Monthly Review: October

In the Midwest, October is the epitome of fall. Once the Indian summer of September has burnt out, autumn truly begins in all her blazing glory. The leaves turn. The ground frosts over at night. The porches sprout a crop of fat orange pumpkins and raspy brown cornstalks seemingly overnight. Undoubtedly, it's beautiful.

Amidst the beauty, however, I find myself feeling melancholy in October year after year. As I crunch crisp brown leaves and admire a sunny afternoon drive through the vibrant country landscape, I can't help thinking about how ephemeral it all is. All it takes is a few weeks (or even just one particularly squally thunderstorm), and it's gone. Winter will set in. Snow will bury the leftover leaves. The cute fall jacket will hang in the closet till next year, replaced by the bulky winter coat. With the sun rising late, setting early, and sometimes never showing up at all, the days will feel dark. The trees will stand naked until April. There is something so very sad about it all.

There is, I know, a season for everything, endings included. I suppose they are intended to remind us of our own mortality and of the brevity of our lives, something which we all need to consider more often that we might care to do. Our lives, like many precious things, are unspeakably fragile. We do not have unlimited time, which makes the time we do have––and the ways we choose to fill it––all the more valuable.

In October of 2020, here's how I filled my time.

What I Read

• Clap When You Land, Elizabeth Acevedo (★★★★)

• Beverly, Right Here, Kate DiCamillo (★★★)

• Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (★★★)

• 19 Love Songs, David Levithan (★★★)

• United: Captured by God's Vision for Diversity, Trillia Newbell (★★★★)

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling (★★★★★)––reread

• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling (★★★★★)––reread

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling (★★★★★)––reread

If you want to hear the rationale behind my rating, head to my Goodreads for full reviews.

What I Cooked

• Creamy Polenta with Sausage and Chard

I'm not sure whether this recipe truly counts, since I wasn't able to make it accurately. My grocery store (where I swear I've purchased chard in the past) did not have it in stock, so rather than reinvent my dinner plan, I decided to improvise. Ideally, kale would have been my second option, but seeing as they didn't have that either, I went with red cabbage. Despite this forced ad-lib, I'd say the meal was a success. I halved the polenta since I was cooking for two and still ended up with 2 servings' worth of leftovers, which both of us are happy to eat. If you are looking for a meal that is seriously stupid easy yet still tastes like food, this is a good option.

• Oven Fried Cajun Popcorn Chicken

I love Cajun seasoning, so I knew as soon as I saw this recipe that it was a must-make. As with any recipe that involves breading, this is a bit of a labor of love, although the results are so delicious that it's definitely worth the effort. I suppose it could be done with chicken tender-sized pieces instead of nugget-sized in order to cut down on the amount of time spent dredging the chicken, but again, worth it.

Even though I am normally a huge advocate for dipping sauces, I did not care for the honey mustard. It tasted funky and didn't complement the spicy nuggets. When I reheated my leftovers (on a pizza stone in the oven, not in the microwave), however, I whipped up a batch of sriracha mayo from one of my favorite cookbooks, and that was an excellent decision. If you, like me, enjoy a good dipping sauce, sriracha mayo is the way to go here.

• One Pot Chicken and Sage Dumplings

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: soup is my favorite food group. While I love chicken noodle soup, I had never made a true chicken and dumpling soup, and since I had buttermilk on hand anyway from the nuggets, I decided to give this recipe a try. I did use boneless chicken breasts instead of bone-in, but other than that, I followed it exactly.

As I expected, this was a great cozy dinner with fairly easy prep. When I make it again (which I'm sure I will at some point), I would make smaller dumplings so they're more spread throughout the soup, and I would not garnish with sage. The sage is fine in the dumplings, but putting it actually in the soup just made the flavor overwhelming.

• One-Tray Maple Pork Chops

Every fall, I see some recipe with a combination of pork, apples, and maple syrup, and every fall, I think "I have to try that." When I came across this recipe in Real Simple (the one magazine I subscribe to), I determined that this would be the one.

I'm not sure it would be fair to call that decision a mistake, but it definitely was a disappointment. The pork chops themselves were fine, but as it turns out, when you roast fennel, apple, and parsnips, you end up with a great deal of beige mush. The green parts of the fennel, when roasted, were actually quite pleasant––almost like a spicy celery––but the apples, parsnips, and fennel bulb were virtually indistinguishable in texture, and they were all weirdly sweet. If I were to make this again (which is a big if), I would add the apples later, use half carrots and half parsnips just to add a little more visual interest, and probably throw in an onion as well for something a bit more savory. It might be good with Brussels sprouts as well.

What I Created

• Unpublished (and unfinished) original poem "Temptation"

• Essay "After All This Time: The Enduring Magic of Harry Potter"

Now we are in November, the penultimate month of this miserable year. November has always been one of my favorite months of the year (probably because Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday), and I'm hoping that in its brief moments, I will savor the sweet and precious life that is, for now, mine.