Oktoberfest, Ja ist es gut.

I think I've mentioned before that I don't drink beer. It just isn't my cup of tea, as it were. Ahem. It certainly looks good - especially those pints of Guinness or the Sam Adams commercials with the frothy stuff and loads of talk about winter wheat, hops and ale. The closest I get is using it in cooking.

So why would I post about Oktoberfest? Well, I think there is more to this German celebration than drinking, right? Ok, well, there is more than just drinking, anyway. There is also eating. That I can get behind.

I don't come from German roots and I'm not always partial to things that end in -wurst or -braten. But there are plenty of other hearty dishes that go nicely with autumn and heck, I'm always up for a good pretzel.

So, donned appropriately in lederhosen - man, these shorts are chaffy - and empty stein in hand, I'm ready to try out a few favorites (or culinary knock-offs, either way).

My first stop is a Fried German Potato Salad. I've always loved fried potatoes and onions as a side dish and this is a variation on that theme. I think a roast pork loin with beer sauce would go nicely with that.

We could finish off with some more chewy pretzels but I'm in the mood for something sweet. How about lebkuchen? (Think gingersnap but chewy). That should go well with a mug of...cider.

Whether you make it to Munich or not, enjoy Oktoberfest. It runs until early October traditionally, so you have plenty of time to polish those steins or savor that sauerkraut.

Autumn Snaps

Punkin at the State Fair
Black pumpkin table runner
A Vintage Halloween acquisition
Never going to turn red...
These either...
The moles are back...

Random Recipe Monday - Old Fashioned Chocolate Pudding

I am sick. I have been all weekend, but it has really hit the heights today. I have a wicked sore throat and laryngitis, which I tend to get when I'm sick. Go figure. In fact, this blog is the most "talking" I've done in two days.

When I'm sick, I go straight for comfort food - who doesn't it? Last night, hubby made up a batch of biscuits and sausage gravy for dinner. Yeah, for dinner. It hit the spot. Tonight, we're having pot pie - and I'm not even going to make them from scratch. Nope, going with the frozen Marie Callender pies that I keep in the freezer for food emergencies (they are quite good, I must say).

But one thing I will be making is this chocolate pudding because that sounds soooooo good on my throat right now. I've been drinking tea with honey non-stop and I'm in desperate need for something else.

This is no way to start off the autumn season. Ah-choo!

Minestrone, anyone?

Continuing with my veggie lust, I thought that a big batch of minestrone would fit the bill and get my family to eat some vegetables. Hubby and NR were both under the weather and I believe in the restorative power of soup. But neither guy is big on vegetables, so I knew the soup would have to have a bit more going on than just that.

Minestrone typically uses ingredients that you have on hand, whatever is in season. For mine, I used some zucchini, carrots, asparagus and some heirloom tomatoes. To make the dish a bit heartier, you could use potatoes or beans but I went with pasta and some meatballs. The veggies were prominent so it still is a minestrone in my book and it was tasty. Even if some of the veggies stayed at the bottom of the bowl, NR took in some, along with the broth, so the minestrone did its job. Plus, it made good leftovers. Here's my concoction:

Mama D's Minestrone:
1 sweet onion - coarsely chopped
1.5 cups chopped peeled baby carrots
2 cups chopped asparagus
1 cup cubed zucchini
4 cups chicken stock
salt, pepper, dried basil
1/2 package small pasta (I used orecchiette, but anything small would work) (approximately 8 ounces)
20 or so of your favorite cooked meatballs (your recipe or a good frozen meatball that has been thawed and cooked)
4 large heirloom (or flavorful) tomatoes, with juice

In the bottom of a heavy stockpot, over medium heat, add three tablespoons olive oil. Warm oil and add onions and carrots, saute for about five minutes. Add asparagus, zucchini, and stock. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add salt (about 2tsp) and pepper (about 1/2 tsp) to taste. Add 1.5 tsp of dried basil. Cover and cook 1 hour.

Prepare tomatoes by chopping into cubes, reserving any juice. Add tomatoes, reserved juice and pasta to soup. Increase heat to medium-high. Add cooked meatballs and cover pot for approximately 20 minutes. Check soup for seasoning (I added another 2tsp of salt) and pasta for doneness.

Fabulous Fifty State Tour - Oregon and Sour Cream & Raisin Pie

I have always liked driving into Oregon. Sure, there is some gorgeous scenery, quaint towns and lovely coastline, but mainly because it means that I don't have to pump my own gas. Yep, you can't pump your gas in Oregon, and I find that very civilized. The state also lacks a sales tax, which certainly is appreciated by those folks who live along the southern Washington border and who don't mind committing a little fraud to buy big ticket items. Not that anyone from Washington would do such a thing.

