Seasonal Sundays (Week 44) November Bucket List

It's a bucket list! Seven recipes to cook up during November from Kitchen Parade's 20+ years of late-fall recipes, not a single turkey-day recipe among 'em lest we forget that "30 Days Has November" and only one is Thanksgiving.

~ Skip Straight to the Good Stuff ~

~ PIN This ~

Welcome to Seasonal Sundays ...

As ever, thank you for welcoming me into your InBox and RSS feed reader. It's your kitchens, your lives, I conjure while writing ...

At first, the note from a national media outlet was innocuous, all fun and spaghetti guts. "Since next week is Halloween, we're talking about horror in all its varieties. What's your favorite horror trope? Tell us why."

Are these people tone deaf? Sure, sure, life goes on and we must carry on.

My reply:

"Here's REAL HORROR. Lewiston, Maine. Mike Johnson. Extreme weather that accelerated from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in a day. Hundreds of thousands in desperate circumstances in Gaza. Babies and grandmothers and soldiers dismembered in Israel. Today is one bad day to be so flipping flippant about 'horror'. Get a grip, NPR. You ain't what you used to be."

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If you, too, are struggling with the state of the world's state, let me recommend again the Substack newsletter from organizing dymano Jessica Craven who inspires so many with a daily list of very specific do-able actions in support of democracy.

But she's also the Encourager in Chief, no Pollyanna, but feeling the frustration, acknowledging the fear, compelling us forward. Seriously. Subscribe. It's free if you like, she does accept paid subscriptions too.

Here's a sample from this week, Jessica's words, not mine, on Tuesday.

"Look. We're living in a breathtakingly difficult moment; it's wearing on all of us. But let's remember that it is particularly excruciating and scary for our Jewish and Palestinian-American friends. ... It's brutal and I hope we are being mindful of -- and fighting against -- the atmosphere of hate many of these citizens feel they're living in right now.

"Remember, division is a treacherous enemy. It's also, perhaps, our biggest foe. We must find a way -- if not now, then soon -- to restore unity if we are to defeat the larger threats we're facing. Please join me in seeking out groups, and people, working not just for peace but for solidarity.

"With the former, we are doomed. Without the latter, we are lost.

"Now let's get to work."

Made Me Think ...

• You Might Have Lost All Your Jewish Friends This Week and Not Even Know It

In Praise Of ...

• ... working outside on the summer porch all this week, the last week of an unseasonably warm and lovely fall, the hummingbirds long departed south, the winter birds back at the feeder, the bluebirds stopping by enforce, on windy moments, the pines dropping needles like a blanket of golden snow


• ... thank you, camera phones, for revealing that the maple tree outside our dining room was 100% yellow in 2022, a full ten days before it even began turning bit by bit in 2023


• ... driving two hours one-way just to scratch a good-barbecue itch (shhh, don't tell but I also snagged a $4 used copy of Peace, Love & Barbecue: Recipes, Secrets, Tall Tales, and Outright Lies from the Legends of Barbecue: A Cookbook (affiliate link) as a surprise for my favorite bbq guy), the rolling hills and river bluffs of southwestern Illinois a patchwork of fall color, if only because it means that our favorite St. Louis bbq seems suddenly way closer!

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?
• Seasonal Soup & Salad Recipes for November from A Veggie Venture
• Hmmm. Maybe I need to collect each month's recipes on their own page? It sure would help me, anyway! We'll see.

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SEASONAL INSPIRATION: November's Bucket List

Why a bucket list? I tried this in October, listing all the recipes that appealed for the month. Now I didn't make even close to all of them but just having the list really helped with meal planning: for the first time in forever, I bought groceries for specific meals. It fights decision fatigue, that too-many-choices inertia. I've tried similar concepts before: picking a single cookbook, picking a single cuisine (a la Deep Mexico: Ingredient-Driven Mexican Meal Prep). Helpful, maybe?

• THE RECIPE Perfect Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins So healthy! So adaptable! Stays fresh for days too. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Pumpkin Granola Lightly sweetened, gently spiced with our favorite fall spices.

• THE RECIPE Butternut Squash Soup that Actually Tastes Like Butternut Squash Just three ingredients + an unusual technique bumps flavor.
• ANOTHER TAKE Butternut Squash Lasagna with Butternut Bechamel & Roasted Butternut Squash Layered with bursts of flavor and texture.

