Food (and other) Links Autumn Harvest

Well, unless you live in the Canary Islands where we currently have a sirocco or calima and the temperature suddenly reached 90F, quite possibly you’re beginning to think of nice warming soups and stews …

Win a Programmable Crock-Pot for Fall Cooking!
If you’re in the US, YumSugar have a contest where you could win one of TWO digital Crock-Pots that they are giving away. Perfect for cooking all manner of meals that will keep you warm this autumn / winter.

Potato Lamb Casserole, gets transformed into Potato Beef Casserole.
Either will make more than one portion, of course, but I think both should freeze quite well in individual portions, if you stop the cooking process and freeze them just before the final step in the recipe. You’d do that last 30 minutes baking after defrosting and just before eating.

If you prefer white meat, how about Chicken Pot Pie Two Ways?

I’m sure there are odd squashes and pumpkins around at this time of year :), so why not try this Butternut Squash Risotto. And, while we’re on Risotti, this one really appeals to me: Pear and Gorgonzola Risotto.

Warm up those colder autumn nights with hearty soup

Marisa McClellan, while still having a balmy 80 degrees in Philly, said that, “Now that it is officially fall, I declare open season of soup“.

So do I. Oh, of course there are any number of cold soups you could have made in summer, but I think we are still conditioned to think of soups as warming, fireside comfort food. And it’s all relative: when it drops to a “bloody freezing” 50 degrees here, I shall be wanting hot soups too.

Home made soups are an ideal way to increase your veg intake. And, by cooking the soup while the veg is still fresh, you lock in the goodness and avoid wasting fresh produce that might otherwise go off before you can use it alone. A big pot of soup can either last all week and become a quick, simple supper, with crusty bread, or you can freeze it in portions.

Here are a few soup recipes to try:

Menestra de Verdura - Recipe for Spanish Vegetable Soup
Chorizo and Canellini Bean Soup
Mixed Bean and Vegetable Soup
Binnur’s Turkish Cookbook: Mushroom Soup
Vegetable Soup with Vermicelli
Ruth Reichl’s Mushroom Soup
Cream of Mushroom Soup Recipe
Roasted Rosemary Potato Leek Soup

This was cooked for one, but I think I’ll give it a miss, or use some more acceptable part of the fish! Fish head soup with coconut cream.

Miscellany

Apparently, Living Alone is Bad for the Environment, because people who live alone are the biggest consumers of energy, land and household goods from toothbrushes to appliances. Well, I’m sorry! At least we can make an effort with this free to download PDF, 100 Ways to Save the Planet.

One of those 101 Ways is by “becoming a vegetarian“, so you may be interested in How To Cook Everything Vegetarian.

If stress, single living, shorter days and longer nights in winter, or anything else is getting you down, Lift Your Mood with 11 Foods.

For the budget conscious, or those who need to be, here’s Ninety-nine cents worth of tomatoes transformed into a perfectly good sauce for pasta.

Yet another good reason for cooking your own meals and not relying on the easy option is the worrying high salt content in fast food. Presumably, none of you living alone is a child, whose pizza treat threatens to take you four times over your recommended daily salt allowance, but any excess, over a long period could be seriously detrimental to anyone.