As it is for many people, fall is my favorite time of year. There are tons of reasons for my partiality towards autumn, but I’m beginning to realize that most of them revolve around food. And why not? What’s more satisfying than walking home on a blustery day with a warm chai tea in your hands, or gathering around a hot, hearty meal for dinner? With fall–and all of its flavors–just around the corner, I’m starting to build my food to-do list already:

1. Make soup. Lots of it.
There are so many flavors of soup that sometimes I feel like I could eat it every day. From the classic chicken noodle, to the more substantial mushroom lentil soup, there’s a bowl for every occasion. Check out The Ultimate Soup Cookbook for many more ideas.

2. Learn to like pumpkin everything.
So, yes, it might seem weird to applaud fall and not have a huge love of pumpkin, but it’s true. I don’t hate the flavor, I just don’t understand the hype. However, this fall I will attempt to appreciate the myriad ways to cook, bake, and eat pumpkin. I’m hoping this pumpkin cookbook will help me through the journey.

3. Eat potatoes, read potatoes
Potatoes, like soup and pumpkins, actually, is a blank canvas for any meal, and some varieties are at their prime in the fall. I happen to absolutely love them. But instead of trying my hand at cooking them every which way (I’ll have my time occupied with the pumpkin recipes), I decided to delve a little deeper into this delicious tuber. John Reader's Potato: A History of the Propitious Esculent looks promising in providing anything I need to know about potatoes.

I’m sure my list will grow throughout the coming months, but for now, I think this is a good start. I’m already getting hungry just writing this entry!