Eating, Fall Style

I love Fall for so many reasons: the smell of leaves, getting to wear sweaters, cider, the acceptability of putting pumpkin in everything, the approach of Christmas, SCARVES, warm blankets, and the list goes on (and on). Food and drinks are a major part of all this--I love making pumpkin bread, drinking lots of tea, mulling hot cider (or wine!), and comfort food in all its guises, usually involving cheese. Here are three recipes that I've been making a lot recently. I tend to modify everything I make, because I either don't like an ingredient (lima beans) or don't have an ingredient (nutmeg, usually), so take these recipes with a grain of salt!

Carolina Vegetable Soup
--I like this recipe because you don't have to buy stock, and the bbq sauce and Tabasco make it jazzy. I am really picky about soup--it either has to be pureed with no chunks, or something very thick like a stew, chowder, gazpacho, or chili. I don't like soup with noodles. I don't like soup with chicken (usually). I look at soups more as an excuse to eat bread. However--I have a really excellent soup book, compiled of recipes from friends, and this is a great one, courtesy of my father, via Moosewood. My college friends dubbed this the Caravaggio Soup, because two of us made it for our seminar once and then we had SO MUCH LEFT that our whole house ended up eating it for a week. And I just had a bowl for lunch!

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 cups chopped onions

3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1 cup peeled and chopped carrots

1 cup peeled and cubed sweet potatoes (1 whole one)

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 1/2 cups chopped zucchini (if you can find one)

1 cup fresh, frozen, or canned lima beans

3/4 cup frozen corn kernels

1 1/2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes (1 can -14 oz or so - of crushed tomatoes would work)

1/2 tsp fresh thyme (1/4 tsp dried)

1/4 cup barbeque sauce

4 cups water

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Tabasco sauce or other hot pepper sauce to taste

2 Tbsp shopped fresh basil (optional)

chopped scallions

--In a large soup pot, warm the oil on medium heat and sauté the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.

--Add the carrots, sweet potatoes, and celery and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the zucchini, lima beans, corn, tomatoes, thyme, and barbeque sauce. Stir for a minute and then add the water, salt, and black pepper.

--Cover and bring to a boil; then reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes. About 5 minutes before serving, add the parsley, Tabasco sauce, and, if you wish, the basil.

--Serve topped with chopped scallions.

Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

This is good. This is really, really good. Not really helping my joint obsession with pumpkin and with cheese, but there we are. I made it once with sweet potatoes, and that is also good--but better with pumpkin, I think.

8 oz uncooked macaroni or other pasta, preferably whole wheat or whole wheat blend pasta

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup 1% low-fat milk

2 oz (about 4 Tbsp) 1/3-less-fat neufchatel creamcheese

1 cup freshly grated 50% reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup freshly grated gruyere cheese (can sub in any good melting cheese, such as monterey jack)

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 – 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper, or more depending on heat preference

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

--Cook pasta according to package directions.

--Meanwhile, whisk together and heat pumpkin puree and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat until hot.

--Reduce stove heat to low. Whisk in cheeses until fully melted.

--Stir in nutmeg and cayenne. Season with salt and pepper.

--Stir drained pasta into the pumpkin-cheese sauce and mix until thoroughly combined.

--At this point, the mac & cheese might appear a bit soupy. If this is the case, let the mixture sit off of the heat for a few minutes. The cheese sauce will firm up as it slightly cools.

--Serve with an extra dusting of nutmeg, if desired.

Roasted Corn with Manchego and Lime (courtesy of Epicurious)

I usually half this recipe, and replace the jalapeno with a bell pepper, the chives with scallions, and the Manchego with a little mayonnaise. This makes it resemble street corn, which I would get in Brooklyn whenever humanly possible. Also, I never have red pepper flakes on hand, so I either use chili powder or omit it. This is a good recipe for corn country--and roasting makes corn REALLY easy to peel.

6 ears of sweet yellow corn, unhusked
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
Kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 jalapeño, seeded, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 lime, cut into 4 wedges
1 cup finely grated Manchego cheese
1/4 cup thinly sliced chives
2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest

Preheat oven to 450°. Roast unhusked corn on a baking sheet, turning occasionally, until heated through and crisp-tender, about 15 minutes. Let cool. Shuck corn and cut kernels from cobs. Discard cobs.

Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add corn kernels and sauté until heated through and light-golden in spots, 3–5 minutes. Add butter; stir until melted.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer corn to a large wide bowl or deep platter; sprinkle jalapeño and crushed red pepper flakes over. Squeeze lime wedges over; sprinkle with cheese, chives, and lime zest.