Suggestions wanted: Cooking my way through October

[sessifet]

I have mentioned this before: I hate October. The light is wrong, it is cold and grey and it sucks the life out of the world. It gets worse if it's drizzly out, which it is now. If it has to be bad weather, can we please have some howling storms and the dryness and the autumn smells? Because at the moment, I don't even have my view to cheer me up, as it got eaten by the fog monster. Or cloud monster. I can't tell. Normally I trudge through October reminding myself that with the passing of every day November is one day closer.

I love November, with blisteringly cold days with sky that painfully pale blue colour and the sun surprisingly fierce. It has surprisingly warm days, with no sun and more clouds than you can shake a stick at scudding across the sky, as if they're in a hurry to get somewhere adventurous. It has the bare trees rattling their branches together and the unexpected swirls of leaves (if it or the previous month haven't been too insanely wet, that is).

Anyway.

This year I don't want to trudge through October waiting for November, gradually getting more and more run-down and morose and, quite honestly, a bitch to be around. I want to feel like I'm doing something worthwhile^*. Therefore, I shall cook. And bake. And braise. And generally try to Feed People.

So...Any suggestions?

Any autumnal/wintery foodstuffs you love to cook/eat? It can be simple or complicated. It doesn't have to be a recipe; it can just be 'get X, Y and Z and combine them roughly like so' and I'll figure it out. I'll substitute with equivalents if I can't get the proper ingredients, so feel free to mention stuff that's a bit out of left field. In return, I will post the results on my own LJ and on afp_cooks and I will make an effort to be amusing about it too. :)

^*I'll be working and searching for a new place to live, but this is apparently not worthwhile. Says the nasty voice, which should be shot until it's really, really sorry..

Comments

[sbp.livejournal.com]

I like October, because often in London it's sunny and I'm still wearing T-shirts. I hate February most.

[yady.livejournal.com]

Snert, kale mash, hutspot and all that kind of stuff.
Butternut and chickpea tagine.
Boeuf bourguignonne.
Apple crumble/pie.
Kruidnootjes.
That dish with 'witlof' rolled in ham, placed on top of mashed potatoes in an oven dish, covered with cheese sauce and sprinkled with more cheese, then grilled.
Rollade.
Ragout, hachee, goulash and such.
Pasta with long-simmered bolognese sauce.
Minestrone.

[ciciaye.livejournal.com]

Chilli con carne is a good spicy thing to have in Autumn/Winter. Or in Summer, come to that. Or at any time of the year...

[supermouse.livejournal.com]

Some sort of pumpkin nutmeg muffin thing?

Cardamom cake or something similar. Or cinnamon buns, for which I have a *wonderful* recipe.

Proper goulash with the expensive paprika. Possibly served with a dollop of sour cream. And home made bread.

Lentil soup, a rich orange colour, thick enough to stand a spoon in and needing only bread and butter to make a meal.

Spinach and onion bhajis. Tempura. Real scones!

(Not gado gado, because, although Labrat has an amazing recipe, the frying of the peanuts causes Pol to become poisoned.)

[sessifet25.livejournal.com]

(Not gado gado, because, although Labrat has an amazing recipe, the frying of the peanuts causes Pol to become poisoned.)

Indeed. I alway try not to poison/stab/maim/kill people I cook for. It's terribly bad form. Also, I will mostly aim for stuff all of us can have. If I make something all of us like, then that's a happy bonus. :)

[supermouse.livejournal.com]

Oh! Well then, to *all* of the above, add the following side dish:

Home made burger, made from beef only. No salad. Wholemeal bread. One slice mature cheddar. No dressing.

[da-pol.livejournal.com]

:P

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

I'm amazingly crap with foods and stuff. I like steak and spaghetti bolognaise, and I can even cook the latter?

Oh, and here it's mostly been blue skies with a definite nip in the air. When the sun's out though it's fairly warm.