Cooler temperatures and colorful leaves are on their way. We’re welcoming fall with more than 50 fall things to do around Utah. Pick and choose your favorites to create your own custom fall bucket list. 

The weather is starting to cool off, the leaves are changing and there is so much fun to be had.  Utah is full of great experiences, whether you want to spend time out in the crisp fall air or stay home working on simple projects.  Whatever mood you are, in it is nice to have a list of exciting ideas to choose from, and we have more than 50 suggestions for you to build your own fall bucket list.

Outdoors

• Drive the Alpine Loop or other local canyons to see the leaves
• Explore a corn maze
• Visit the local farmer’s market
• Go on a hike to see the fall colors
• Go camping in the colors
• Go apple, pumpkin, squash, pepper or tomato picking at a local “pick your own” farm
• Go pick your own pumpkin from a pumpkin patch
• Practice recreational shooting
• Go hunting
• Go Trick-or-Treating
• Tell scary stories around a campfire
• Go on a hay ride
• Join in a family and friend turkey bowl football game

Entertainment

• Plan a fall trip
• Run a 5-K race or run in a haunted race
• Watch a scary movie
• Host or attend a Halloween party
• Visit Gardner Village in Midvale for Witchfest and Witches Night Out
• Attend a dance performance of Thriller by Odyssey Dance Crew, locations throughout Utah
• Participate in Oktoberfest at Snowbird Ski Resort
• Visit This is The Place Heritage Park, Salt Lake City
  • Little Haunts during the day
  • Haunted Village in the evening
• Participate in Wheeler Historic Farm Pumpkin Days in Murray
• Visit the Heber Valley Railroad Pumpkin Train
• Check out the Dia De Los Muertos activities, Utah Cultural Celebration Center, West Valley

Home

• Do fall cleaning
• Decorate the house
• Host a football watching party
• Host a Halloween party
• Gather family for Thanksgiving dinner
• Rake up and play in the autumn leaves
• Clean out garden beds to prepare for next year
• Plant spring bulbs
• Plant a tree — Autumn is a great time to plant a tree, but be sure to water well if it is a dry autumn.

Food

• Do a chili cook-off
• Make apple cider
• Harvest fall produce and preserve it by freezing, drying or canning (jams, jellies, whole fruit, etc.)
• Throw a homemade doughnut party – invite friends and family over for fun and doughnuts everyone can enjoy. Try them  baked or fried.
• Make caramel apples
• Try a new recipe for Thanksgiving (pie, stuffing, etc.)
• Throw a party where everyone brings a different kind of pie
• Host a crock pot party
• Try a new homemade soup, like  Apple & Butternut Squash Soup (page 7) to help keep you warm as the days get colder.

Crafts

• Pumpkin carving – A tradition that never gets old. Find your favorite printable template or draw freehand to make your pumpkin carving creation.
• Decorate/paint pumpkins to look like a favorite book character – Painting and decorating pumpkins is just as fun. They also last longer without wilting.
• “Boo” ding dong ditch the neighbors – Leave a bag of goodies on someone’s front porch and run away – once you have been “boo-ed” you hang an image of a ghost near your front door so others know you have been “boo-ed.”
• Start a fall gratitude journal
• Create a new autumn decoration
• Make a new Halloween costume
• Sew homemade hand warmers

Books 

This is a way to transport yourself and your little ones into another world of fun, adventure and fantasy. Cuddle up with a blanket and enjoy some of these favorites this autumn.

• Scary chapter books:
  • Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
  • The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
  • Coraline by Neil Gaiman
  • Doll Bones by Holly Black
• Halloween picture books:
  • Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
  • The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda D. Williams
  • Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody by Michal Rex
  • Bear Feels Scared by Karma Wilson
  • Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman
  • In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz
  • The Hallo-wiener by Dav Pilkey
  • Bats at the Library by Brian Lies
  • Frankenstein by Rick Walton and Nathan Hale
  • Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden by George Levenson and Samuel Thaler
  • A Very Brave Witch by Alison McGhee and Harry Bliss

  • One Witch by Laura Leuck

  • Curious George Goes to a Costume Party by Margaret Rey
  • Where is Baby’s Pumpkin? by Karen Katz
• Thanksgiving picture books:
  • ‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey
  • Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano
  • The Ugly Pumpkin by Dave Horowitz
  • A Plump and Perky Turkey by Teresa Bateman and Jeff Shelly

This article was written by Kirsten Lamplugh, Intern at the Salt Lake County USU Extension office, BS in Family and Consumer Sciences 

Do you have more zucchini than you know what to do with? Give these recipes a try!

I’ve never met anyone who has too little zucchini. It is easy to grow…and grow it does! Zucchini is a healthy vegetable — with a surprisingly high amount of vitamin C. Other than making your basic zucchini bread or once again making fried zucchini for the millionth time, there are many other fun ways to use it.

Home Canning

Although it is NOT recommended to can cubed or sliced zucchini (or other summer squash), there are tested zucchini canning recipes. Safe recipes are available for zucchini-pineapple and pickled bread-and-butter zucchini. The added acid in these recipes helps make them safe.

