Fall Excitement

 We  are quickly striding towards autumn. That means a whole new way of cooking plus using comforting and warm ingredients and flavors. It's a time to cook and bake old favorites while exploring new possibilities.

What am I excited for?  Pasta, as usual but with different spins, namely my sauces.I want to create a spinach and mushroom one with the addition of plant protein based chicken or beef.Pasta dishes are the easiest but also the heartiest dish.Its a quick boil of pasta and creating a rib sticking sauce in the skillet You can also use really chicken and beef.Most recipes do call tomatoes but you can omit them if you want.Many people are getting excited about making all sorts of meat pies.These are great weekend dishes, comforting and fun after a busy Saturday and Sunday. Yes these can be bought but the home made ones are just so much better. Besides home chefs can home their baking shills by making the crust. This is an easy make with only a buttery crust and a creamy mix of meat, sauce and various veggies. Add heavy cream for a richer sauce. Some add a splash of brandy or cognac for a richer sauce,It's added after the veggies are sauteed to deglaze tqwghgbve pan.

Of course this is the season for baking. Many home bakers are stocking up on boiled apple cider. This is when regular apple cider is boiled and the water evaporates to form an intense flavored syrup.Its used un anything apples but especially apple cider doughnuts It s also a great taste booster in apple pie and apple crisp. Pumpkin spice is the other popular flavor  of the season and it;s not relegated to pie.Think a loaf cake which is perfect sliced into mid morning snacks or dessert with vanilla ice cream.Keep in mind it;s also pear season and there are some yummy dishes that can be made with these.Poached pears is a lovely dessert for a small dinner party.They're usually poached in red wine for more flavor but you can also use water too. As for spices think warm fall ones. Add a pinch or cinnamon or nutmeg for more flavor. Some add garam masala or ginger to shake things up but that takes away from the pears fruity sweet flavor. Top with vanilla ice cream or for a more sophisticated twist a puff of marscapone cheese or creme fraiche.

It;s fall. Be excited about cooking and baking. Have joy to use familiar ingredients and spices again.Create something wonderful this autumn,

Healthy Nibbles

Hungriness can be a pain. Your stomach's growling and you want a snack. There's a dilemma there. Do you eat something that's over the top tasty or do you scale it down calorie wise? The best bet is eating smaller amounts of  healthy snacks packed with flavor.

Many of us feel that urge in the afternoon between two and three. It's tempting to grab an icing rich pastry or a bag of salty oil laden chips. As flavorful as they may be , they're going to leave you still craving more snacks. Go with healthy nibbles.Brad's has come up with a line of all veggie chips.

These are the red pepper chips but there's also carrots,flax seed, buckwheat and tomatoes along with a sprinkle of sesame seeds. The taste is primarily bell pepper but the chips are tasty at only twenty-seven calories a chip. Brad's also make air dried kale which is another good nibble. Have both with a dip made from plain  Greek yogurt and dried onions.There is also pretzel chips from Snack Factory

I love their everything flavor with it's hints of garlic and sesame. Again these are only eleven calories a chip. They;'re good plain but again these can be dipped into plain Greek yogurt or salsa. The other flavors are plain and the fiery bacon habanero 

If you're craving something sweet and crunchy, the obvious answer is an apple or a pear to munch on. A better alternative is Fruit Sticks, also from Snack Factory

These are only twenty calories a stick and have the look of French fries. The company also makes, apple strawberry and apple cinnamon ones too. Snack factory has brownie , lemon tart and chocolate chip.thins to for sweet snacking. Dip the apple sticks in vanilla flavored Greek yogurt for an added treat.

Healthy nibbling can be done. Have a bag of these snacks in your kitchen or  office to ease that mid afternoon hunger.They're low in calorie but big in taste.