Seasonal Sundays: Feeding Our Vegetable Cravings

This week's "Seasonal Seven" recipe collection is all about an after-holiday reset, returning an abundance of vegetables to our meals, no diet, no resolutions, just lots of vegetables because dang, don't they just taste so so good right now? Thank goodness for January!

~ 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 ... PS And if you like this week's recipes, perhaps you'll share this newsletter with a friend or social circle? If you forward this message, others may subscribe for free right here. Thank you!

JANUARY: A Food "Reset" with Vegetables

Doesn't it just feel good to get back to real food? That first trip to the grocery after the holidays? Stock up on vegetables!

The gateway vegetable? A vegetable you already like, roasted. You don't need a recipe, just a few tips to get started.

Maybe you'll even pick up a vegetable you don't really know what to do with, confident that A Veggie Venture's Alphabet of Vegetables will yield several options and ideas.

Maybe you are thinking about eating less meat, inspired by Meatless Monday, or by working vegetables into breakfasts.

• How to Roast Vegetables 22 Tips & a Master Recipe
• Alphabet of Vegetables from A-Z, Asparagus to Zucchini and every vegetable in between!
• Vegan Done Real A collection of "real food" vegan recipes from food blogger friends.
• Favorite Seasonal Vegetable Stews, 10 recipes plus 10 tips & techniques, winter vegetables stews too!
• Vegetable Recipes by Course

But in the mean time, this week I picked some special recipes that I do so hope inspire us all to hit the brakes on the holiday indulgences. Is it just me or does too-much, too-rich and too-sweet food just not feel good after a day or two?

Yep. Time for a reset. No resolutions, no promises, no this year, I swears.

Gosh I really do love January.

In Praise Of ...

... Jimmy Carter, whose earthly body will be laid to rest this week.

In 1979, President and Mrs. Carter boarded the Delta Queen, a stern-wheel steamboat still plying the Mississippi River back then. "Steamboat 1" set off from St. Paul and followed the river southward toward my now-home city of St. Louis, stopping by necessity to slowly lock through the 29 dams that control water levels for transport of grain, coal and more in the northern portions of the river.

Now any ol' steamboat locking through Lock & Dam No 10 at Guttenberg in northeastern Iowa was a big deal: the K-12 school sat right on the river and when a riverboat announced its arrival with music from a steam calliope, school let out and people flocked to the river in something out of a Grant Wood painting.

But a president? Now that was something.

My dad and his brother owned the local weekly newspaper and naturally, the Carter visit was front-page news. It's pretty certain our dad wrote the cover story, we know our Uncle Ed (and two other staff) took the photographs.

Big-name journalists from across the country were along for the ride but the Carter handlers kept the national media behind the fence, ushering Dad and Uncle Ed right into the handshake line.

My sister was a senior in high school, she managed three presidential handshakes by getting back in line after every one!

One more small thing: that same week, my parents and sister welcomed a new exchange student to the family, Stefan, a boy from Sweden who remains a close friend of the family. Imagine, arriving in the United States and shaking hands with the President within a couple of days, not in New York or Los Angeles but in a small town, population 2000.

Twas another time. (And this a lovely, love remembrance of the president and daughter Amy and their interactions with other passengers. Definitely another time.)

The Words of Wise Women

• "I’ve been baking with salted butter as of late and I don’t know why I haven’t baked this way sooner!" ~ Joy the Baker, who made her own wedding cake


• PS I'm a loooooong time salted butter fan. First, it means only keeping one kind of butter in inventory aka on hand. Second, all that "unsalted butter lets you control the amount of salt" blah blah is just plain BS because those very same recipes that call for unsalted butter often then call for only a measly puny 1/4 teaspoon of some salt and it's just not enough. Third, Older recipes, especially, just do better with salted butter. Fourth, did you know that the unsalted butter convention is an American affect? European bakers use ... salted butter. Fifth, so there. 🙄 (How do I really feel?)

Made Me Think ...

• Each week, my goal is to dig deeper into a single subject at hand, to become a "mini expert". This week, I delved into our history with the country of Panama, especially the construction and operation of the Panama Canal.


• RECOMMENDED READ Panama Is Back in the News & That Can Be a Good Thing by thinker-extraordinaire James Fallows


• A TAKEAWAY from FALLOWS The next time you hear Trump say that Panama is “cheating” and “ripping off” American shippers, or that the US must stop being a “sucker” country and “loser” and instead step in to combat China’s influence, think of this as one more chapter in his ceaseless “it’s all so unfair!” life-narrative. This rhetoric comes from the same place as his claims that migrants are bringing in deadly fentanyl (they aren’t), that public schools authorize gender-change surgery (they don’t), or that regulation has crippled the US oil industry (which is producing more than ever before). It’s based on lies; it’s designed to make his followers mad; and it works.


