it rained and rained and so I put up old faithful: an Italian Lentil and Pasta Soup from Jamie Oliver, love this a lot and use green lentils:
[the recipe][1]
[1]: http://www.jamieoliver.com/magazine/recipes-view.php?title=lentil-aamp-pasta-soup
my other favourite is baby lima bean, barley and mushroom soup…so soothing
It’s not even close to fall weather here in San Francisco. I can’t wait for cooler temps. I’ve been really off my cooking game lately. Hopefully I can turn it around with some of these.
This lentil nut loaf is on the list to make any day now. http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/3498/lentil-and-cashew-nut-roast.aspx
Someone, it might have been you rory, had mentioned an Adventist loaf so I googled and found the above recipe. Not sure if this is an Adventist recipe or not but it sounds good. I’ll probably make a mushroom gravy to go with it instead of the tomato based sauce the recipe recommends.
I also have plans to make and play around with this “Umami Bomb” vegetarian demi glace. https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/umami-bomb-vegetarian-demi-glace
Some of my fall favourites:
pot pies / hand pies
cabbage rolls
mushroom and lentil ragu
hot pot (don’t know what others call this but it’s basically a layered vegetable casserole)
baked beans (with Vegemite toast!)
acorn squash stuffed with a wild rice pilaf kind of thing
stromboli
moussaka
quinoa and bean chili with jalapeño cornbread
I’m an omnivore and have a number of vegetarian dishes in the repetoire. I think I like the colder weather ones better than the summer ones.
Root vegetable cobbler is a favourite and is very forgiving about the selection of whatever mix of veg looks good.
Chestnuts feature heavily in the autumn cooking - centrepiece of a risotto or part of a bulgher wheat pilaff along with thick slices of fennel. Pies also feature (both veggie and meat based) - but then I am British and Northern so pies are hard wired into the genes. There’s the chestnut, leek and mushroom one, And a traditional cheese & onion. Both need chips alongside them, of course - and that’s British chips, not American ones.
That soup looks great!
I’ve been cooking most on weekends so dinner is easy during the week since my hours at work are so stupid… Today i cooked up a big batch of black beans from dried- about half became cuban black beans (only with red bell pepper instead of green since I dislike the green ones) so dinner tonight was a bowl with the cuban black beans, some sauteed zucchini/mushrooms/kale and cherry tomatoes
I’ll make the rest of the beans into refried beans tomorrow. A good portion of both types will be stashed in the freezer.
Tonight I wanted something warming but not soup, so I made South Indian spicy lentil dal and spinach curry, with yogurt, chutney, naan and store-bought samosas it hit the spot:)
Harters; would you kindly post your chestnut pie recipe, I’d love to make one. Heh are you from Yorkshire or Northumberland. And who doesn’t love a chip butty:)
Pumpernickel; doesn’t sound like an Adventist loaf but a nice recipe. Here is one that was quite famous, which I copied from an old Adventist yahoo group I thought people here might enjoy it
Special K Cottage Cheese Loaf
Ingredients: 1/2 Cup Butter or Margarine [1 stick]1 Onion [diced, can use more or less depending on taste]2
Tablespoons of a Vegetarian Stock like McKay’s Seasoning/Broth or
Worthington Brand [this can be to your taste, add a little more or less
if you wish]4 Beaten Eggs1 large size container of Cottage Cheese5 - 6 Cups of Special K Cereal - ]3/4 Cup Walnuts [I put mine in a bag and hit them with either a can or a
wooden rolling pin until they are very small pieces, almost fine ground] Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 FSpray large baking pan with non-stick sprayGet a large mixing bowl and melt the butter or margarine in it [microwave]Add the remaining ingredients EXCEPT NOT the Special K cereal, Mix WellAdd the Special K cereal, mix wellPut in your greased baking panCover with foil and bake on the top rack for 45 minutesRemove foil, turn off the heat to oven and let sit in the oven for at least 20 to 30 minutes. Leftovers freeze well and can be reheated in the microwave
Thanks for the recipe rory! I will make that my next veggie loaf. The one I made was okay but nothing I would repeat at least not without heavy modification. It was far too bready which made my choice of mashed potatoes as a side a big mistake.
I would also love to see the chestnut pie recipe.
Here you go, Rory (and I’m from Cheshire - born there, still live within the traditional county border)
A pie for six:
750g leeks, thinly sliced
50g butter
300g mushrooms (whatever), sliced
2 garlic cloves
Parsley
thyme
350g shortcrust pastry
200g chestnut pieces ( vac pack or tinned)
150ml creme fraiche
3 eggs
Melt the butter in a frying pan and soften the leeks for 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms, garlic parsley and thyme. Cook for 5 minutes more, then leave to cool.
