Hearty Fall Dinner

I survived Halloween and even stayed at home!  Last year, Ryan and I read books at a coffee shop, ran errands and went out to eat, which was a great way to people watch. This year we had too many things to do around the house, so I made a last minute candy run and had about 10 groups of trick-or-treaters come to our door.  I "forgot" to put out the mini Snickers, so it looks like I'll be making Snickers cookies soon.


While Ryan handled the trick-or-treaters, I took care of dinner. With three cookbooks open for inspiration, it made for a chaotic cooking session, something I haven’t done in awhile. In just about 1 hour, I made all of this:

Delicious and full of hearty fall flavors, this meal hit the spot. I really enjoyed the process of making the meal too. It may have been a lot of work, but I truly believe cooking is therapy (for me) and I needed some cooking therapy after working so hard on the other jobs in my life.

The chili roasted delicata squash was so simple: cut into rings, remove the seeds and chop into pieces. Toss with olive oil and chili powder and roast for 20 minutes in a 400° oven.

I steamed both parsnips and russet potatoes (in separate pots) before mashing them with a little milk and butter (soymilk and Earth Balance). The gravy is Golden Gravy from Real Food Daily and a favorite at our house. Full of rich nutritional yeast, whole wheat flour, onion and herbs, I could eat this with a spoon.

 

I’ve heard many other bloggers rave about the Veganomican’s Chickpea Cutlets and now I can rave too! Made of mashed chickpeas, vital wheat gluten, breadcrumbs and spices, these thin cutlets crisped up well when pan-fried and were delicious as leftovers too.


My goal is to make more meals like this in the next few months. With all the other food related activities in my life, I haven’t been able to focus on meal planning and cooking as of late. Guess I’ll have to practice saying “no” a little more often.