Cooking with Fall Vegetables: 4 Recipes to Warm Hearts and Homes

If your dinner routine is in a rut, fall is the perfect time to add flavors and textures that aren’t as readily available in other seasons. The harvest this time of year is rich with fall vegetables and herbs. For dinner this week, try one of the following recipes to celebrate fall’s flavors:

Broccoli, Quinoa, and Walnut Salad

Keep summer alive for just a few more weeks with this cool, crisp, crunchy treat that uses early fall’s favorite veggie selections.

• 1 cup quinoa, cooked
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 2 broccoli crowns, double washed
• 1½ garlic cloves, minced
• Juice from a fresh-squeezed lime
• 2 tbsp. grape-seed oil
• ½ tsp. real salt
• ½ cup walnut pieces

To make, toss your dried cranberries into the quinoa and chill the mixture in the fridge for at least an hour. Chop the broccoli into small pieces, and mix the quinoa mixture with the broccoli.

Now it’s time to make the dressing. Begin by mashing the minced garlic into a paste. Combine with the juice, grape-seed oil, and salt. Whisk, and then chill. To serve, pour your dressing over the mixture and garnish with walnuts.

Vegan Curried Pumpkin Cauliflower

When I interviewed my local year-round veggie farmer on how to eat local foods during the winter, she offered some great fall vegetable recipes. She highly recommends squash; I prefer to cook and puree pumpkin instead.

What you’ll need:

• ½ yellow onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp. coconut oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tbsp. spicy curry powder
• 1 tsp. fresh ground ginger
• 1 tsp. real salt
• ½ tsp. coarse ground black pepper
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. cayenne
• 1 can pumpkin (or, if you’re adventurous, cook and puree 15 oz. of your own)
• 1½ cup cauliflower florets
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk

Sauté the onions over medium heat for three minutes in a tablespoon of coconut oil. Add minced garlic and stir, cooking about a minute more. Next add the tomatoes and stir. Cook for six to seven minutes, stirring occasionally.

Combine your curry, ginger, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and cayenne in a separate bowl to dump in at once. Add the pumpkin puree, cauliflower florets, and dry ingredient mixture to your pan, and stir until combined.

Carefully add the coconut milk, and bring the whole mixture to a boil. Stir once, then turn the heat to low and let simmer. After about ten to twelve minutes, check your cauliflower by piercing it with a fork. When it’s tender, serve and enjoy!

Raw Carrot Top Chimichurri Sauzz

With this vegan recipe, you can take a culinary adventure to Argentina without leaving your kitchen.

To begin, you’ll need:

• Greens from one bunch local carrots
• 2 tsp. oregano flakes
• ½ tsp. cumin
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1½ minced garlic clove
• 2 tsp. real salt
• 2 turns coarse-ground black pepper
• ¼ cup white wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup avocado oil

To get started, wash your carrot greens. (And then wash again for good measure.)

Next, chop the greens as finely as possible. You may opt to use a food processor’s “chop” option, but be sure to watch it for uneven piece sizes.

Mix all other ingredients together in a small mixing bowl, and slowly add the greens.

Serve over roasted carrots and late-harvest local potatoes for the perfect side dish.

All-American Celery Soup

This heartwarming comfort food recipe can be served as a side dish or offered up as a main course, since it’s hearty enough to serve both purposes.

It incorporates both fall vegetables and herbs so you get the nutrition and flavor of the season.

The ingredients you need are:

• 1 head celery, trimmed and chopped
• 1 cup onion, frozen and chopped
• 1 tbsp. refined avocado oil
• 2 tbsp. white vinegar
• 2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• Juice from half a lemon
• ¼ cup fresh cut, whole-leaf basil
• 2 tsp. unrefined real salt
• A pinch black pepper

To make, soften your celery by steaming it for twelve minutes or boiling it in water for six minutes. In a separate (medium-sized) saucepan, sauté onions in avocado oil, adding a tablespoon of water every two minutes. Stir occasionally. When translucent (after about seven minutes), remove from heat. Put all ingredients into a blender, and blend on “low” for a half-minute. Then go to medium, and finally mix on high for another thirty seconds. Transfer the mixture back into your saucepan. Heat it on low, stirring occasionally, until your soup achieves your desired temperature. Serve with crusty whole-grain bread, and enjoy!

How do you incorporate fall vegetables into your family’s meals this time of year? Shoot a link to your favorite recipe on Twitter @TomsofMaine!

Image source: Bethany Johnson

This article was brought to you by Tom’s of Maine. The views and opinions expressed by the author do not reflect the position of Tom’s of Maine.