ventage tuesday : fall foods to try

Happy (really late) Tuesday! I really need to learn to write these posts ahead of time. Sigh. Before I jump into today's Ventage Tuesday topic, let me say CONGRATS! to Dianne for winning the I AM giveaway. Please email your addy to me – katrina(at)katrinasimeck(dot)com. Thank you!! 

Today's Ventage Tuesday post is about a subject that we Ventage Girls hold near & dear….FOOD! I'm constantly on the lookout for new recipes to try (I subscribe to an obscene amount of cooking blogs), so I surfed my Pinterest "dine" board and Google Reader starred items to come up with five recipes that I'm looking forward to making this fall - 

Roasted Butternut Squash & Black Bean Enchiladas by Yummy Mummy: due to the fact that this summer's sweet potato & black bean tacos were a fast favorite, I'm thinking that this adaptation could be a fall winner. (note: there will be no sour cream happening here. Em, how are we friends??)

Black Rice w/Sweet Potatoes & Scallions from Emily Levenson: super simple, but really interesting…and colorful! This is actually on the menu for this week.

Chickpea & Rosemary Frittata from Stone Soup: I love frittatas for dinner. I never would have thought of eggs & chickpeas – but I enjoy both, so why not?

Shredded Brussels Sprouts & Apples from 101 Cookbooks: I feel like I should like brussels sprouts. I'm often surprised when I have them in restaurants and I actually like them….so I'm convinced that it's merely a flaw in the way that I've cooked them. I'd like to try again – although I'll likely sub tempeh for tofu b/c I like the texture better.

Creamy Lumaconi w/Sausage & Spinach: I've made this one a couple of times, and it's a fave. I substitute veg sausage (favorite: Field Roast Apple Sage), and use whatever shape of pasta I happen to have on hand. 

Cooking/eating notes: I'm pescetarian (veg & fish), and I only cook pescetarian. Austin eats pescetarian at home, and sometimes chooses to eat meat at restaurants & friend's houses. Ditto for Hope (who also cooks for herself at university). I don't eat most condiments, so I work around them when recipes call for them. Austin and I (+ Hope when she's home) sit down at table every night (with few exceptions) with real plates, cloth napkins, and proper glasses (stemless red for me). Having interesting recipes makes mealtime more fun. I totally get the challenges of dinnertime with little ones….b/c my children weren't born 16 and 20. Trust me, I get it. 

Be sure to check out the other Ventage Girls! – Barb, Em, Stephanie, and Angie.