Oh, food. I love food. It is a wonderful necessity that is wrapped up in every part of my life, and forever linked with my mood and emotions. I'm sorry; did that just get weird? It's true, though.
The changing seasons also affect my food choices, and this fall all I've been craving is macaroni and cheese, and tomato soup with grilled cheese. Seeing a pattern? Cheese.....warm, gooey, tangy cheese! Unfortunately, that's on my no-good list, so I can only enjoy the thought of it!
But, I have been making some very autumnal foods to help fill the void. In fact, as I write I have tomatoes, onions, peppers, and garlic roasting in the oven to make tomato soup; it smells so good and I am so hungry that I hardly know how I'll survive the next 30 minutes. I hope you're glad to know that you're acting as a distraction while I wait for dinner.
Anyways, here are a few of my favorite autumnal inspired foods!
First, a breakfast recipe. Since going grain-free, I've really missed oatmeal, because it used to be a staple breakfast food. I've experimented with several recipes for "n'otmeal" and porridge, and this Pumpkin Porridge is definitely a good option. I tweaked the recipe a little bit, doubling everything except the pumpkin (using only 3/4 cup of that), using coconut milk instead of almond milk, and using maple syrup instead of stevia. Actually, a few times I didn't put any sweetener in it at all, and it was still good. I topped mine with apples and walnuts, but raisins, pecans, or a whole host of other things would be good on top. It's definitely still not oatmeal, but it gives you that same warm, creamy goodness feel.
Second was a recipe that I concocted on my own. It's based off a basic chicken salad recipe, but instead of grapes and celery, I used roasted butternut squash, pears, and walnuts. I used leftover grapefruit vinigrette for my binder, and a little dash of apple cider vinegar. The only thing I think I'd change would be adding a creamier binder - something mayonaise based. I served it with Irish Soda biscuits. Super yummy, and really similar to the wheat version. Only problem was that they got stale really quickly.
Lastly is a chowder that was half recipe, half made up. Last year I made potato corn chowder a lot in the fall, sometimes with sausage and sometimes with bacon. It was so wonderfully creamy and flavorful and delicious, and I was really craving it when the cool weather started coming. Of course, I can't do the traditional milk and flour based chowders, and I also can't do corn, so I started looking around for other options. I stumbled upon this cauliflower soup recipe, and although very skeptical, decided to give it a try. I then added some pre-cooked Italian sausage and potatoes to mimic my old chowder. Wow, did it turn out well! I seriously think that if someone wasn't told they were eating cauliflower, they'd never know. It was the perfect, creamy base to highlight the flavors of the sausage and potatoes. And, super fast to make! I'll definitely be returning to this recipe as a base for many chowders to come.
There you have it - three cheese-less recipes to satisfy your craving for fall foods. Now, please excuse me while I go finish cooking my tomato soup and devour it whole-heartedly.
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