Meatless Thanksgiving

What meatless dishes grace your Thanksgiving table?

A few months before Thanksgiving, I start paying attention to interesting recipes and make a list. That way, when Thanksgiving week comes, I won't draw a blank when deciding what to make.

This year I'm leaning towards roasted pumpkin seeds with paprika, homemade cranberry sauce, roasted vegetables, cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, and quinoa with roasted corn and lentils I'll marinate ahead of time in seasonal spices and oil. For dessert there will be real whipped cream atop brown sugar pumpkin pie, baked pears with cardamom crumble topping, and my own recipe of butter Thanksgiving-themed cutout cookies with seasonal spices.

Eggplant Chili

For this week's lunches, I made a pot of chili.

I have made chili a 1000 ways, like most people, but this is my all-time favorite.

I start out with a box of Shelby's chili mix. I'm not a fan of mixes but this is an exception. If I try to get the same flavor on my own, it falls short. They've got just the right seasoning mix for my taste buds.

Instead of the ground beef, I brown finely diced eggplant in peanut oil along with diced onions. When good and brown, I add the rest of the ingredients per the box instructions, plus black beans.

I eat it with a hunk of whole grain bread and some New York white cheddar cheese. Mmmm....can't wait for today's lunch!

Easy Black Bean Soup

I pureed fresh lime juice, oil, onion, chile, and cooked black beans for a delicious soup that literally took me 10 minutes to make. So delicious, healthy, and fast!!

New Old Fashioned Dishes

While eating an absolutely delicious plate of portobello parmesan at Delmonico's Restaurant, I began to wonder if there were other traditional favorites I could make over to be vegetarian.

I decided to try making Tofu Francaise.  I think I'll make it with vegetable broth and extra firm tofu.

I'm taking the long weekend off from cooking...it's Columbus Day...so I'll be back to post pics later on.

Felice lunedì senza carne!

Pasta e Fagioli (pasta and beans)

No September is complete without a giant pot of this comfort food.

Generally I try to stick to whole wheat pasta, but there was no whole grain option in the shape I prefer, and I just couldn't bear to substitute.  It wouldn't be the same!

And then for some reason I had no hesitance to throw a collection of random leftover vegetables in the pot.  Or to substitute regular vegetable broth for the mushroom broth I usually use.  It's different, and yet...the same.   Ahhhh....Pasta e Fagioli.

Fast food

I neglected my grocery shopping and cooking this week, so by mid-week, I found myself in serious need of a fast and healthy lunch.

I found a few frozen cheese ravioli in the freezer, frozen chopped broccoli, a little leftover cooked kale, tomato broth, and cooked pinto beans.  I threw it all together and viola, a nice hearty soup for lunches.

Although I'm admittedly disappointed to have soup weather this early in the season, my lunch was fantastic and deliciously easy.

The Harvest

We have had so little sun this summer. :( 

I finally harvested the rest of my pintos.  I didn't get much--maybe a cup or so.  My fault--I should have put them in a sunnier spot.

Meanwhile, other beans are sprouting up.  I think they're the chic peas.  I'm really looking forward to eating fresh chic peas for the first time.  I'll cross my fingers.