Today's heart- and belly-warming soup now that the sun sets early and the nights turn jacket-cool here in the Midwest. It's a simple, soothing soup, light somehow but at the same time hearty. It starts off with an intriguing Sweet Potato Broth, then builds flavors and textures with black beans and cooked chicken. Canadians? That turkey you've got leftover from Canadian Thanksgiving would work great too! Low Carb & Gluten Free. For Weight Watchers, just 3 PointsPlus. I don't as much read recipes as much as scan them, first the list of ingredients. Here, it was the sweet potato broth that first grabbed my attention. Instantly I wondered, Why is it that our soup broths are so, I dunno, watery ? In contrast, this broth has both color and texture. That first time, it was a "fridge cleaning" night – a sprouted onion, gnarly celery, a wizened carrot, a dusty sweet potato. That Sweet Potato Broth? A miracle. Supper that night was a big hit, it hit the spot.

The season's first pumpkin recipe! Let's start the day off right with healthy pumpkin oatmeal, okay? Here, a blend of steel-cut and old-fashioned oats are cooked with pumpkin and banana, an all-natural sweetener. Make a big batch on the weekend, then just rewarm for fast, healthy breakfasts during the week. Seasonal eating is a mindset. Take pumpkin, take peaches. Sure, I "can" make something with pumpkin in the summer but, really, it doesn't call to me, not when the peaches are drippy-ripe. But then again, sure, I "could" freeze summer's best peaches for the winter but, really, well, I just don't. As a seasonal eater, I'm quite content that pumpkin is a fall thing and peaches are a summer thing. (Hmm, am I allowed one exception? That would be my forever-favorite recipe for Autumn Pumpkin Bread .) This year, I'm giving extra attention to a handful of extra-favorite recipes that, with seasonal adjustments, can become year-round recipe

Today's recipe: A meaty homemade chili made with fresh tomatoes instead of canned tomatoes, a great way to use up a surplus of garden tomatoes, especially late in the season when it's cooled down a bit too. Most of all, fresh tomatoes served on top of chili are wonderful! Three Cooking Options: "Slow Cook" on the Stove or "Slow Cook" in the Oven or Use an Actual Crockpot. Fresh & Seasonal. A Late-Summer Classic. Great for Meal Prep. High Protein. Weight Watchers Friendly & Freestyle Friendly. Naturally Gluten Free. Whole30 Friendly.

Fresh salmon and a vegetable hash with summer squash, bell pepper and corn roasted together in a sheet pan, served with an avocado-buttermilk sauce with hints of guacamole. But the recipe has moved to a new location, please see Sheetpan Salmon with Garden Hash & Creamy Avocado Sauce at Kitchen Parade, my food column. Looking for healthy new ways to cook vegetables? A Veggie Venture is home to hundreds of super-organized quick, easy and healthful vegetable recipes and the famous Asparagus-to-Zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables . Join " veggie evangelist " Alanna Kellogg to explore the exciting world of common and not-so-common vegetables where recipes range from seasonal to staples, savory to sweet, salads to sides, soups to supper, simple to special. © Copyright Kitchen Parade VV 2015 & 2023 (retired) & KP 2023

How to roast a whole head of cauliflower in the oven. Yes, I really did say a "whole head" of cauliflower! It comes out all brown and nutty and dramatic looking, easy enough for a weeknight but impressive enough for your mother-in-law. Real Food, Fresh & Impressive Looking. Just Two Ingredients! Not Just Easy, Summer Easy . Budget Friendly. Little Effort, Big Taste. Weeknight Easy, Weekend Special. Low Carb. Low Fat. Weight Watchers Friendly. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real . Naturally Gluten Free. Whole30 Friendly. Rave Reviews.

Fresh green beans and tomatoes cooked in a slow cooker and served with rice. A great recipe for spanning the seasons, late summer through early fall. Gluten Free. Paleo. Not just vegan, " Vegan Done Real ". So.Here's.The.Thing. Slow cookers? You drive me C.R.A.Z.Y. The inspiring recipe from a trusted recipe source, one I have great success with again and again, said to cook these beans and tomatoes for seven hours in a slow cooker. Seven hours? Lucky I checked, mine were done in one hour although I did let them cook another half hour. And then because dinner wasn't planned for another few hours, I just let the beans/tomatoes cool down and served them later at room temperature on top of rice. The result? A wonderful late-summer and season-spanning supper, easy, simple and satisfying.

OH MY. This is salad is food for kings, so much more than the sum of its parts. "All it is" is perfect summer tomatoes, sliced thin, drizzled with olive oil and vinegar, topped with ice-soaked onions and fresh mint. But somehow? So so much more. ~recipe updated 2015 for a little weeknight salad inspiration~ ~ more recently updated recipes ~ WAY BACK IN 2008 Whew! For a week or more now, St. Louisans have been worrying whether the 2008 tomato crop would be worth eating. Perhaps because of a long, damp and cool spring, the early tomatoes were mealy and flavorless. The heirlooms were worse, scaly on the outside with dense pockets of inedible flesh inside. What a difference some hot summer sunshine makes! These tomatoes from my hometown farmers market were gorgeous, definitely worthy of this oh-so-simple treatment that adds up to way more than the sum of its parts. There are two tricks here. The first is the effect of soaking thin-sliced onions in ice water for a half ho