The Beaver state has more than gas and sales tax going for it, though. It is the place for hazelnuts, peppermint and black raspberries - though I don't think I'll try them all at once, thank you. Lewis and Clark, the original road trip duo, explored there and who can forget the adventures of The Goonies along the coast near Astoria (goodbye, One Eyed Willie, goodbye). Matt Groening (Simpsons, Futurama), Ursula K LeGuin (fantasy author), Tanya Harding and Courtney Love have all called Oregon home - certainly all creative types in their own special way.

The state motto though has me puzzled: "She flies with her own wings". Ummmm...I don't get it. Maybe some savvy Oregonian can clue me in. And speaking of unusual, the state's official seashell is the Oregon hairy triton. Wow, that's something you don't hear about everyday.

So I guess this was a long way of saying that Oregon is a bit quirky - but in a good, wearing birks with socks, loving hiking and trail mix, we have 231 state parks, kind of way. And what better way to celebrate that off-beat spirit than a vintage sour cream & raisin pie recipe from Scappoose, Oregon. Nothing says off-beat like raisin pie to me.

Just a bit of harmless brain alteration, that's all

"Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" is one of my favorite movies. Maybe it is the new-school-but-it-looks-like-old-school claymation or the voice work of Ralph Fiennes, but something about that movie just tickles my funny bone.

So much so, that when I get a craving for Veg (vegetables for you non-anglophiles), I naturally think of the enormous specimens in the movie and the rabbit...err..rabid townsfolk that love them. Who wouldn't love a pest control company called Anti-Pesto? I'm mean really, what's better than that?

Ok, so this digression does have a point. For the last couple of days, my mind has become a "rabbity mush" as Wallace would say and I can't stop thinking about fruits and veg. It started with a huge pot of corn chowder, with tons of fresh basil (the recipe is at one of my favorite blogs, Posy Gets Cozy) and moved on to a severe thirst for apple cider (see the earlier post about the doughnuts).

Today, at the store, I found myself strolling the produce section, lingering over the piles of peaches and stacks of squash. I came home with a huge bag of fuji apples and the blackest and biggest seedless grapes since a trip to Versailles. These local grapes were almost as good as those, albeit far less pretentious without the mini-berets and tiny cigarettes.

See? Mushy mind, for sure. AnyVeg, I finished my craving with a huge bowl of butternut squash soup, sprinkled liberally with Goldfish crackers. While hubby and NR scarfed down their homemade pizza, I slurped down the squashy soup. Something clearly must be amiss. Craving apples, eating veggies and dreaming of salad is not in my bunny nature, as it were.

Oh, I was going somewhere with this post...ah yes, the squash. I tried a pre-fab squash soup and it was pretty good, though fresh would have been (and will be) a lot better. I'm thinking of whipping up a batch, with a bunch of fresh sage and a drizzle of cream. Maybe a nice salad with cranberries, sunflower seeds and a poppyseed dressing to round things out. Hmmmm...sounds like I need to get down to the local farms and see what's available.

Oh, right. The recipe. This is the one I'll be tinkering with this week, with plenty of nutmeg and onion. Mmmmm...onions....

I guess there are worse cravings than vegetables. Like cupcakes, perhaps. Well, maybe carrot cupcakes wouldn't be too bad.

Apple Cider "Doughnuts"

Apple cider is the quintessential autumn beverage. As hot cocoa rules winter and margaritas hold summertime, cider practically screams out "It's fall, everybody. Grab a mug and a sweater."

Drinking it, no sweat, but making it is another story. It involves multiple kinds of apples, an apple press and some patience - none of which I usually have when I want a mug. Thankfully, there are good brands out there for tasty cider and I don't have to worry about smashing apples in cheesecloth. For those who want to try it though, check here.

Almost as well known as the beverage, apple cider doughnuts are an autumnal favorite - especially in the northeast. I like doughnuts but not enough to contend with the frying; I avoid deep frying more for the mess than the calories. Luckily, a baked style doughnut (more a bundt than doughnut, but close enough) uses apple cider, so I can have my doughnut and eat it too. The recipe calls for a maple glaze, which I am normally all over, but I think that might hide the apple flavor. I'll test it with and without.

Sounds like a perfect pairing with a mug of cider.