Black Bean Soup

I really like beans. Any kind of bean. I especially enjoy soups made with beans. Here is a nice one made with black beans. It comes together quickly and easily. If you want to be more complicated, make the beans from scratch. Toppings for it can be as varied as your imagination. The one pictured had chopped red bell pepper, cilantro and a dollop of plain Greek yogurt. Hubby likes pureed soups so this one is blended, but you can leave the beans whole.

Baked Bananas with Chocolate

Fall is here. Time for sweet desserts containing chocolate. I really like bananas when they are on the green side. When they are all yellow with little brown spots, I try to find things to do with them that don't involve eating them plain. Here is a nice little recipe for bananas and chocolate. It comes together fast, cooks fast and tastes really good even though its not the prettiest dessert. Give it a try next time you have a couple ripe bananas.

Lentils with Saffron Yogurt

Lentils are nice in the fall. They cook quickly and are so adaptable. You can make soups, stews, mock meat loaf, salads and so on. They take to different spices and vegetables and come out delicious. I find I don't make them enough. And every time I make a batch, I'm surprised by how wonderful they are. This is a very easy, short ingredient list recipe. Add more water to make it more of a soup and add different toppings to make it your own. It is adapted from a recipe at 101 Cookbooks.

Blackberry, Nectarine, Plum Shrub

Another way to use up end of summer fruit.  Make a shrub! These delightful syrups work well with soda water, or in mixed drinks or in a salad dressing or .... They are vinegar based, so you will taste the vinegar, but it is so much more than just flavored vinegar. Give it a try. It'll put hair on your chest, oops, did I write that out loud? I adapted a recipe from The Kitchn.

Peach Basil Jam

It's the end of summer. Time to use up the last of the peaches and, wait for it, basil. Yes basil. Surprisingly, peaches and basil taste delicious together. I love to get jams put up for the winter. Nothing better than a nice English muffin, pot of tea and some homemade jam to help chase the winter blues away. As with all my jams, it is not a sealed jam and needs to be refrigerated or frozen.