Loving Fall (and food)

Beautiful isn't it? Autumn, it's the best. We sat on a rock with friends, eating our picnic lunch. This was the scene before us. Winter is rough here in NY, but I don't think I would ever be content to live somewhere without the four seasons. I'm sure there are people who would disagree. I guess it's what you are used to.

The candles are lit. Bringing warmth and light to the table since it's getting dark early these days. Anything left in the fridge is being turned into soup. "Leftover Soup" is always a hit. I can never duplicate Leftover Soup, but I can make an equally tasty new one.

Curries and stews are happening, cosy comfy bowls of warmth. As it gets colder and those beautiful leaves disappear, I put the color on the table. I am a true believer in the effect of beauty and color on our souls. Those gourd candle holders are festive and very simple to make. Just drill the proper size hole and stick your candles in. Bringing natural beauty into the home is easy and very cheap, even free. Grow some gourds (they pretty much grow themselves), pick up some acorns and leaves.

I'll take any excuse to use the oven, it warms up the house. Just like Leftover Soup, crumbles are  popular on my table. Any fruit or fruit combination will work. Frozen, fresh or canned fruits topped with oats, sucanat, butter and flour make for a more cheerful afternoon when that sun starts to go down. The smell of good things baking always lifts up the mood of the home.

I don't bake cookies that often. Just for holidays or special occasion. Halloween kicks off the cookie baking season for me. I'd rather the kids satisfy their sugar urge with home made cookies rather than the artificial candy that will inevitably appear. To color the gray mushrooms and black bats I used activated charcoal, just like my black donuts and black pie. 

I consider the arrival of Fall a worthy enough occasion to celebrate with friends and fall leaf cookies.
I am feeling happy, warm, and almost ready to take on winter.

a sucker for mushrooms

With the variety of shapes, colors and flavors, I just can't resist mushrooms. They are so clean and easy to cook.

Especially when they are packaged like this! So cute and tasty, I can't say no.

Breakfast is one of my favorite times for mushrooms, with scrambled eggs and basil...

or cabbage and fried egg.

In salad

In soup

Anywhere is right for mushrooms!

steam once, eat much

I've been doing this a lot lately. Early on in the day, usually after breakfast I will steam my veggies. Carrots, zucchini  snow peas, broccoli, asparagus, whatever I have all layered up. The more delicate ones on the top. I steam them just as they turn bright green. I uncover them to stop the cooking and they are ready to use in many dishes throughout the day. 

They can be tossed into a salad. (Don't you love these paper animals? My girls print and build them from this site for free!

Or made into a quick soup. A bit of my kimchi to finish it off.

Steamed broccoli teamed up with rice and other veggies becomes filling for an omelet.  I've mentioned this before, having ingredients ready makes cooking easier and brings vegetables to "fast food" convenience. 

Soup's On!

 Chicken soup has always been a cure for the common cold. At this time of year I am making some sort of soup everyday. We all love soup and it's good medicine to keep the sniffles at bay. Soup can be a bit fancy, like my mulligatawny with crispy sweet potato on top or a super simple breakfast broth loaded with garlic.

We call this breakfast soup "Ponyo" soup, if you've seen that movie you know why! Good, no chemical natural meats are pricey. Instead of a big, fat, meaty sandwich you can garnish your meals with a little. I think it's a healthier way to eat meat and it stretches your food budget too. We like this soup with spicy tofu also. 

If I am rushing around and don't feel like dealing with cooking noodles and the kids are asking for soup for breakfast I'll go with a quick miso. Good old tried and true chicken soup is good, but I go for Asian soups not only for taste (which I prefer), but I can add so many healing herbs and spices to them. 

I have an especially heavy hand with fresh garlic and ginger.  Seaweed too! Sea vegetables are sooo good for you. Many people aren't getting enough iodine in their diets. Most of my soups start by boiling water with a piece of kombu or wakame in it. You can take it out, like with a bay leaf and all the nutritional benefits remain. If you like the taste, chop it up and put it back in your soup and get even healthier!

Vietnamese Pho is a fun soup for a company lunch. Everyone can add what they want to their own bowl of hot broth. It's perfect to make this on a snowed in day. Make a big pot of pho broth and eat all day long. Another benefit is that it makes the house smell great because of the star anise and ginger. 

This soup is on heavy my rotation right now, it's called Senegalese Peanut Soup. If you are interested in that recipe link I must say that I always lessen the peanut butter and up the garlic. (I add ginger too, which isn't called for.) 

 I am frequently asked to bring this soup to potlucks once people have tried it. It's the kind of thing that you keep craving long after you eat it.  It freezes well so I make a large pot and put some away for quick lunches. I usually have some bread dough stored up as well, so this yummy lunch was pulled out of the freezer as "fast food" when I needed it.

Soup Of The Evening

On these chilly winter evenings I like to have a pot of soup bubbling away on the stove. Eating it warms us up, the long duration of cooking time warms up the kitchen and the smell when you walk into the house is fantastic. It gets pretty cold in my house and sitting over a big bowl of delicious hot soup is a rewarding experience. Here are three soups that I will definitely repeat throughout the winter months. I try to cook what is seasonally available and what my body seems to be asking for.



I call this one ‘Golden Chicken Soup’. Pumpkin, carrots and a smidge of tomato paste give it a wonderful rich golden color. It’s pretty thick, almost a stew and it’s got a big pinch of thyme in it.



This is an Asian inspired soup. Make any broth, I use chicken or miso but veg would certainly work. Add some wide noodles, I used egg noodles here. Then have an assortment of cooked veggies, meat, hard boiled eggs, whatever you happen to have on hand. Also offer some condiments, a chutney, grated ginger, or a squeeze of citrus. I especially like a dab of garlic chili paste with mine. When I am feeling run down or someone in the house is under the weather this is good medicine.



The recipe for this one was called ‘Winter Vegetable Soup’. Of course I tweaked it a bit to use up whatever vegetables I had on hand. I think it originally called for parsnips and rutabaga, but I didn’t have those. What I did have was pumpkin, zucchini, carrots and potatoes. There is milk in it and lots of garlic. I served this soup with two kinds of bread, one topped with cheddar cheese and one with cinnamon apples.


In Alice in Wonderland The Mock Turtle sings the song ‘Beautiful Soup’. It is a funny parody based upon a popular song of the time. The original song is called ‘Star of the Evening’.

Soup Of The Evening
by Lewis Carroll

Beautiful Soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Beau - ootiful Soo - oop!
Beau - ootiful Soo - oop!
Soo - oop of the e - e - evening,
Beautiful, beautiful Soup!
Beautiful Soup! Who cares for fish,
Game, or any other dish?
Who would not give all else for two
pennyworth only of beautiful Soup?
Pennyworth only of beautiful Soup?
Beau - ootiful Soo - oop!
Beau - ootiful Soo - oop!
Soo - oop of the e - e - evening,
Beautiful, beautiful Soup!