Well here we are October! Indian Summer, fall festivals, pumpkin picking, and awareness. I love the fall. September and October are truly my favorite months out here on the East End. The water is still some what warm...okay not that warm ... the farm stands are bustling, great time to still BBQ(even though I grill year round), and a time to celebrate life and our farms bounty. Let's talk colors.
I will start off with Pink...pretty obvious. October is breast cancer awareness month. Breast Cancer strikes 1 out of 8 women on Long Island and the national average is 1 out of 9. Very scary statistics. There are all kinds of events an walks to support this cause. I for one do support this cause, because I know of women that have died from this horrible disease, and I also do know of survivors. Wear your Pink with Pride this month and remind all the women in your life to have mammograms, and check ups.
Next color is Orange. Pretty obvious...orange is the color for fall. The beautiful colors of leaves, orange pumpkins, squashes and gourds. Orange is warmth...cozy feeling. I love gathering with friends, having dinners, or late afternoon fires on the beach, or Sunday brunches. The other thing I love to do is canning. If I do say so myself, I make an amazing apple sauce (with my special blend of apples) and some pretty amazing pumpkin soup, as well as stuffed butternut squash and butternut squash soup. It's also Halloween...a fun time of year to dress up and scare up a good time...and then there is the trick or treating...which brings me to...
...The color Red. Now this is not so obvious. Red...well what does red have to do with fall? Actually, red is a year round color. Red is the color for Diabetes. With all these wonderful fall events with great food and sweets...this spells disaster to a diabetic. Holidays especially. Every 17 seconds, someone is diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetes is deadlier than cancer. Diabetes can lead to cancer, blindness, neuropathy, and eventually death. I was diagnosed with Type 2 earlier this year, and the love and support from my family and friends, and the care from my health care team, I am living the diabetic lifestyle. I do the things that I normally would do but with a few changes, such as glucose readings four times a day, taking two meds, eating differently,and exercising a little bit more. As a child Halloween is a fun holiday. There is something about going from house to house trick or treating and seeing what goodies you get. For me...it was try to out do my brother, who for some reason always ended up with a few more pieces. But, as a child with diabetes, the joy of this fun tradition is taken away. These sweet treats that we all love is off limits to a diabetic child. So... I am encouraging everyone to consider healthier treats to give out. There are sugar free candies...perfect. Low sugar granola bars, sugar free packaged cookies...these fun treats can bring joy to a child that has diabetes, and are healthier as well.
To me the colors for October are Pink, Orange and Red. What are yours?
Dorothy Peel owns Turtle Cove Cafe, a private chef service based in Montauk.
