[genghis cunt]

Last night: three cloves minced garlic in a pot with a little olive oil, let it sizzle. Add in a can of drained and rinsed black beans, red pepper flakes, oregano, kosher salt, chipotle hot sauce. Add enough water to cover and simmer until hot. Serve on brown rice, top with diced red onion. Eat until you forget about your shitty work situation.

[damona]

treehugger, i was thinking of doing that this year, too. i can't use the store bought ones (kids have food allergies), and i really miss having corned beef!

[missjoy]

Just thought I would share an awesome and simple recipe I made from my vegan cookbook.

First - chop a clove of garlic (I did two) and either chop a few tomatos or (as I did) use half a 14 oz can of chopped/diced tomatos. You also chop up black olives - I did two (as I don't really like olives) and chopped them really small. You heat two tbsp of olive oil in a pan and cook all of that slowly for 15 minutes. You also add some oregano. at the end you can add some parsley.

Cook one serving of spaghetti - throw it all together with lots of black pepper. Yum yum!

[pollystyrene]

Mr. Styrene's brother did it for St. Pat's day a couple years ago. It was good- takes a few days of prep work, and the flavors are a little more subtle than a store-bought one (mainly, it was less salty, with I like since I'm salt-sensitive), but it was really good!

Go for it!

[treehugger]

Has anybody here ever made corned beef? I don't mean cooking one that is already corned that you buy in the bag at the market....I mean buying a beef brisket and doing the brining and seasoning yourself, then preparing it? I saw a recipe and I'm thinking of giving it a shot.

[pollystyrene]

I got a really good mix of veggies from the Whole Foods deli yesterday, kitten- it was carrots, red pepper, brussel sprouts (which I only recently discovered the awesomeness of!) and onions, all sliced up. Sauteed, a little olive oil and sea salt. I think if I were making it myself, I'd add a little balsamic or apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. It just needed a little tarting up.

Sounds like a good dinner- good luck with the meeting of the parents!

[auralpoison]

Mashed taters or buttered noodles are kind of traditional, but I'd go with something lighter. Maybe some roasted asparagus or some crisp green beans with slivered almonds or sauteed spinach with toasted pinenuts or something?

[kittenb]

I need a side dish suggestion, ladies. My mom is coming to town next week and she is going to meet my boyfriend's parents. I'm having everyone over for dinner. We are pretty casual so it won't be fancy. I'm planning on making beef burgundy in my slow-cooker and a brie & chice biscuit I have a recipie for. Do I need a side dish? I can't decide and I can't think what it should be.
I think I might make brownies for dessert. Something simple (I'll be a little short on time) but that everyone likes. Thanks!

[missjoy]

Mmmm... this thread is making me drool! I love fall flavours and recipes - probably because of the heartiness and focus on root veggies. If you like sweet potatos (even if you don't) I would suggest this recipe. It is my go-to soup recipe and everyone loves it. Joyboy doesn't like sweet potatoes so the first time I served it to him I just said it was a 'thai flavoured' soup.

http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo-ear/RecipeControl...mp;recipeID=148

I usually don't bother doing the topping so it becomes a really quick dish.

I'm currently trying to curb my cookbook addiction (I really want Ina Garten's Back to Basics book). I'm on my own for the next few weeks and dug out a Vegan Meals for One cookbook that does meals by the week. I might give it a go for some healthy meals with built in portion control!

[koffeewitch]

Here's where I got my recipes: http://www.whats4eats.com/africa/ethiopia-cuisine
Definitely skip the fake injera recipe and buy your own, though! I've only tried the veggie dishes, so I can't speak for the others...but for the first time, I got really good results comparable to a Blue Nile restaurant.

[ketto]

Koffee, you should post th wat recipe. I LOVE ethiopian food. We have a great hole in the wall near our apartment that usually costs $15 for 2, including tax and drinks. I should hit it up again.

[Persiflager]

Ooh, let me know if it tastes good cold! It loooks like a great lunch.

Yeah, it is a very rich dish! I amended the proportions a bit so that we had more spinach and less meat, but it was still a feast.

[sybarite]

Persi, that dish looks amazing (if seriously rich).

