Seasonal Sundays (Week 37) Fall Is for Vegetarians

Hungry? I hope so because this week's collection is all about quick dinners and not just any ol' dinners but vegetarian dinners, all suited for this brief bridge of time that's still summer but laced with wisps and even wishes of fall. Think Lentils. Pasta. Simple Skillets. All with your favorite late-summer veggies, eggplant and corn and beans and tomatoes. It's a hungry time of year ...

~ Skip Straight to the Good Stuff ~

~ PIN This ~

Welcome to Seasonal Sundays ...

Seasonal Sundays is 100% written by a real, live human, no blah-blah copycat ChatGPT AI plagiarism, thank you very much. Any awkward phrase, unclear meaning, misspelled word, mistaken fact, bad punctuation or overwrought alliteration is the clean, proud product of my own inadequacies as a wordsmith and oversights as an eagle-eyed editor. But when that human says she's grateful that you're here, reading, well, please know, she really truly 100% means it.

About the Photo By Popular Request, a Little Insight into the Top Image: A big bunch of "Peruvian Lilies" (more below!) on a counter in the kitchen, north light can be so pretty!

In Praise Of ...

• ... SHOWY LONG-LASTING CUT FLOWERS Call me a sucker for Trader Joe's cut flowers and potted plants but my favorite flowers are something called alstroemeria, also called Peruvian Lilies and Lily of the Incas, pretty, yes? You may not recognize the names but you will likely recognize the flowers themselves. A big bunch is like $4.99 and it lasts for a couple of weeks, just plopped into a vase with maybe a couple of water changes, so long as you remove the leaves on the lower stems, that is. Here's a little more about alstroemeria, including pictures.


• ... FINNISH LONKERO (LONG DRINK) A popular canned alcoholic beverage from Finland is having a moment, it looks like U.S./Canadian distribution began expanding last year. That's when six-packs of the Finn-flag-blue cans started showing up at Whole Foods (yes, I stocked up!) and this year in a large display at St. Louis' largest grocer, Schnucks (and again!) and also at Total Wine. I love this stuff! It's a mix of gin and grapefruit, though now there are also apparently other less-traditional flavors in a brand expansion, cranberry and tangerine. It's low in alcohol, not too sweet and very sippable on a hot day. Maybe you've heard that Finns are the happiest people on earth, some years running? Grab a Finnish Long Drink and see what happens ... here's a little more info.


• ... INTERESTING KITCHEN FINDS I recently stumbled back upon a blog called Kath Eats. Kath and I actually met at a Quaker Oats event in Chicago many years ago. At that time, her "blog" was just her posting pictures of her meals, 3x per day. And it was popular! Really! Anyway, these days, like all of us who're still sharing recipes online, she's evolved. Apparently, she also has a new house (maybe a remodel?) and I found her list of kitchen things fascinating, lots of new ideas here, see Favorite New Home Purchases. Check it out, especially if you have an induction stovetop. Or kids. Or quartz counters. Or need new towels.

Made Me Think ...

CURATING A GARDEN ... Over the years, I've weaned out all the "pink" in the garden, save a few peonies that bloom in May. Why? Because by August and especially by September and October when we spend so much time outside, all that spring-pink just seems "off".

Instead, our perennial, annual and pot plantings lean into oranges, golds, whites and greens that carry the gardens well into fall, when I start adding fall mums in bronze and burgundy. So that's our "color palette" ... and it works.

But I was fascinated by this revelatory post by the landscape architect who designed the outside spaces for style/design blogger Emily Henderson. She delves into color, yes, but so much more, down to the very dirt, considering mood, light, maintenance and so much more. It's worth a slow read and has me rethinking our own outdoor spaces.

May I Suggest ... a Link?

Let me just presume that if you're reading this, well, you're both a cook and a recipe collector. Don't the two kinda go together? And that means you tuck aside interesting recipes all over the place and then, dang, where is that chicken recipe that looked so good anyway? Here's an idea. Start a folder on your phone, call it "Kitchen Parade" or "Alanna" or whatever makes best sense to you. Then save the recipes you're most interested in right there in one place. Easy Peasy.

• Start here?
• vegetarian & vegan recipes

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SEASONAL INSPIRATION: Fall Is for Vegetarians

• THE RECIPE Sweet Pepper Pasta Skillet Colorful bell peppers in a light cream sauce. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Pasta with Slow-Roasted Tomatoes (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Warm Lentil Salad with Spinach & Goat Cheese Way more than the sum of its parts.
• ANOTHER TAKE Simple Lentil Salad with Seasonal Vegetables A concept recipe for a supper salad. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Mediterranean Eggplant Skillet Quick, easy & tasty vegetarian supper. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Eggplant & Bean Thai Curry Bowl Where local and global meet for supper. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Baked Orzo Casserole with Eggplant, Olives, Goat Cheese & More Make-ahead pasta loaded with Mediterranean vegetables.
• ANOTHER TAKE Savory Bread Pudding with Butternut Squash, Chard & Cheddar Very special, make in advance for a holiday brunch or buffet. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Swiss Chard Skillet Supper with Tomatoes, Corn, Fresh Dill & Feta A hearty, late-summer meal, all in one skillet.
• ANOTHER TAKE Chard & Chickpeas with Feta An easy-to-prepare, adaptable and tasty vegetarian supper.