Check out the fact sheet “Preserving the Harvest: Zucchini”

Freezing

Shredded zucchini freezes beautifully and can be pulled out year-round to make up a yummy chocolate zucchini cake!

For directions on how to freeze zucchini go here.

Want the yummy chocolate zucchini cake recipe too? Try this one. 

Drying

Few people think about it – but zucchini actually dries quite nicely.

Choose young, slender zucchini. (Those huge overgrown zucchini won’t be very tasty once you dry them). Cut into ¼-inch slices, and dry at 125 F until brittle. Dried zucchini works nicely in soups and casseroles.

Squash Blossoms

What? Eat the blossoms? You bet! They are edible and quite tasty either raw or cooked. Cut the blossoms midday when the petals are open, and leave a bit of stem. Rinse blossoms and put them in ice water until ready to use. You will want to use the blossoms up within 4-6 hours.

Squash Blossom Frittata

• 3-4 zucchini blossoms
• 1-2 baby squash
• 4 eggs
• Dash of milk
• 2 green onions
• Asiago cheese
• Chopped parsley and snipped chives (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Pick 3 to 4 blossoms per person and 1 or 2 baby yellow or green summer squash. Rinse blossoms well and drain on paper towels. Beat 4 eggs with a little milk. Add fresh chopped parsley and snipped chives, if desired. Add salt and pepper to taste. In a non-stick pan, sauté a little butter and cook 2 green onions and thinly sliced baby squash just until soft. Then quickly sauté the blossoms for about 30 seconds and remove from pan. Pour egg mix into pan, sprinkle and arrange the onions, squash and blossoms on top and cook over low-to-medium heat until almost set. Sprinkle with Asiago cheese and put under the broiler until lightly puffed and browned.

So — do you have some new ideas? I hope so! However, if you are still on the hunt for a great zucchini bread recipe, check this one out. Included are helpful step-by-step directions and tips.

This article was written by Darlene Christensen, USU Extension associate professor, 435-277-2406, darlene.christensen@usu.edu

References:

https://snaped.fns.usda.gov/seasonal-produce-guide/summer-squash

https://extension.illinois.edu/veggies/ssquash.cfm

Do Onions Make You Cry? Not With These Harvesting Tips!

Do you have onions in your family garden? If so, Ron Patterson from USU Extension in Carbon County has some great tips on how to harvest onions the right way!

Harvesting your onions correctly will make them last longer and will significantly reduce their chance of getting a disease.

Don’t let your beautiful fall produce go to waste!

Carrots, and Apples, and Onions! Oh, My!

Fall is a fabulous time to glean from the summer growing season some of the best produce, apples, pears, winter squash, root vegetables, and more.

Once harvested it is important to store these wonderful foods properly in order to maximize length of storage, nutrition, and freshness.

There are two important considerations for storage: humidity and temperature. Each food has its own ‘best temperature and humidity’ zone for optimum storage. These conditions may be controlled in a number of different storage spaces, but each have their advantages and disadvantages.

Cool Basements
While most basements average around 60°F it may not be the most ideal conditions for some types of food storage.

Refrigerator
This option is a great way to store small amounts of produce that require cold or cold and moist conditions.

Root Cellars
Root cellars are nice in areas that have cold winters where there is moisture as well, but are subject to rodents and inconvenient access during storms or lots of snow.

Mock Root Cellars
Mock root cellars are storage conditions designed or built specifically to take advantage of cold weather, but are safe from rodents and possible freezing. These can be old coolers buried in the ground, under a porch, or next to the house. Some have built specially designed boxes in breezeways, sheds, or in the garage.

Along with each of these options, it will be important to choose the packing options best suited for the produce and form of storage used. Packing options include straw, newspaper, clean sawdust, peat moss, or even clean dirt or sand.

Whether you are harvesting your own garden produce, or buying it locally in season, these few tips will be valuable to keep in mind:

1. Harvest produce as close to peak maturity as possible.
2. Use only the best produce for storage…free from bruises and blemishes.
3. Avoid any produce that has severe insect damage.
4. Leave as much of the stem on as possible…at least an inch or more on most veggies is best to reduce water loss and avoid infection.
5. Choose ‘late maturing’ varieties for storage.

The following chart may be helpful in determining the storage environment best for these foods.

*One last note: Store fruits separate from vegetables. Fruits pick up the taste of other veggies and veggies will age faster from the ethylene gas produced from fruit.*

References:

Isenberg, F. M. R. Storage of Home Grown Vegetables. Cornell University Department of Vegetable Crops, Master Gardener Reference.
Olsen, S., Drost, D., Hunsaker, T. Harvest and Storage of Vegetables and Fruits. Utah State University Extension, FN/FoodPreparation/2015-02.
Storage Guidelines For Fruits & Vegetables. Cornell Cooperative Extension, Chemung County. http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/factsheets/vegetables/storage.pdf

This article was written by Teresa Hunsaker, Extension Finance and Consumer Sciences Agent, Weber County.