Line a pie dish with half the pastry. Stir the creme fraiche and chestnuts into the cold leek mix. Add all but a bit of the eggs (beaten). Use the other half of the pastry to make a lid (and any pretty decoration with any offcuts). Give the top an eggwash with the remaining egg. Bake at 180c for about an hour (but check a bit before to make sure it’s not burning). Let it rest for 30 minutes or so - it’s dish for eating warm or cold, not hot straight from the oven.
If you try it, please let me know what you thought (particularly if you tweaked the recipe for the better)
Harters; I just think this will be my thanksgiving dinner; thank you so much!. One thing I probably will change is to use vegan creme fraiche as it would be just too rich for me otherwise with the eggs and shortcrust pastry.
Ah, I see where Cheshire is, I’ve been to Cumbria and the north east counties: Yorkshire and Durham. Love the north. I’m making afternoon tea for my department at uni & thinking of making proper British tea sandwiches: what would you recommend? (not Marmite…lol though I like it!)
There are really four traditional afternoon tea sandwiches:
Thinly sliced cucumber
Egg & cress
Ham & mustard
Smoked salmon
As I’m sure you know (but worth generally mentioning), British/European sandwiches are rarely filled anywhere near as much as American ones - just one or two layers of the ham or salmon, for instance.
You’ll need scones, with cream and jam, and a cake to make it a proper afternoon tea.
Great idea - let us know how it well it goes with your colleagues.
It’s finally almost fall-like here in Pasadena, CA - and my thoughts are turning to foods other than salad for dinner.
Tonight, though, because I have a cold and no energy, I’m going with a very easy “convenience” meal of Zatarain’s Red Beans and Rice (low sodium - the regular is overwhelmingly salty!) with some browned and diced Tofurky Andouille sausage. And cornbread (probably Jiffy mix, as there were bugs in my cornmeal, so I tossed it, and I don’t think I bought more).
I’ll make enough so we have leftovers for a couple nights.
My weekday dinners have been whatever i can manage asap… I hate eating dinner at work so i have a snack and small dinner once i’m home. Last night was cubed tempeh seared with trader joe’s “soyaki” aka soy vay at other grocery stores, and after that was out of the pan i wilted some shredded kale/brussel sprouts mix in the hot pan with the remnants of the sauce. Wine on the side.
Another night the refried black beans from last weekend became part of a quesadilla.
Fridays we leave “early” by 6 pm or so and i met a friend at my favorite spanish wine bar- i had a nice glass of cava and then a glass of a fruity rioja. We shared olives and marcona almonds, pan con tomate, and crunchy chickpeas.
My go-to dinner when I’m late from class is a small baked sweet potato, pan seared sprouted tofu, with a side of sauteed broccoli (frozen, I have a giant bag) and kimchi, and I do love it with my fave sauce: Sriracha.
My sweet potatoes always take so long to bake…! Have you ever tried to bake and then reheat a day or so later? I never have, wondering if that makes the texture weird/gross…somehow i’m not a fan of “baked” potatoes done in the microwave. Hhmm.
Well this region grows them so that’s why they cook quickly for me. I’ve actually forgotten I’ve put up a sweet potato & taken it out of a hot oven the next day and the texture looks fine. I think refrigerating it in-between would mess up the texture. Never had a microwave, my dad had this trick for baked potatoes: cut in half lengthwise and spread on the exposed flesh olive oil. Cooks quickly and the top gets nice and brown and crusty. I love it, maybe it would work with sweet potatoes too.
Ttrockwood,
I know I’m late getting to this thread but care to share the name and whereabouts of the Spanish wine bar? Sounds like it might be a good place to meet a friend next week.
Omfg it’s my favorite place in all of nyc…!
Totally tiny in chelsea, el quinto pino, it gets busy so if you can go before 7pm that’s best. Perfect with a friend or date, too small with more people. Be sure to get those crunchy chickpeas to nibble! I’m veg so can only vouch for those menu items but each month they feature a diff region with signature tapas from the area and a great BTG spanish wine selection as well as a lovely house sangria…
http://www.elquintopinonyc.com
I’ll be there next wed pm myself 
Omfg it’s my favorite place in all of nyc…!
I can totally see why! I want the chickpeas, the potatoes, the tortilla espanola (of course) and a few other things. Hopefully we can make time to go.
Since they open at 5 I wonder if we could go before our dinner at Esca (not in the same neighborhood, I know). Cheers! Thanks for the recommendation 
Definitely- it’s a quickie can ride to esca from there since it’s on the west side, esca is just about 20 blocks or so north. Same people have the Basque restaurant Txikito half a block away (which i prefer for better atmosphere and table situation than the “el comedor” restaurant space attached to el quinto pino) prob same price range as esca and plenty of seafood options -razor clams!- in case that sounds like a better option
http://www.txikitonyc.com/dinner/
Dinner last night was tomato lentil dal with tofu paneer and a dry okra curry, great recipe. I think this week I’ll make minestrone & maybe more curry…