November 13, 2021

WEEKLY MENU 11.14.21

We continue to celebrate autumn during the Weekly Menu 11.14.21 while we look forward to the best meal of the year and all that brings with it.

When we get to “Soup-Friday” during the Weekly Menu 11.14.21, Baby Boy will be here. Yippee! The “coming home from college for Thanksgiving Break” is one more reason I love fall so much. Plus the leaves – ah the leaves. Around here, the leaves are finally looking fabulous and dropping to the ground in a gorgeous display. Red, yellows, even the browns look more vibrant this year. Despite what the pundits said about there being a dearth of color this year because of the weather, the defiant leaves are showing off.

They’re real, and they are spectacular.

North Americans get a little bit of shade from our cousins across the pond because we call autumn “Fall”. The phrase describes the time of year when the leaves “fall”, making us look a little bumpkin-y. Luckily, that is not the case. According to Robert Lent, a self proclaimed minor philosopher,

Actually, Autumn is the odd one out, not fall. Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall have their roots in Old English, while Autumn came into Middle English centuries later, via French. Fall is the older term and was preserved in American English, but fell out of favor in British English. Spring and Fall are natural pairs, with Spring the time when leaves spring from the plants and from the ground and Fall the time when leaves fall from the trees.
We talk about the autumnal equinox and the vernal equinox – so why hasn’t Vernum taken over from Spring in British English? It could have, and if it had, people would be asking why speakers of American English don’t use Vernum instead of Spring. If you grew up with it, it would seem every bit as natural.
Quora

So there. North Americans got it right.

There’s a lot more to love about fall than the leaves falling, of course. I’ve waxed poetic about the weather cool down as well as the fact that the early darkness makes me (but not Bert) happy. This winter prep period is also usually rainy, which some people grouse about, but which I, personally, adore. The rain brings such possibilities – potential growth aside, water is all. Watching it come down is compelling, if you have the right mindset.

Plus, the gray sky is conducive to a nice fire, a candle or two and a great book. Falling leaves and rain actually make me appreciate the wonderful shelter our home provides. Yay fall!

We usually end the week with a hearty bowl of soup during the fall and winter around here. (Spring too, honestly.) By the time we get to Friday Happy Hour, the pot is usually bubbling on the stove with promise. Knowing it was in view, Baby Boy put in his soup request early, and because we’re going to be so happy to see him, it made the menu cut.

Our Weekly Menu 11.14.21 includes Cajun Wedding Soup.

Baby Boy is a well documented Sausage Machine, so a soup with sausage in it is almost a given. But this soup has even more – it is very “meat-centric”, which every college student can appreciate. Chicken, beef and sausage make up the protein. Those tiny meatballs are a little work, but the end result is so worth it. Plus we’ll have lunch for days.

Our almost constant Friday night soup parade requires a nice soup pot, and my favorite is my enameled dutch oven. (Affiliate links follow – see Disclaimer Page for details.) And yes, it is a nice autumnal orange color. If you really want to be in the season, check out this fabulous pumpkin shaped pot:

Of course, we have to start the week to get to Soup Night. We’re having a tasty pork loin that we’re roasting atop roasted fall veggies. We’ll decide which ones based on what the grocery store has the most of. Probably carrots, some sort of squash, maybe a yam, and onions. I’d like to add Brussels sprouts, but then I alone would be eating.

We saw La Scala’s Chopped Salad on a cooking show recently, and it looked delish, so it also made the cut this week. Don’t get too excited: the “Passion Bars” sound very oo-la-la, but they’re basically peanut butter, oatmeal and chocolate chips. Nothing too glamorous, although I’m sure they’ll be delish.

The crockpot is pressed into service again and again this week, giving us plenty of time to start planning for Thanksgiving. This one is copper, but it seems like it would play.

Speaking of planning for Thanksgiving:

Thanksgiving 101

Small Batch and Easy Thanksgiving

We’re probably going to have to take our ridiculously oversized turkey (29 pounds!) out of the freezer on Friday to give it plenty of time to thaw before the big day. And you might have seen the Crusty Bread recipe on last weeks menu – I just never got to it, so we’re giving it another go during the Weekly Menu 11.14.21. It’ll be great with the Cajun Wedding Soup.