Your October recipes are here
Okay you can have your pumpkin spice, but with a twist.
Oh, October. Crisp air. Harvest season. Apple, pear and pumpkin picking. Fleece weather. It is a beautiful time of the year when Libras get to be as indecisive as they want about what to cook.
So this month in Weeknight Simple, I help you make some easy decisions. About dinner. First up, we finally get to spice up pumpkins and go all in. Next, with the fruits (pears or apples) of our labor, we make an easy salad that might automatically get deemed Thanksgiving-table worthy. And finally, we go Mediterranean-style with an addictively spiced tofu + cauliflower bowl. My recipe tester actually cooked all 3 recipes the same day, and you can be an over-achiever too!
Wait, what’s Weeknight Simple, you said? It’s my recipe membership where you get
3 weeknight-friendly recipes per month with 20-30g protein per serving
Lots of plants
a shopping list organized by aisle (no more getting overwhelmed and making random decisions at the supermarket that have you wasting produce) - this month’s list should average you between $50-$80, depending on where you live.
clear meal prep instructions to get you from kitchen to dinner pronto while beating that evening brain fog
A bonus recipe each month, usually breakfast, a snack or dessert, but I reserve the right to send you other awesome things
Remember, you don’t need to make them all the same week (but you can and I will). The goal is to add new favorites to your go-to dinner rotation.
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Here’s what’s on the menu:
Spicy Pumpkin Puttanesca
With great respect, I adapt one of my favorite recipes from Ottolenghi Simple to give you this Pumpkin Puttanesca sauce. Lovely Mediterranean things like harissa, olives & capers transform a can of pumpkin puree into a sauce that will leave you OBSESSED. Meal prep the sauce for an easy weeknight dinner that you are guaranteed to make over and over this fall. Lots of leftover sauce that you can use as I did for a quick lasagna, or even Shakshuka.
Pear, Fennel, Walnut & Gorgonzola Salad
An elegant salad ceremony that marries pears (or green apples) with another seasonal delight - fennel, and is blessed by a splendid lemon vinaigrette that brings it all together. Soft and crumbly gorgonzola (or you can use goat cheese) coats everything and brings a rich flavor. I added a little farro to make this dish heartier, for use as a main, oh and I almost forgot - edamame for protein. But you could also serve it as a side. I nominate this one for your Thanksgiving table.
Balsamic Harissa Tofu Mediterranean Bowl
Harissa and balsamic vinegar are truly a match made in heaven. Together, they give tofu a deep color and delightful tang, and contrast beautifully with this sumac-spiced cauliflower that can be baked together with the tofu. This meal comes together in easy Buddha-bowl style, adding avocados for healthy fat, quinoa for complex carbs and a quick minty Greek yogurt sauce.
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