Patch - Autumn with Family & Friends: Tried & true recipes, heartwarming memories and easy ideas for savoring the best of autumn

Volume Measurements 1/4 teaspoon 1 mL
1/2 teaspoon 2 mL
1 teaspoon 5 mL
1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons 15 mL
2 tablespoons = 1 fluid ounce 30 mL
1/4 cup 60 mL
1/3 cup 75 mL
1/2 cup = 4 fluid ounces 125 mL
1 cup = 8 fluid ounces 250 mL
2 cups = 1 pint =16 fluid ounces 500 mL
4 cups = 1 quart 1 L Weights 1 ounce 30 g
4 ounces 120 g
8 ounces 225 g
16 ounces = 1 pound 450 g Oven Temperatures 300 F 150 C
325 F 160 C
350 F 180 C
375 F 190 C
400 F 200 C
450 F 230 C Baking Pan Sizes Square
8x8x2 inches 2 L = 20x20x5 cm
9x9x2 inches 2.5 L = 23x23x5 cm Rectangular
13x9x2 inches 3.5 L = 33x23x5 cm Loaf
9x5x3 inches 2 L = 23x13x7 cm Round
8x1-1/2 inches 1.2 L = 20x4 cm
9x1-1/2 inches 1.5 L = 23x4 cm An Autumn Treasure Hunt Kelly Wade
Pittsfield, IL One of my favorite fall memories took place about 3 years ago, when my teenage daughters requested my husband, sister-in-law and I put together an Autumn Treasure Hunt. We worked diligently creating clues that would send two separate teams, consisting of a good balance of teens and adults, to various places in our rural community. The clues consisted of everything from crossword puzzles and riddles to stepping off a certain number of paces to a specific location. Everyone started at the same spot, but we sent them in opposite directions so they would not run into each other along the way. Upon arriving at the location the clue led them to, they would then find a clue marked for Team A or B that would lead them to the next location. The last clue led everyone to a lakeside location for a wiener roast and treasure that was buried near the campsite.

Fittingly, it was a box filled with ingredients for smores! The first team to arrive was the winner...but of course, we all won, because we had a great time enjoying each others company and the crisp autumn evening by the campfire. A Walk in the Woods LeAnna Sisco
Miller, MO Here in southwest Missouri, it is absolutely beautiful in the fall. Every year since I was very little, as soon as the leaves start turning their gorgeous autumn colors and the air starts getting a little crisp, my dad has taken me for long walks through the country woods. We just take our time to sightsee, talk and laugh! We see some critters, and always seem to see something new and amazing. I used to come home with pockets full of unique rocks and leaves and nuts, and sometimes a turtle or frog. We would spend hours out exploring and just spending precious time with each other.

We have done this every year for as long as I can remember. Now that I am a grown woman with a 4-year-old son of my own, the three of us go for the same walk every year. I am so lucky that Dad loves the outdoors, takes the time to make such wonderful memories with his daughter and is now passing the same memories on to his grandson. These are memories that will last a lifetime. Columbus Day Family Gathering Mary Torrance
Henderson, NV Every fall, all of our family members, including aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents, gather at Letchworth State Park in western New York on the Sunday of Columbus Day weekend. This date accommodates the college kids returning for the first long weekend and usually coincides with peak leaf viewing in the area.

Each family brings a homemade pot of soup or chili to keep warm on the fire and share with one & all, along with coffee, cider and various fall snacks. (Cant forget Aunt Sharis cookies!) We all go on nature trail walks, collect acorns, pine cones and leaves, play touch football and enjoy the beautiful fall foliage, the gorgeous views of the gorge, not to mention the smell of a wood-burning fire and the crispness of the leaves in the air! When we leave, it seems that we all end up at one of the local cider mills for fresh fry cakes, cider, pumpkins and apple pie! Weve gone to this gathering since I was a young child and I have taken my own kids since they were young. I can smell the fall air even as I sit in my new home in Nevada! Apple Picking with Grandpa Sarah Klauss
Wadsworth, OH Every autumn, my grandfather would take my brother, sister and me to a local apple orchard. We would each loop a basket over one arm and run around picking apples and enjoying the afternoon. The best ones were always up higher than we could reach and we would point them out for Grandpa to get for us. Afterwards, wed come back home and help Mom make her famous chunky applesauce.

Grandpa would hang out at the kitchen table drinking coffee and playing board games with us while it cooked. As soon as it was done, Mom would spoon up a big steamy bowlful sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar for each of us. Every year wed declare that it was the best batch ever! A Bountiful Harvest Diane Matzdorf
Plymouth, WI Being raised on a country farm, I recall the countless hours our family of Mom, Dad, my two sisters and I spent hours in the garden working together. My sisters and I would pick and clean piles of green and yellow beans, beets, peas and corn to be canned or frozen. I always felt secure for the winter when I walked into the fruit cellar and saw onions tied with string hanging from the ceiling, bushels of apples, pears and potatoes, crocks of carrots buried in sand, pails of ground cherries, tomatoes wrapped in tissue, and shelves and shelves of shining glass jars displaying pickles, beets, peaches, jams and jellies. Putting Up for Winter Gloria Huse
Simpsonville, SC Whenever the weather starts turning cooler, my mind goes back to my childhood days. Putting Up for Winter Gloria Huse
Simpsonville, SC Whenever the weather starts turning cooler, my mind goes back to my childhood days.

I was raised on a small farm with my grandparents living next door to us. We always had a huge garden and worked it all summer long. When cool air hit, we got busy. Daddy and Papa would go into the woods and start chopping down trees for firewood. My job was to bring in 20 pieces of wood every evening and stack it in the basement. Grandma would start putting up all the extra garden goodies so we didnt lose a thing.

We spent all our evenings rocking on the front porch shelling, shucking, snapping and peeling to prepare our wonderful bounty for the winter months. All the while, we would be laughing and talking about our day. I can still taste all those wonderful vegetables, cooked with love...and for dessert, homemade fried apple pies! Yum yum! Precious memories...life is too fast nowadays.