with their DK imprint.
- Order The Modern Pioneer Pantry - Get Mary's latest hardcover cookbook about preserving food and making delicious meals from your Four Corners Pantry. Mary's second cookbook is also published by Penguin Random House.
I look forward to having you join me in my Texas Hill Country Kitchen!
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Favorite Kitchen Supplies
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