• ONE HUGE ISSUE from Panama not making the mainstream news? There is a looming crisis with the Canal and it's not because the U.S. is going to invade Panama to seize the Canal. It's WATER. The Canal may connect two salt-water oceans but the ships that traverse the Canal are dependent on fresh water (50 million freaking gallons for every freaking ship ...) which is in increasingly short supply due to drought in the Canal's watershed, itself caused by ... climate change, which the Trump administration calls "fake news". God help us ...

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THE SEASONAL SEVEN: After the Holidays, Feeding Our Vegetable Cravings

For this week's recipes, I aimed for recipes with wintry flavors and combinations that ...

• ... call for lots of different vegetables, mostly all in the same dish
• ... cross from sides and salads to suppers
• ... no soups this week, maybe next week?

• THE RECIPE Detox Chopped Salad The salad so good, my own sister bought a food processor just to make it.
• ANOTHER TAKE Mighty Perfect Cabbage & Broccoli Coleslaw Cooked a little, just a little.

• THE RECIPE Simple Roasted Mushrooms A surprising side dish, easy meal prep. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Cabbage Noodles Ribbons of soft, silky cabbage, almost like pasta.

• THE "RECIPE" Quick 'n' Easy Raw Salad My own "healthy habit" that I hope will inspire yours, too. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Kale Salad To-Go with Avocado & Apple Make it ahead of time, then take to work or activities. (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE Mediterranean Eggplant Skillet Quick, easy & tasty vegetarian supper. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Sweet Potato Curry with Red Lentils, Roasted Peppers & Spinach Stovetop or slow cooker vegan supper or side, spiked with a touch of heat.

• THE RECIPE Lentil, Pepper & Spinach Supper with Crispy Tofu & Indian Spices Cooks quickly, very adaptable. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Tuscan Vegetable Stew A melange of vegetables, detox with big bright flavor.

• THE RECIPE Slow Cooker Curried Vegetable Stew A spiced stew with many vegetables!
• THE RECIPE Steamed Vegetable Medley Fresh vegetables with a rich and flavorful sauce for drizzling or dipping.

• THE COLLECTION Kitchen Parade's Vegetarian & Vegan Recipes Plant-based meals from breakfast, lunch and dinner to soups, salads and sweets.
• AND ANOTHER Vegan Done Real 52 whole-food vegan recipes from my favorite food bloggers.

What's Brand-Spankin' New?!

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

• IT'S NOT FOOD, IT'S DIY Homemade Foot Lotion Take care of your feet, three easy-to-find ingredients. (PIN This)
• MORE IDEAS The Homemade Pantry Recipes for foods (and lotions!) we could buy but choose to make at home. (PIN This)

Compliments!

Please know, YOU really matter here. Your comments and email (my current address is in the FAQs) encourage and inspire and motivate and some times make me laugh out loud or turn a little teary. It's a good day when I can "see" what you're cooking, "hear" how a recipe worked out, "know" what you're loving.

• HE LIKES IT "We loved the cornbread! PS I’m really enjoying your site. Yours are the most intelligently written recipe recipes I have ever seen and I also love the helpful comments at the end." ~ Craig
• THE RECIPE Skillet Cornbread My first and still-beloved cornbread, stays moist for days. (PIN This)

January: Reader Favorites

• THE RECIPES Oatmeal How and why to cook oatmeal every day, with three recipes.
  
• ANOTHER TAKE Creamy Oatmeal Three tricks for the very best oatmeal, all easy! (PIN This)

• THE RECIPE How to Roast a Whole Butternut Squash No knives, perfect results. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE How to Roast Vegetables 22 Tips + Master Recipe

Trending NOW ...

• THE RECIPE Weight Watchers Zero Points Garden Vegetable Soup The first recipe that really put A Veggie Venture on the road to success.
• BUT WAIT, THERE's MORE All the WW Zero-Point Soups

January: Recipes Lookin' for a Little Love

• THE RECIPE Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables A casual feast, even mid-winter. (PIN This)
• ANOTHER TAKE Tourlou Tourlou (Greek Baked Vegetables) A rainbow of vegetables slow-cooked in the oven.

• THE RECIPE Rustic Tomato Basil Soup Left chunky for a change of pace.
• ANOTHER TAKE Two-Can Ten-Minute Homemade Tomato Soup Made from scratch in just ten minutes without weird ingredients.