• THE RECIPE At Last! Black Bean Soup My signature recipe for thirty years. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Pumpkin Corn Bread Who's got a cup of leftover pumpkin purée?

• THE RECIPE Chocolate Chili My long-time recipe, meaty and full of spices and a touch of chocolate. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE White Chicken Chili An old favorite, a little lighter. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Squash & Carrot Stew Rich with world spices.
• ANOTHER TAKE Lemon-Honey Chicken Skillet A one-pot meal with a medley of spices and vegetables. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Slow-Cooker Turkey Breast Plus Turkey Stock and Turkey Gravy. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Mashed Potatoes & Carrots Why haven't we done this forever? (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Fresh Cranberry Bars A chewy almost-blondie molasses and spice bar with bursts of juicy cranberry, topped with a scattering of sugar "snow".
• ANOTHER TAKE Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars So pretty on a plate!

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 Simple Dill Pickle Slaw A traditional, everyday coleslaw turned all pickly with pickles and pickle juice. (PIN This)

Compliments!

• TRICK OR TREATERS?! "At a block party, two neighbors separately asked if I were going to be giving trick-or-treat pralines again this year. You gave me a winner recipe!" ~ Charlie
• Bourbon Pralines The famous praline recipe from the New Orleans School of Cooking.

Looking Ahead ...

• October 31st - Halloween
• November 1st & 2nd - Days of the Dead (All Saints)
• November 4th - 5th - "Fall Backward" Time Change (next weekend! an extra hour! nice!)
• November 11th - Veteran's Day
• November 23rd (early! nice!) - American Thanksgiving
• December 1st - Alanna's Unofficial First Day of Winter
• December 1 - 23 - PikkuJoulu (Finnish "Little Christmas")
• December 21st - Winter Solstice (Official First Day of Winter)

• THE COLLECTION Thanksgiving Menus, Recipes & More (PIN This)
• ESPECIALLY FOR VEGETABLE LOVERS Thanksgiving Vegetable Recipes

Looking Back ...

• Chickpeas (Week 43) (PIN This)
• Soups to Sustain the Spirit (Week 42) (PIN This)
• Special Sweets for Fall (Week 41) (PIN This)
• Fall Sides for Everyday & Canadian Thanksgiving (Week 40) (PIN This)
• Cooking with Apples (Week 39) (PIN This)
• Burger Season (Week 38) (PIN This)
• Fall Is for Vegetarians (Week 37) (PIN This)

Déjà Vu

Something useful ... or thoughtful ... or interesting ... or fun ... from Seasonal Sundays years back.

It was an entire patch's worth of pumpkin recipes, aka Pumpkin Heaven, this week last year. Best make a double batch (triple?) of Pumpkin Pie Spice!

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, not including the Apple Cider Vinaigrette, Roasted Green Beans with Rosemary & Walnuts and Roasted Butternut Squash & Apple on repeat this time of year.

• THIS WEEK I turned some leftover lamb roast into this stew recipe that just never fails. For vegetables I used cabbage and carrot, for dried fruit, prunes and served it with some leftover Microwave Green Chili Cheese Grits. So good!
• THE RECIPE Winter Stew A master recipe, cook with confidence, no recipe required.

• THIS WEEK If you make just one of my recipes this week, MAKE IT THIS. So so so so so good.
• THE RECIPE Apple Cider Indian Pudding The best dessert you've never tasted, maybe never heard of. (PIN This)

Just Updated!

• THE RECIPE Thick Chops with Sauerkraut & Apples A Quick Supper, moist chops in apple-chunky sauerkraut. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Thick Iowa Chops with Easy Stuffing Crust Thick Iowa chops capped with a stuffing-like crust. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Apple-Butter Pumpkin Pie Naturally sweetened apple butter and pumpkin purée in an easy press-in graham cracker crust. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Pumpkin Pecan Pie It's a two-fer! One pie, two Thanksgiving favorites.

• THE RECIPE No-Chill Cutout Sugar Cookies Just mix and roll, no need to wait. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Cut-Out Spice Cookies My all-time year-round favorite cut-out cookie dough recipe. (PIN This)

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.

• Any ideas for Seasonal Sundays? Share away!
• Any scary Halloween foods on your menu?
• Did you make something extra-good this weekend?
• It's almost November. What foods are on your bucket list?
• Who else is feeling (un)prepared for the holiday onslaught ahead?
• Anything else? Chime in, chat away.

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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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