This may be the best time of year to be in the kitchen. The weather is cooling, our appetites increase and at the holidays we take a little more time to cook at home, and to sit and enjoy what we’ve made. Even in our mild Northern California climate, we feel the change of seasons. And the markets are full of great produce, winter squash, root vegetables, cauliflower and broccoli, greens of all kinds. Fresh persimmons, pomegranates, kumquats and cranberries make a brief appearance.
And still there is the question, what to cook? Just for the fun of it, I’ve culled 101 seasonal menu ideas, almost all from the 22 years of vegetarian dinners we’ve done in Palo Alto. I leave it to you to use your imagination to create recipes from these ideas or to research them on the net. And week by week, I will be posting more recipes, so check back. Many thanks to the cooks who have worked closely with me over the years, James Holloway, Chuck Collison, Adele Stiller, Susanne Jensen, Anka Sayre and so many others. If you are looking for dessert recipes, I highly recommend Meredith McCarty’s “Sweet and Natural.” Meredith writes recipes with a thoroughness and precision I can only envy. Let me know how your holiday feasts turn out. Happy cooking!
101 Menu Ideas for Fall/Winter:
Soups
1. Cream of Mushroom (sauté mushrooms, onions, add soy milk bechamel sauce)
2. Gingered Squash (roast squash, sauté onions, fresh ginger, add stock, purée)
3. Curried Sweet Potato (peeled, diced sweet potatoes cooked with Indian spices, add stock, puree in blender, add coconut milk)
4. Wild Rice and Veggie Chowder (cook brown and wild rice, separately sauté onions, celery, diced root veggies, add water, then soy milk, add in cooked rice)
5. Cuminy Corn and Squash (sauté peeled, diced winter squash, onions, ground cumin, later add stock and corn, simmer)
6. Water Cress-Mushroom Consommé (make a rich mushroom broth with several kinds of dried mushrooms and fresh, season with soy sauce, add water cress last)
7. Creamy Onion and Leek Potage (potatoes, leek, onions, puréed with soy milk)
8. French Onion Soup w/ Herbed Croutons (caramelize onions, add soup stock, seasonings, for croutons: toast cubed bread tossed with dried French herb blend)
9. Aduki Bean and Winter Squash Soup w/ Chestnut Cream (cook aduki beans with peeled, diced squash, onions, ginger, thin with water, season with mis0)
10. Roasted Cauliflower and Onion (cut cauliflower into small flowerettes, toss with olive oil and salt, roast in hot oven until golden, add to onion stock, season with white miso, salt, etc.
11. Kabocha Squash Miso (peeled, diced squash simmered in water with wakame sea vegetable, season with both white and red miso, green onion garnish)
12. Lima Bean and Corn Soup w/ Fried Sage (cook lima beans with extra water, when tender add sautéed onions, carrots, corn, garnish with fried sage leaves)
13. Red Kuri Squash and White Bean Soup w/ Julienned Kale (cook whites beans in extra water, separately simmer peeled, diced squash, onions and kale cut fine, combine when beans are done, season with white miso, ume boshi vinegar, etc.)
14. Root Vegetable Chowder (diced root veggies simmered in water until tender, add soy milk, salt, seasonings of choice)
15. Quinoa and Autumn Veggies
16. Creamy Parsnip and Leek
17. Roasted Winter Squash and Pear
18. White Bean w/ Caramelized Butternut Squash, Onion and Leeks
19. Autumn Vegetable Minestrone
Vegetarian Main Courses
20. Wild Rice-Almond Croquettes w/ Mushroom Gravy
21. Seitan Medallions w/ Roasted Onion Sauce
22. Vegetable Pot Pie w/ Herbed Biscuit Topping
23. Grain and Nut Loaf w/ Chanterelle Mushroom Gravy
24. Polenta Triangles w/ Roasted Vegetable Sauce
25. Tofu Croquettes
