Seasonal Sundays (Week 38, Mid September)

A Brand-New Let's-Try-Something-New Newsletter-y Edition

Welcome to Seasonal Sundays, a new occasional? weekly? feature that I hope touches you with something so many our lives could use more of: real connections with like-minded people. Like catching up over coffee with a friend. Or an actual phone call with someone you'd like to see more of. Curious? Read on ...

~ Skip Straight to the Newsletter ~

Welcome to Seasonal Sundays!

For months now, the back of my brain's been conjuring up a regular newsletter-y feature encompassing a handful of seasonal recipes from Kitchen Parade and A Veggie Venture – plus some extras.

And one reason that my brain got stuck on the idea is because it's saturated with words starting with the Letter S! (Something few people know about me? I'm slightly obsessed with alliteration, you know, the repetition of certain sounds or rhythms. It's a creative culinary curse. See?)

The genesis came while crafting a new description for A Veggie Venture, my food blog about vegetables.

The words that best describe A Veggie Venture's recipes in fact cross a range:

• Seasonal to Staples
• Savory to Sweet
• Salads to Sides
• Soups to Supper
• Simple to Special

See what I mean? So many S words. There are even more, but I'll, um, spare you.

So those recipe descriptions will definitely show up on Seasonal Sundays.

But so might some others! Think:

• Super Simple
• Slow Cooker
• Sandwiches
• Social & Shareable (for appetizers & starters)
• Sips (for drinks, naturally)
• Sunrise or maybe Morning Starters? (for breakfasts, the only S requiring aliteration license)
• Even a Surprise or Two Six!

What to Expect from Seasonal Sundays

• LESS IS MORE Just a few ideas at a time, no "100 best chicken recipes" tomes or "50 ideas to make your life better" ridiculousness or "500 favorite zucchini recipes" to wade through. Seasonal. Practical. Do-Able.


• LITTLE EXTRAS So much of life is just quick hits, right? So look for little stuff that might make a difference, quick, easy to absorb, easy to check out asap or later.


• USEFUL More than anything, I hope that Seasonal Sunday editions make a difference in your life. Like the single line from a poem that resonates. Like a frozen custard that tastes so good, once you lick all the way down to the cone.


• ON THE FLY & ON THE PHONE You're busy, right? And reading on the fly and often on your phone? I'll work hard to use headlines and images to focus your attention so you can easily pick out what might be of interest / importance to you and fly past the rest.


• TEXT ME BACK Another hope? I'd love to hear from you. Comment, send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How're you doing? What's inspiring you? Did you make something extra-good this week? What's your latest favorite at Trader Joe's? What're you reading? What's grabbed you on Netflix?


• AND YES so sorry-not-sorry, stockpiles of super-sensational S words.

Let's Get This Newsletter-y Thing Started, Shall We?

So the proof's in the pudding right? Without further ado.

No doubt, it'll take a bit to settle into content that works for you along with a sustainable routine that works for me. So please, do help me get Seasonal Sundays in shape for the long haul! Your feedback is so important!

Just so you know, I personally select all items for Seasonal Sundays — they're not sponsored, they're not advertising — and if you buy something via a link to Amazon (just Amazon, no others), Kitchen Parade may earn a small commission. My Disclosure Promise

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How Did You Mark 9/11?

September 11th is such a somber day, full of both personal tragedy and national and international anguish.

My 93-year old father lives down the road at a care center. It's on the route that every year, on the anniversary of 9/11, 200 - 300 people walk down to the St. Louis Arch, a full 21 miles. The care center invited family to come by ...

It was a patriotic spectacle.

• Red-white-and-blue bunting waving in the morning breeze
• Patriotic music playing
• Most of all, so many Greatest Generation folks present, there are at least a dozen WWII veterans who live here

No surprise, I was reduced to tears, especially as the September 11th Walkers entered the circle of staff and residents. The walkers carried flags large and small plus water bottles for the hot-hot-hot day's forecast. Their number included soldiers in uniform, firefighters in full gear, plenty of just ordinary folks.

Twas a sight.

And for just a few moments, our country felt united. And so there were happy tears too ...

Something I'm Loving

Anyone else discovered the hazelnuts at Trader Joe's? Ohhh, they're good! And considerably cheaper than a flight to Oregon ...

New (To Me) Cooking Inspiration

The Kitchn has started a brand-new online cookbook club on Facebook and Instagram. It's fun, seeing what all the members choose to cook and how the recipes work out!

September's cookbook choice is way more about teaching than recipes. It's Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat.

And if you've only seen the program on Netflix (all reality show and little substance), her cookbook is exactly the opposite (all substance).

I'm only through "Salt" in the teaching parts but find myself latching onto nuggets of useful ideas and practices.

Something for Supper

Oh so good! Easy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas are a year-round favorite, definitely a Quick Supper for a weeknight, especially starting with a rotisserie chicken. For Weight Watchers, only 5 points in Freestyle but a whopping 35g of protein!

Something for Taco Tuesday

Tacos can be kind of a production but not these flat tacos baked in the oven from Oaxaca, Mexico. We love Oaxaca Tlayuda (Flat Tacos), for Weight Watchers, only 2 points with Freestyle.

Something for Cauliflower Lovers

One of our favorites for Taco Tuesday, either as a filling or on the side, is Mexican Cauliflower "Rice". For Weight Watchers, only 1 point with Freestyle.

Something Salad

A Waldorf apple salad is a fall favorite, right? Usually they're loaded with calories, but not my makeover salad, it's a Healthy Waldorf Salad.

Soups & Salads Especially for September

It's been a year-long effort but what a collection of soup and salad recipes from A Veggie Venture! There's a collection for each month, all super-organized to make it easy to focus in on the recipes that best fit your taste and time.

These collections have been a labor of love, for sure, but every single recipe now has Freestyle points! Next up? A much-needed update to the Weight Watchers Recipes for A Veggie Venture. It's my next big project!

Take a minute or two to check out Seasonal Soup & Salad Recipes for September, tons of ideas!

Something for the Slow Cooker

We're still getting tomatoes and oh! they're good. These were planted late so are still producing late. Next year? Do vegetable gardeners plant early, late and in between? Slow cooker or not, Slow Cooker Tomato Grits are half elegant, something I think of as "weeknight easy and weekend special".

Something Super-Simple

How long does it take to bake a baked potato? The common wisdom says an hour.

But an hour is just not enough! Have you ever made a (Sloooow) Baked Potatoes?

Something Sweet

When the nights cool, the oven goes on, especially for those of us who don't bake much during the summer. I think I know a tableful of WWII veterans who would appreciate a batch of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

Something New

Kamut Salad makes good use of that ancient grain branded "kamut" which I keep reminding myself doesn't rhyme with a moot point but a dog of indeterminate breed aka a mutt. New on A Veggie Venture.

Something Updated

Ratatouille, my simpler, lighter version of the French classic. Don't let late-summer tomatoes end without a big skillet of ratatouille. Just updated at Kitchen Parade.

• How to Roast a Whole Pumpkin
• My Favorite Way to Roast Beets
• Vegetables 101: What Are Bitter Greens?
• Green Smoothies
All these from A Veggie Venture

Text Me Back!

Thanks so much for digging into Seasonal Sundays!

I'd love to hear from you. Comment, send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com, dot-dash in Morse code, build a fire for smoke signals, whatever.

• Any questions / ideas / concerns about Seasonal Sundays?
• Anybody wondering why the name Seasonal Sundays? Besides the obviousssssss, that is.
• Is there something here that you loved? could care less about?
• It's September. What foods are inspiring you right now?
• Anything else? Chime in, chat away.

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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