a week of meals no. 3

a meal plan for the very end of October + beginning of November

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Hello, welcome to the weekend, another week has gone by and we now arrive at the very very end of October. Can you believe it? I cannot. It rained in earnest last weekend and then the colder weather set in, too- I’ve packed away all of our shorts, sandals and sunhats in favor of thick woolen sweaters, jeans, tights and beanies. We are heading to our little pumpkin patch to meet up with some toddler friends for the last time this weekend, and plan to catch up with family, as well. We have been roasting chestnuts in the evening and making a large pot of peppermint tea to share as we read before bed to make the most of these darker, longer evenings. It is such a gift this time of year to take that extra evening time to slow down and reconnect face to face with our children, our partners, our loved ones. Even if we are doing different things to relax in the evening, I try to have us all do them in the living room, instead of all spread through the house. It feels very nice. This month we have been reading Frankenstein aloud, it is perfectly themed for this time of year and none of us had ever read the actual book. We have been watching some Halloween movies together as well: Hocus Pocus, The Witches, Practical Magic, and Ghostbusters are all nostalgic favorites. Meals this week, in light of the weather, are extremely cozy- lots of soups, chilis, and warming dishes + spiced bakes with apples and pumpkins.

A few things I plan to try to prepare over this weekend to make the week go smoother at meal times: chop pumpkin up for Sunday’s risotto and the pumpkin bread // deseed pomegranates for use in salads through the week // cut up broccoli for the pasta on Monday // soak and cook white beans for the minestrone on Wednesday.

Sunday: pumpkin risotto (something like this, except I make a chunky pumpkin mash to use ) + green salad with radicchio, sweet apples, pomegranate and parsley

Monday: a little pumpkin carving party. pasta e broccoli (recipe in my ebook, I’ll screenshot and share below), mulled cider, pumpkin pie, toasted pumpkin seeds from the carved pumpkins. For the mulled cider, it’s just pressed apple cider heated in a pan with a few cinnamon sticks, a few cloves, a few allspice berries, and a grating of nutmeg.

Tuesday: chili and pumpkin pie. I always make this for Halloween!

Wednesday: autumn minestrone, again. Everyone enjoyed this so much last week that I’m making a double batch to enjoy for lunches, ribollita style- reboiled with stale bread and a good drizzle of olive oil.

Thursday: leftover chili, with cornbread and roasted honeynut squash (will slice into thick wedges, skin on, and roast with olive oil, thick sliced red onions, and some thyme perhaps? until very tender and caramelized, then scatter over with some kind of toasted nut or seed- like hazelnuts or pumpkin seeds)

Friday: roast tomato, fennel, potato soup with a side of buttered sourdough and some kind of green veg on the side (prob either broccoli or brussels sprouts)

Saturday: cottage pie, going to use this recipe as a jumping off point + a persimmon, apple, pomegranate salad drizzled with vinaigrette and scattered with fresh parsley and sliced red onion

bake: pumpkin loaf with cinnamon walnut swirl, from Amy Chaplin’s first book

midweek treat: apple muffins with walnuts, applesauce, and diced apple; testing this recipe again to share.

cocktail: bourbon pumpkin smash

breakfast: this week, we are turning back to a well-loved friend, steel cut oatmeal. To prepare them, the night before: I heat up (per serving) 1/4 cup steel cut oats and 1 cup water with a pinch of salt, to just boiling, then cover, turn off the heat, and let sit overnight. Then, in the morning, I reheat with a splash of water/milk if needed, then top with whatever I want. Steamed apples, sauteed pears, stewed prunes, raisins, maple syrup, brown sugar + butter, pomegranates, almond butter, frothed milk…options are endless.

I hope you enjoy these meal plans, and that you find something here to bring a cozy meal into your home this coming week.

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Until next time,

xx A