Autumn in Nova Scotia

I do love this time of year....leaves changing colors...cool enough weather to actually use the stove without the need of fans or air conditioners ....tons of fantastic local produce for making batches of preserves ... my "why I love Autumn" list is endless so I thought I'd share some of the beauty of Nova Scotia and how we've spent a recent weekend...along with recipes, of course.

A couple of weekends ago we attended the first annual Avondale Sky Winery Garlic Festival.  It was a perfect day for a drive to "The Valley", only an hour from Halifax - with gorgeous vistas along the way.  We drove by tons of farms and farm stands, saw the wonder of nature - Bay of Fundy tides and finally a visit to the Garlic festival, which was fantastic.  I thought I'd share some of my favorite moments -

 lots of farmers selling garlic and other produce;

interesting honey from Scotian Bee Honey (I couldn't resist the Honey Garlic and the Sweet Chili Honey with quite a kick to it)

and purveyors like Liquid Gold (I took home a bottle of Organic Tuscan Herb infused olive oil and Sicilian Lemon White Balsamic Vinegar)

artists selling paintings, jewelry,  carved wooden bowls and boards,

musicians to entertain us

food vendors like Tin Pan Alley Food Truck feeding us delicious treats.  Try to enlarge the photo just to see the awesome treats these guys whipped up.  There was even a stand selling roasted garlic ice cream!

And what would any trip to a vineyard be without wine tasting & food pairings.

After a couple of hours there we continued our drive, stopping for lunch on the terrace at LuckettVineyards.   We were too "in the moment" enjoying lunch to take pictures..  Then we headed into Wolfville for a brief stop at Pete's (Mr Luckett's food emporium) for some tasty cheese to take home.

 after we dropped in at Hennigar's Market for local Fall goodies - freshly baked blueberry pie, eggs, pears, leeks, mushrooms and, of course... apples!

How could I not share the recipe for this most amazing Apple Pear & Blueberry Chutney.  Made with local ingredients and tweaked from Food in Jars (read my review here) served here on slices of brie..pear.which would be a lovely base too.

I can't imagine a better topping for this Baked Chicken Breasts and

it will be equally tasty for Baked Brie or simply as a condiment for your favorite roasted chicken, turkey or  salmon.

I'll let you absorb all of this... Come back tomorrow for our trip to Noggins Corner Farm.