The Kitchen Parade Almanac: Looking Ahead ...

• January 5th (first Sunday) - Alanna's Take Down Christmas (or Else) Day
• January 20th (Monday) - MLK Day & Inauguration Day (aka National Day of Mourning)
• January 29th (Wednesday) - Lunar New Year
• February 2nd (Sunday) - Groundhog Day
• February 9th (duh, Sunday) - Superbowl Sunday
• February 14th (Wednesday) - Valentine's
• February 17th (Monday) - President's Day
• March 1st - Alanna's Unofficial First Day of Spring
• March 2nd (Sunday) - Academy Awards
• March 4th (Tuesday) - Mardi Gras / Shrove Tuesday / Pancake Night
• March 5th (Wednesday) - Ash Wednesday / Beginning of Lent
• Fridays During Lent - Friday Fish
• March 9th (Sunday) - "spring forward" time change
• March 14th (Friday) - Three-One-Four Day, a Celebration of All Thing St. Louis (314 is our area code!)
• March 14th (Friday) - Pi Day
• March 16th (Sunday) - St. Urho's Day
• March 17th (Monday) - St. Patrick's Day
• March 20th (Thursday) - First Official Day of Spring
• March 22nd (Saturday, 8:30pm your local time) - Earth Hour
• March 25th - Equal Pay Day (2024 was March 12th, way to go, ladies!)
• March 27th (Thursday) - Baseball Opening Day!

Looking Back ...

FIRST NEWSLETTER OF THE YEAR
• 2021 Early January (Week 1)
• 2023 A Cozy Cool Down (Week 1)
• 2024 January Bucket List (Week 1) (PIN This)

• 2020 Early January (Week 2)
• 2021 Mid January (Week 2)
• 2022 Winter Plant-Based Dinners (Week 2)
• 2024 Juicing Up on Vitamin C (PIN This)

RECENT WEEKS
• Best of 2024 (PIN This)

Soups & Salads Especially for January

• Seasonal Soup & Salad Recipes for January, tons of ideas!
• BUT REALLY, DON'T MISS THIS EXCELLENT SOUP, WW OR NOT Weight Watchers Zero Points Garden Vegetable Soup The original Weight Watchers soup.
• OR THIS CRISP, COLORFUL SALAD Daikon & Pepper Salad Crisp bites, vibrant colors.

Good to Know!

• Vegetables 101 What Are Bitter Greens? Everything you'd like to know, including a comprehensive list and recipes. (PIN This)
• Vegetables 101 What Are Crudites? How to create a colorful Instagram-friendly platter of raw vegetables.

Silly (But Fun?!) Food Holidays

• January 5 — National Whipped Cream Day (Chocolate Cinnamon Whipped Cream Cake)
• January 6 — Dry Bean Day (uncooked dried bean recipes)
• January 6 — National Shortbread Day (Chocolate Shortbread Cookies)
• January 9 — National Apricot Day (Easy Apricot Jam with Rosemary)
• January 10 — Bittersweet Chocolate Day (Chocolate Ginger Crinkle Cookies)

The Best No-Recipe Recipe I Made This Week

crisp apples + peanut butter = so good!

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 this week.

• THIS WEEK I added a whole pile (15g) of fresh dill to this year's NY potato salad and my goodness, I will forevermore. Something extra fun? My Finnish "sister" made "my" salad this year too!
• THE RECIPE Finnish New Year's Franks & Potato Salad Finland's casual, celebratory tradition, perfect for low-key gatherings. (PIN This)

• THIS WEEK We ended up on "Covid watch" before New Year's, after a close-up exposure. I wanted something a little meatier, in case we weren't up for cooking later so added a pound of stew meat to the usual pound of ground meat. Good news, no covid for us! Was it the chili? LOL possibly. So good! That said, it makes a big batch, really too much for two even over several days. Luckily, it freezes well.
• THE RECIPE Homemade Chili with Dried Beans For a slow cooker or slow-cooking in the oven. No canned beans! (PIN This)

Something to Read

I love discovering young authors, ones with years of writing left ...

This was a lovely book to read over the holidays, the story of four siblings/their families who gather in Upstate New York for Christmas after losing their mom. Without their mom, they're unmoored and must re-negotiate their relationships without her, all while deciding what to do with her/their family home in Florida.

• THE BOOK Flight (affiliate link) by Lynn Steger Strong


• NO TIME TO READ? 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.

• Any advice for Seasonal Sundays?
• Just one thing that would make it more useful for you?
• 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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