Finger licking good chutney!

It finally feels like fall outside here on the Central Coast and I’m peeling apples, mixing spices, deseeding pomegranates and pulling up the beets in my garden in honor of the cooler weather! Tomorrow I’m planning on planting my winter garden so I’ll have plenty of broccoli, lettuce, spinach and radishes for the upcoming months. And I’m literally still ankles deep in apples and pomegranates that my pal Lori dropped off to me weeks ago so today, I thought I’d make and create my first chutney recipe.

In India, chutney is everywhere! It’s a Sanksrit word meaning “to lick” and are based on a wide range of recipes, preparation methods and can be served both wet and dry. My favorites are mango and ginger, chutneys that I was introduced to while studying yoga in Mysore. You can dip almost anything into them and they jazz up any boring pork or chicken dish. Also, you can use chutney like a jam and spread it over bread, crackers and even enjoy it with a glass of wine, some cheese and a good book!

Speaking of good books, I did manage to finish Anthony Doerr’s All the Light You Cannot See in seven days… talk about an express read! Even though I read it quickly, I didn’t feel like I was rushing through it at all. The book was beautifully written and the characters were courageous and I loved how he tied everyone and everything together at the end. I’m now reading Crossing To Safety by Wallace Stegner that was written years ago and takes place in the 1930s and then later in the 1970s and it too is extremely descriptive and I can almost see myself walking in their little Wisconsin town!