Autumnal Check-in

Cauliflower White Bean Risotto with sun dried tomato, spinach and pine nut. I love cauliflower, like I love all the veggies in the Brassica oleracea family but… if you’re storing some up for the week you have to deal with a little bit of stink before reheating.

Roasted acorn squash wedges. This squash always reminds me of the Hobgoblin. It’s probably the size of it and how it sits in my hand. I love how deceptively quick the squash goes tender and how the shiny black skin is fully edible, making their presentation so lovely.

Beetroot. Beets share the love with whomever they touch (beit my hands, the cutting board, or a neighboring vegetable in a salad), in the form of a bright and deep red-violet stain. A color that matches the intensity of their taste. Love you, beets.

You have to massage kale if you’re going to eat it raw. I think that’s kind of cute. Here you have a fibrous, bitter green standing tall and proud. Apply some gentle kneading, and it breaks down–loses bitterness and softens in your hands. What a softy.

I bought this enormous 3-pound organic yam at Fairway. Roasting was the order of the day. So I sprinkled one side with dark brown sugar and let ’em roast, flipped them midway and sprinkled my fancy pants salt generously. One bite of these tender discs is the best of both worlds.

My lunch for the week: the tastes of Autumn.

My weekday sweet? Chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate chips! As a child I used to eat around the chocolate chips in my cookies. So, being without chocolate chips and my car blocked in on the driveway, I thought this a fine idea.

But as a grown up, I realized I needed a taste of rich chocolate to balance the sweetness. So I melted the bowl of leftover chocolate in a double boiler and got to drizzling. Much, much better.

Here is the state of my Brussels in the garden. This cool weather crop is doing very well! I’m hoping that the foodie squirrels don’t start noshing. Happy Autumn!