26. Breaded Tofu Cutlets
27. Quinoa-Wild Rice Loaf
28. Roasted Butternut Squash Savory Bread Pudding
29. Millet Bake w/ Winter Squash, Onions, Dried Cranberries and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
Grains, Breads, Stuffings
30. Wild Rice-Brown Rice Almondine
31. Onion Cornbread
32. Pecan Accented Quinoa Pilaf
33. Couscous Pilaf Stuffing
34. Chestnut-Brown Rice Pilaf
35. Cornbread-Kale Stuffing
Vegetables, Side Dishes
36. Sweet and Tart Red Cabbage
37. Balsamic Roasted Root Veggies
38. Sweet Potato and Carrot Tzimmes
39. Mashed Sweet Potatoes or half and half w/ Carrots (w/ freshly-grated nutmeg)
40. Steamed Broccoli w/ Red Onion Dressing
41. Apple Cider-Glazed Carrots and Parsnips
42. Cranberry Chutney
43. Sweet and Tart Pickled Red Onions
44. Maple-Glazed Roasted Butternut Squash (or root vegetable of choice)
45. Cranberry-Pear Compote
46. Potato Latkes
47. Roasted Beets w/ Citrus Dressing, Orange Segments and Toasted Walnuts
48. Winter Squash Baked w/Cinnamon-Ginger-Cumin Spice Rub, sprinkle of salf and a drizzle of Olive Oil
49. Julienned Kale Sauté w/ Generous mix of fresh Shiitake mushrooms also sautéed
50. Orange and Maple-Glazed Roasted Sweet Potato Spears
51. Green Beans w/ Caramelized Onions or w/ Toasted Almonds or in Casserole and Mushroom Sauce
52. Cranberry-Kumquat Relish
53. Steamed Cauliflower w/ real or vegan Hollandaise Sauce
54. Cranberry Kanten
55. Red or Fingerling Potatoes Roasted w/ Garlic and Herbs
56. Yukon Gold Potatoes Mashed w/ snipped Chives or julienned Fried Sage
57. Scalloped Sweet Potatoes and Yukon Gold Potatoes
58. Cauliflower Au Gratin
59. Collards or Kale Saute´w/ Caramelized Onions and Spicy Pumpkin Seeds
Salads
60. Sweet and Tart Cucumber
61. Field Greens w/ Dried Cranberries, Toasted Pecans and Creamy Apple-Ginger Dressing
62. Arugula and Radicchio w/ Sweet and Tart Mustard Dressing
64. Field Greens w/ Creamy Garlic and Herb Dressing
64. Baby Greens w/ Glazed Pecans and Citrus Vinaigrette
65. Mixed Greens w/ Diced Asian Pears and Pear or Raspberry Vinaigrette
66. Mixed Salad Greens w/ Persimmon and Blood Orange Slices, Candied Pecans and Blood Orange Vinaigrette
67. Frisée, Radicchio and Mixed Greens w/ Asian Pears, Pomegranates and Walnuts
68. Mixed Green and Radicchio w/ Dried Cranberries, Apples, Caramelized Pecans and Cranberry Vinaigrette
69. Wild Greens w/ Local Oranges and Pomegranates and Meyer Lemon-Apple Vinaigrette
70. Waldorf Salad (Apple, Celery, Raisins, Walnuts, Mayonnaise style dressing)
71. Shredded Beets w/ Citrus and Parsley Dressing
72. Red Cabbage-Carrot Slaw w/ Apples and Golden Raisins
73. Watercress, Jicama, Avocado, Red Grapefruit w/ Citrus Vinaigrette
Desserts
74. Pumpkin, Pecan and Date Pudding (with creamy topping)
75. Pecan Tart
76. Holiday Spice Cake w/ “Hard” Sauce
77. Dark Gingerbread Cake w/ Roasted Pears
78. Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
79. Baked Apples Stuffed w/ Raisins and Walnuts
80. Hazelnut Cake w/ Chocolate Sauce
81. Vegan Mince Pie
82. Sweet Potato Pie
83. Pear, Persimmon and Apple Crunch
84. Fig and Almond Cake
85. Cranberry-Orange Nut Bread
86. Orange-Spice Cake
87. Pecan Dream Bars
88. Ginger Pudding Cake w/Caramel Sauce
89. Caramelized Apple and/or Pear Tart
90. Orange-Kumquat Fruit and Spice Bars
91. Cranberry-Walnut Tart
92. Cranberry-Fruit Cake
93. Figgy Pudding Cake
94. Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Walnut Squares
95. Ginger-Pinenut-Spice Bars
96. Pumpkin Cheesecake
97. Polenta Corn Cake w/ Poached Pears
98. Roasted Pear or Apple Bread Pudding
99. Chestnut Pudding
100. Pumpkin Mousse
101. Pumpkin-Nut Bread (For all recipes which call for pumpkin, it’s best to use Butternut, Kabocha or Red Kuri Squash)
the MacroChef 