• THE RECIPE Veggie-Lentil Burritos with Cilantro Sauce Heaven on a plate, truly.
• ANOTHER TAKE Slow Cooker Vegetarian Lentil Sloppy Joes A little bit spicy, many rave reviews.

• THE RECIPE Slow Cooker Green Beans & Tomatoes Meatless Monday magic ...
• ANOTHER TAKE Skillet-Stewed Green Beans with Tomato & Basil A memorable summer combo. (PIN This)

What's New?!

Wondering about a recipe from the last while? Check Recent Recipes from Kitchen Parade and Recent Vegetable Recipes from A Veggie Venture.

• THE RECIPE Ina Garten's Tabbouleh Salad It has a secret ingredient! (PIN This)

Compliments!

A fellow St. Louisan made the time to write about her fondness for A Veggie Venture, after I shared my indecision about what to do with that site. I'd welcome more feedback ...

CATHY's KIND NOTE "I've enjoyed both Kitchen Parade and A Veggie Venture ever since I stumbled onto them years ago. Two of my favorite of your recipes came from there, the zucchini-corn timbale, which I make every year, and the vegan jambalaya with chickpeas, also on annual repeat.

I'm not very Internet-savvy and I'm sure there's more to maintaining a blog than I can imagine, but VV is such a wonderful resource, I'd hate, hate, hate to see it vanish even if you're not updating it any longer."

Thanks to Cathy for giving me food for thought.

Here's those two recipes Cathy makes every year ... guess which one's on my own meal plan for next week!

• Zucchini Timbale with Cheese (Crustless Zucchini Cheese Pie)
• Vegan Chickpea Gumbo

Looking Ahead ...

• September 10 (today!) - Grandparents' Day
• September 15 - 17 - Rosh Hashanah
• September 23 - the first day of fall in the northern hemisphere
• October 1 - Alanna's Unofficial First Day of Fall
• October 9 - Canadian Thanksgiving
• October 9 - Columbus Day
• October 31 - Halloween
• November 1 & 2 - Days of the Dead (All Saints)
• November 11 - Veteran's Day
• November 23 (so early! nice!) - American Thanksgiving
• December 1 - Alanna's Unofficial First day of Winter

Looking Back ...

• Lazy Weekend Breakfasts (Week 36) (PIN This)
• Summer's Not Over Yet (Week 35) (PIN This)
• Memorable Summer Sides (Week 30) (PIN This)
• Zucchini Season! (Week 29) (PIN This)
• Melon Season! (Week 28) (PIN This)
• Summer Potluck Favorites (Week 27) (PIN This)
• Summer Ice Cream (Week 26) (PIN This)
• Summer Sandwiches (Week 25) (PIN This)

A Quick Peek Into a Real-Life Kitchen

Just so you know, everything's not all pretty pictures around here, in the background is a pile of dirty dishes. And just like many (all?) of us, come five o'clock, I too draw a blank about what to make for supper, despite so many recipes I so dearly love. Here's a quick peek from the last week!

• THIS WEEK We've started doing daytime dates on Fridays, "FriDates" if you will. After a carry-out picnic lunch and a visit to St. Louis' wonderful National Blues Museum, neither one of us was hungry for supper let alone motivated to cook. Still, we needed to eat something so I pulled together a charcuterie board that included bits and bobs from the fridge, including Smoked Salmon Spread and Roasted Roma Tomatoes and some gin-soaked golden raisins and settled in with a bottle of wine and a movie. Still, the surprise hit was bites of brie with cantaloupe: WOW.
• THE HOW-TO Charcuterie for Two Practical tips and ideas for convivial meals for special occasions. (PIN This)

• THIS WEEK Our good friends host a potluck in a park on Labor Day, it's been going for 10+ years! So I made a double batch of this salad, using wonderful tomatoes from our garden. So good! I was glad there were leftovers! BTW since it was quite warm that day, I found a large covered container, wrapped a reusable ice pack (affiliate link) in a gallon freezer bag, then put the salad into the container right on top of the ice pack. Worked like a charm! I'm going to keep an eye out for something with a slightly better appearance but boy, it was a good idea.
• THE RECIPE Chipotle Chickpea Salad A fresh, summer salad with a smidgin of heat, substantial enough for dinner.

Something to Read

• Small Mercies (affiliate link) by Dennis LeHane of Mystic River fame. A wonderful read, described as "a superb thriller, a brutal depiction of criminality and power, and an unflinching portrait of the dark heart of American racism. It is a mesmerizing and wrenching work ... ". AGREED.


• The White Lady (affiliate link) by Jacqueline Winspear. This book is for those who enjoy the novels about women who fought in WWII.


• NO TIME TO READ? MAYBE YOU DO! How I Read 4X More This Year Than Last What I gave up, how I read so much, what I read.

Don't Be a Stranger ...

I'd love to hear from you. Comment, send me a quick e-mail (my current address is in the FAQs), dot-dash in Morse code, build a fire for smoke signals, launch a message in a bottle, send a Christmas letter, get the dog to yip, toss me a note wrapped in a rubberband, write a message in the sky, scratch a note in the sand, listen to a seashell, tuck a question into a plastic Easter egg, whatever.

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail, you'll find my current address in the FAQs. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. When you make my recipes, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below or better still, on the specific recipe's page.

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