I’m so excited to share with you something newI’m a part of this year. I’m honored to participate in the Farmhouse Holiday Series with some of my amazing friends and share with you all an authentic, intentional take on decorating for the holidays. This series will go for 4 weeks in September and 5 weeks in November to December–Fall & Christmas– with each week focusing on a single space in our home. This first week we are all sharing our farmhouse kitchens and a favorite fall recipe.
Kristen with Ella Claire Inspiredwas the mastermind behind this and she wanted to bring back real life into our photos and blog posts. Nothing over-the-top or forced decorating that just looks good in pictures– but beautiful, simple ‘snapshots’into our homes where we are raising our children, making meals, and welcoming visitors.
The kitchen, so often, is the heart of the home, and it is no different in our home. This is the first fall I’ve been able to spend in our farmhouse kitchen since we gave it a makeover at the end of last year, and it has been incredible how much this island I built has brought my family actually *into* the kitchen with me while I’m cooking or baking. They have a place to sit, talk, snitch little bites, and help.
This year, I wanted to keep things warm and subtle. I switched out most of my aqua that I’ve had in there for over a year, and brought some golden tones, sage-y greens, and dusty navy. I’m digging the neutrals.
The recipe I’m going to share with you all is one I discovered about 5 years ago and has become a favorite– one that I stopped following the original recipe and added/changed a couple things over the years to make it something we love more. It is called Harvest Hash and it is yummy by itself, or alongside a piece of chicken or steak.
My youngest, Kaila (pronounced Kyla), just started Kindergarten last month, but that hasn’t waned her enthusiasm for helping me with everything in the kitchen whenever she gets the chance. She wanted to peel the potatoes. 🙂
You wouldn’t believe how proud she was of her peeling skills. These white potatoes barely have a skin at all so I didn’t mind that she didn’t get every last piece, and she noticed that I didn’t go back and “fix” any of hers. She said, “I did a great job, didn’t I?!” 🙂
Aren’t her little chubby hands the cutest? I die. Anyhow, this recipes uses both sweet and regular potatoes– cubed.
While the potatoes are boiling, start frying up the pancetta. I think pancetta makes this a little more special. You can use bacon– but I feel like pancetta isn’t as salty and more fancy– maybe it’s all in my head? haha It’s possible! Either way– the crispy bits are a great contrast to the soft potatoes. 
Sauté up the peppers, onions and garlic until the onions are translucent. This smell is heavenly.
Add in the boiled potatoes and chopped up pancetta, then the last secret touch is the apple cider vinegar that you add! I love the subtle tartness this adds to the hash– unexpected to normal hashes, but once you have it you can’t imagine a potato hash without it.
Aren’t these the perfect colors of fall?
Harvest Hash with Pancetta
Ingredients
- 5 medium white potatoes
- 4 sweet potatoes
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 red pepper
- 2 T. minced garlic
- 5 T. olive oil
- 1 T. salt
- 1/2 T. black pepper
- 10 slices pancetta
- 4 T. apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Dice the onion and red pepper into small pieces. Chop both potatoes into 1/2 inch to 1 inch cubes.
- Put all the potatoes into a pot of boiling water and boil for about 7 minutes. Drain water and set aside to cool.
- In a large skillet, add olive oil, minced garlic, onion, and red pepper. Sauté on medium heat until onions are translucent (about 5 minutes or so).
- While the onion and red pepper mix are sautéing, place pancetta strips into a smaller skillet and fry until pancetta is cooked and slightly crispy (about 5 minutes). Remove pancetta from the pan, and place onto a cutting board to cool.
- Add potatoes and to the onion and red pepper mix and stir until ingredients are combined. Turn heat up to medium-high and let the potatoes lightly brown (about 10 minutes). Before you turn off the heat, add the apple cider vinegar, sprinkling it all over the hash. Stir a little and turn off the heat.
- Chop up the pancetta and add to the hash. Stir until everything is combined, then serve warm.
Kaila normally isn’t a huge fan of sweet potatoes but she like them in this dish. The rest of my family devoured this for lunch.
I remember reading Farmer Boy as a kid and re-reading it to my kids and just loving the season of Autumn that Laura Ingalls Wilder described because it was such a bountiful season. Harvesting all the fruits and veggies at their peak of flavor, and then baking pies, canning, storing root veggies in cellars… all of it. It was so enchanting. To this day, it is my favorite part about the Fall– baking or cooking things with fresh, in-season foods, spending the last few moments of enjoyable weather outside, playing, cleaning, and getting ready for the colder months to come.
A simple thing I like to add to my farmhouse kitchen in the fall and winter is this cup holder. I filled a little bowl with bags of tea and a jar with sugar, easily accessible for morning or evening tea.
This sink is often at least half full with dirty dishes, but the feeling of possibilities when it’s empty and clean. I’m going to try really hard to keep it empty this fall because there isn’t anything less motivating to cook/bake in the kitchen than a sink already full of dishes.
So here is the full look at the kitchen with all my subtle fall touches. It was maybe the easiest decorating I’ve ever done, and I think I might be my favoritebecause of the subdued colors and the practicality. It just looks ready for some apple pie-making, doesn’t it?
Thanks for taking the time to read my post and possibly connect with you in some way. I love sharing my home with you all and I’m excited to make this season more about my family in addition to creating feelings of welcome and warmth for the holidays.
Be sure to check out everyone else’s posts below to see their kitchens and favorite recipes!
xo, Rachel
Ella Claire | Craftberry Bush | Miss Mustard Seed | Jeanne Oliver
Love Grows Wild | Rooms FOR Rent | Shades of Blue Interiors | Dear Lillie
French Country Cottage | My Sweet Savannah | Kindred Vintage | Jennifer Rizzo
