It's Fall Veggie Time!

One of the best aspects of the turn of seasons is the turn of vegetables.By this month we have been over saturated in tomatoes and zucchini.We want fall veggies, rich with complex tastes.They are versatile in variety of different dishes,from soups to casseroles. One of the most interesting harvests is the cauliflower.Most people associate it was just that crudite you dip in ranch dressing or overcooked with a covering of gummy cheese.Think again .Cauliflower is a great veggie with so many prospects.David Tanis of The New York Times Dining section explored it in his A City Kitchen column.He makes it with rigatoni and sears it in a hot skillet This browns, caramelizes and mellows the taste, bringing it to another level.Mr Tanis cooks it with cumin and mustard seeds but you can also try just sea salt and fresh ground pepper.My favorite is breaded cauliflower, fried to a crisp and browned to a nice nutty color. .As calorically lethal as it is, it is also the tastiest , each piece having a nice ,satisfying crunch.Cauliflower is also good in soup.An easy recipe ,starting cooking down the veggie,then mashing them into a chunky paste.Finish with a simple roué and broth combined.It's a nice creamy potage that 's great on a cold autumn night.Squash is another fall treat.You can make it into a squash or a creamy mash.The deep yellow is also good cut into pieces and grilled. serve with French style butter and a good sprinkling of sea salt. You can also cook butternut squash the same way too. Brussels sprouts also come out when the leaves turn. These are an incredibly fun medium.One of the best recipes are Brussels sprouts chips.Wash and peel the leaves off them, then place on an oiled cookie sheet.Drizzle with more oil and sprinkled with seasalt.A more traditional recipe calls for boiling them for a few minutes.Then put in a shallow baking dish and top with pats of butter and Parmensan cheese.Broil for a minute or two until the cheese turns golden.The sprouts are also good when just simply roasted.These too can be spiked with red pepper flakes or fresh ground pepper.Only foodie's and chefs know about another autumn bloomer, Swiss chard.It's a popular veggie in Piedmontese cooking and easy to cook.Take the white stem part ,cut into two-inch pieces and boiloncecooked then put into a pan with butter.Add a mix of two beaten eggs , a quarter of a cup of vinegar mixed with water.Pour over the chard and let it cook up.Swiss chard leaves are exactly like spinach, including in taste and you can cook the leaves. Like the other, serve with butter for an alternative to the other green stuff. Now is the time to say goodbye to summer vegetables.Embrace the fall harvest with delicious veggies and dishes made from them.They are a welcome change in a welcome season.

Welcome Sprouts!!!

The New York Times Dining section has a brand new and interesting column called Sprouts.It's all about teaching kids to not only eat healthy but cook healthy as well.The column now written by Elaine Louie will be a godsend to those parents who want to introduce their kids to the love of good food and good cooking. The first article is all about a subject dear to my heart - polenta.This is a tricky food to introduce to kids.Little ones through teens are not always happy with this corm mash because it's too mushy or served with meats and sauces that kids detest.This one is different. The recipe is by the chef of the famed Manhattan restaurant Toqueville,Marco Moreira and his ten year old daughter Francesca.It is an easy recipe that involves a yummy blend of polenta and butter along with Parmesan and topped with a simple pomodoro sauce. Anyone would love this as a dinner or even a simple Saturday lunch. In the upcoming months Sprouts will have interesting interviews with chefs and their children. The focus will not just be on young foodies but also good vegetarian eating with easy recipes.Also cookbook authors and restauranteurs along with their offspring will weigh in with all sorts of dishes and opinions. I like the accompanying recipes that come with Sprouts. They're very kid friendly with a strong emphasis on kitchen safety. Each step tells who should do what , the adult or the child.This is a great way of introducing kids to all aspects of cooking, from prep to the actual process. Sprouts is opening a new chapter in the Dining section history.Elaine Louie recognizes that children need to learn not only how to cook but how to eat healthy.It's a great way of turning the next generation into conscientious foodies.