This fall, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about food. There are three articles I’ve been working on this semester that are related to food or the food system. On the side, I’ve been doing a lot more cooking – and more specifically, a lot more elaborate cooking. I’ve been trying to utilize the wonderful produce that is seasonal in the fall – pumpkins and lots of squash – in my cooking.

College Vegetarian Cooking (Amazon)

This is currently my most used cookbook. The recipes are easy to follow, require ingredients that I can find at my urban grocery stores and have beautiful pictures to go alongside them. I’ve made a lot of the dishes in here, most with great success. This book has lots of healthy recipes in them that are great for the vegetarian diet – they often have either faux-meat products or beans for protein. What I’ve made so far and what I think of the recipes:

• Spinach-mushroom crepes – I don’t have a crepe pan in Toronto, but I used my mom’s when I was home this summer. I’d never made crepes before, and I found it so simple to make them following this recipe. I’ll definitely be taking advantage of the crepe pan when I’m back in Calgary at Christmas.
• Penne with pan-roasted tomatoes and white beans – very simple recipe with few ingredients. I love fresh basil, which is the main seasoning in this dish.
• Butternut squash soup – This recipe was the first time I’d ever cut a squash. I had to look it up, because I had no idea – this is the one instruction I wish they had in the book.
• Oven-fried zucchini sticks with honey mustard sauce – this was one of my favourite things to make this summer. I could probably drink the sauce that goes with these.
• Butternut squash risotto – I made this earlier in the week and it. is. to. die. for. seriously. It is one of the best things I have ever made. My main issue with the recipe is that it calls for “small butternut squash” – and then gives a measurement in pounds. I don’t have a kitchen scale, and I have no idea what a constitutes a small squash. I ended up doubling the amount of risotto and water/broth in this recipe – I’m glad I did so I can enjoy the dish longer.
• Vegan chocolate pudding – This was another keeper recipe, unfortunately I had the heat on too high and burnt a bit on the bottom of the pot. While there was no noticeable change in taste, it did make for a lot of scrubbing.

In making this list I realized I haven’t made as many things from this book as I’d thought. Overall I’ve been pretty impressed with most recipes – since they’re so simple it’s pretty easy to make adjustments based on my own preferences or what I have in the fridge.

Since I’ve been back in Calgary, I’ve been watching a lot of Food Network as I’d been on withdrawal for the last 8 months.  One new (to me anyways) host caught my eye.  Two of my favourite things are fashion and food – combine together and I instantly swoon.  When I discovered that one of the Food Network hosts whips up meals while wearing Betsey Johnson AND stilettos, well, be still my heart!   Starting as an online show, Bitchin’ Kitchen is now a late night favourite on the Food Network.

Nadia G, the master chef on Bitchin’ Kitchen makes me want to cook in style, so don’t be surprised if you see my cooking up a storm in heels and a gorgeous dress in the fall!  All I need is the perfect apron to protect my beloved dresses.  While I think I might try and make my own, there are many different styles on Etsy for those who cannot sew (or do not have mother’s that they hope will help them!) My favourites are the cupcake and hedgehog aprons from Annie’s Attic, or the cupcake one by Baked With Love Aprons.

Image from Bitchin’ Kitchen.