I'm also a fan of mixing sweet potatoes w/ savoury tastes... which is why the muffins appeal when combined with cheese. Cheers for the autumnal recipe ideas!

I am broke these days so keep looking for recipes which are tasty but don't involve pricy ingredients... and which ideally give me leftovers. I'm trying this one for butter beans with garlic and herbs tonight.

[Persiflager]

Sweet potato goes very well with chorizo (here).

Koffeewitch, that potato dish sounds delicious!

[koffeewitch]

That's just it, I'm pretty mild on any squash but zuchini...I'll eat them, but I don't love them like I love cruciferous veggies and the other root veggies...and I totally share your view of sweet potatoes. I want to make them more savory, never sweeter and mix them up with a lot of other flavors so they're just an accent.

Hey, guys I finally made some decent Ethiopian wats (thanks internet)...I bought the injera bread, cause I wasn't even going to try making it without teff flour...but for once my Mesir wat, shiro and yatikilt wat was actually worthy of the bread it was served on. God, I love how you can learn to cook just about anything if you search hard enough on-line.

[ketto]

Koffee, which squash do you like? They can all taste very different but it sounds like you might be more of a summer squash-type. Some of my favourites are spaghetti squash with olive oil and feta, any butternut squash soup, and buttercup squash is delicious as it's own mashed dish or roasted or mixed in with other root veggies.

I've never been a huge fan of sweet potatoes on their own because I actually find them a bit too sweet alone. I can't understand how people can add extra brown sugar to them. Paperboy really likes them that way but we never added anything to them when I was growing up. Most of the time I prefer to use them as an accent or mixed with other things.

Speaking of squash, I had two sitting around that I needed to get rid of. I threw together a really nice winter squash/apple/onion soup that's so deliciously fall. Soups are one of my favourite things to make because I never need a recipe, I just raid the pantry.

[auralpoison]

I love all squash! I like it roasted, steamed, grilled, in soups, sometimes I make a lacy sort of batter & lightly fry them. The other night dinner was steamed zuch, yellow squash, red peppers, okra with shrimp & andouille in a light wine/butter/bay/cracked pepper sauce.

My friend posted this recipe today & I think I may try it out since it sounds really easy & quite good.

Sweet Potato Muffins with Candied Ginger
From Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

Chunks of candied ginger make these particularly good. If you don’t have ginger readily at hand, replace it with chopped dates, raisins, or fresh pineapple. Serve these with Brie or other mild cheese, butter, or cream cheese.

Makes 10 to 12 (regularly sized, not huge) muffins.

1/3 cup chopped candied ginger or chopped pineapple, dates, or raisins
1/4 cup butter, melted, or vegetable oil
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup mashed sweet potato or winter squash
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Oil or spray a muffin tin.

Mix the ginger and wet ingredients (melted butter, molasses, brown sugar, sweet potato, egg, buttermilk) in a bowl until smooth; mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon) in a second bowl. Combine the two, mixing gently until well blended (as with most muffins, do not overmix).

Spoon the batter into the muffin tins and bake on the middle shelf until lightly browned, about 25 minutes.

[koffeewitch]

I cannot stand sweet potatoes. I have tried them so many different ways over the years & the only way I can stomach them are the rare extra extra extra crispy/salty frites or in a homemade sweet potato pie. I make a kick ass sweet potato pie.

I've never been a fan of sweet potatoes either, but lately I've learned to eat (and enjoy) them like this: I fry up a beautiful array of multi-colored potatoes, purple potatoes, orange and red sweet potatoes, golden and red potatoes...all of those natural fall colors fried up in a pan with carmelized onions is really delish and the sweet potatoes are more like an accent flavor.

I've also cooked up a mixture of sweet potatoes and gold yukons to use in otherwise traditional Indian dishes (like Aloo Mattar, Aloo Ghobi, etc.)

I wish I enjoyed squashes a little more...every fall I try out some new recipe for squash, but 'cept for zuchini, I'm just pretty luke-warm about the squashes.

[auralpoison]

This here is what I'm stocking up on for winter. It's a good source of calcium!

[damona]

aural, that was a brilliant riposte the chicken in a can was one of the strangest things i've seen in awhile. did you see this one ?