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Sausage & Cabbage Skillet ♥

Today's quick supper recipe: Supper in a flash, a big ol' skillet of rustic and homey sausage, potato and cabbage that turns quite sweet and succulent. Low carb, even with potatoes; even lower carb with turnip. Gluten free so long as sausage is gluten free. For Weight Watchers, just 6 SmartPoints. Ever since my 90-year old father came to live with us last spring, supper's been increasingly an adventure as his appetite becomes increasingly less adventurous. In recent weeks, he's asked for salads from an "American" garden (that means "familiar" vegetables versus a plea for locally grown garden vegetables) and "more meat and more potatoes". (And more cookies and more donuts and more ice cream and more pie, but then, that's a whole 'nother story.) Okay then, I'm on it! This recipe from Lisa at the Homesick Texan is one of a handful of recipes that pleased all three of us at the table and went straight from cryptic notes to a

How to Roast a Whole Pumpkin ♥

How to bake a whole pumpkin in the oven, the pros and cons both. Plus, a huge tip, why I've stopped roasting actual pumpkins and instead roast Kabocha Squash (pictured). Fresh & Seasonal, So Timely for Fall Pumpkin Baking! DIY & Homemade Pantry. Great for Meal Prep. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real . Naturally Gluten Free. Whole30 Friendly.

Slow Cooker Tomato Grits ♥ Recipe

Today's slow cooker recipe: A "skinny" pot of grits that tastes every so rich, thanks to ripe tomatoes and a tiny bit of blue cheese. Weight Watchers friendly. Naturally Gluten Free. Vegetarian. So there comes the time, about now, when the tomato plants are at the height of their production, when it's suddenly time to start cooking tomatoes from the garden, not just chopping raw tomatoes for salads. They're piling up on the counter, as ripe as can be, you don't want them to go to waste. But as a seasonal eater, you're also not going to pull out all the canning gear to make tomato sauce or something similar. Because, you see, here in the Midwest, garden tomatoes are for August, September and in good years, the early part of October. They're not for winter. And so it came to be last fall. (Yes, I saved this recipe from then, knowing you'd appreciate it now more than then.) Twas a Friday night, the end of a long two weeks. Briefly, we talked a

Curried Corn Chowder with Coconut Milk ♥

A hearty corn chowder, laced with zucchini and carrot and pungent with curry. It's the time of year to throw a zucchini into everything we can. I know, I know, it's folly to think a household of three could make a dent in a backyard garden's zucchini production. Could a barnyard of pigs? I wonder. For this soup, however, the zucchini was Plan B, after all, the goal was corn chowder not a mixed vegetable soup. But Plan A's farmers-market corn was wormy, only three of six ears were edible, the other three went straight to compost. But it turns out, I loved the zucchini addition, it not only added volume but also balanced the corn's natural sweetness. Besides? Color! The green inspired the addition of still more color, orange grated carrot.

Baked Orzo Casserole ♥ with Eggplant, Olives, Goat Cheese & More

A gorgeous summer casserole, orzo loaded with Mediterranean vegetables, every single bite delivers a surprise of fresh, summer flavors. The orzo casserole is inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi and is a great dish to carry during late summer and early fall. It easily switches between a vegetarian casserole or my favorite, laced with chicken. Oh people. I do love this casserole. SO.MUCH. You know how some casseroles are dense and heavy? Good for girding ourselves for cold weather! But this casserole is light and almost airy in texture, even though it's packed with late-summer and early fall vegetables like eggplant and tomato. Good for summer! But what really makes this casserole special is how every bite includes so many different textures and flavors, tiny cubes of creamy eggplant and slivers of briney olive and sun-dried tomatoes and tiny burst of salty capers. And did I mention goat cheese? Yeah, goat cheese. For the record, I also buried chicken in the casserole, not too much, ju

Day 107: Pasta with Zucchini Noodles, Ricotta & Basil Pesto ♥

A summer classic, hot pasta tossed with ricotta and basil pesto. But here I've added zucchini noodles, both lightening the dish and somehow making it more substantial. And besides, it's zucchini season! It makes a light pasta side dish (it made a great base for Italian sausage) but also works as a pasta entrée for Meatless Monday, say. ~recipe updated, first published way back in 2005~ ~ more recently updated recipes ~ So Full Disclosure. Way back in 2005, I hated this recipe. It just didn't work, the proportions were too far off. It called for a pound of pasta and a pound of zucchini and left it all swimming in oil. Not good. (And yeah, during A Veggie Venture's first year of experimentation, learning how to cook vegetables by cooking one in a new way every day, some of the recipes weren't up to my current standards. It's half surprising to me that so many did work really well even if others were complete duds.) But that was then and this is now. I'

Black Bean & Corn Salad ♥

Summer in a bowl, just fresh vegetables and a can of black beans, brightened with a cumin-lime vinaigrette. So good! A great salad for dinner or a potluck and just to keep in the fridge. Well, hello, friends. It's been awhile, more than three months truth be told although not without reason. Since New Years, I've been caring for our 90-year old father, first long distance and then in March, he came to live with us. Oh, the time it's taken to get him settled in, making our home senior-safe with ramps and grab bars, finding/working with new home health caregivers and doctors – we love Dr. Milta Little ! – and the thousand-and-one details that insist on instant attention. Day to day, time moves in a sort of slow motion now. Often I just like to sit with my dad in a sunny spot outside the kitchen, just "being" – watching the birds at the feeders, basking in the sunshine, knowing he'll soon nod off but glad he's safe and comfortable and finding a measure o