When it comes to weeknight dinners, I'm an unabashed soup fan. Sure, it might take slightly longer to simmer up than a pot of pasta, but by and large it's a hands-off affair, and few foods soothe the soul better after a hectic day.
Smooth, creamy (without being heavy), and subtly sweet, this iteration will be entering my rotation throughout the Fall and Winter months, and I encourage you to do the same.
The biggest food month of the year has finally arrived! Thankfully, we're equipped to tackle the holiday season with more than just leftover Halloween candy. From unflappable kitchen equipment to hit-the-spot snacks, here are eight things we can't get enough of this month.
Tea-infused desserts are all the rage, and after YumSugar assistant editor Nicole made chai caramels, I felt inspired to make chai snickerdoodle cookies. Traditionally, snickerdoodles are a buttery sugar cookie, coated in cinnamon sugar. It's a childhood favorite, but I wondered how the cookie would hold up with more robust spices like ginger, cardamom, black pepper, and cloves.
As it turns out, chai in snickerdoodles is an enticing match. These cookies maintain snickerdoodle integrity with their fluffy, moist centers, and crunchy sugar-granule coating. The spices and tea are slightly tart and balance out the sweet, buttery cookie. The black-tea flavor blooms as the cookie dissolves, but get ready for the spicy black-pepper finish!
Forget about brewing tea; make a batch of tea cookies instead.
Only in the past few years have pomegranates made their way into the culinary spotlight, both for their rich taste and their health benefits. That might sound surprising, considering that they're one of the oldest known fruits and have been used as spices, in grenadine syrup, as yogurt toppings, and with everything in between. Take this quiz to see how much you know about the unique fruit.
If you're wary of cooking with shellfish, then this dish is a perfect place to start. High in protein but low in calories, shrimp is a healthful option for a seafood-loving bunch. This play on the comforting flavors of traditional scampi takes the gluten and pasta out of the equation and offers a tasty Fall vegetable in its place: the spaghetti squash. I loved the crunchy texture of the bed of squash against the softness of the simple roasted shrimp. Cooking the squash requires an hour, but everything else comes together in a flash. Keep reading to get this low-calorie seafood supper.
It was a month of candy, cocktails, and everything sweet in between. While we might have made a few savory offerings, October was an indulgent month of recipes as we geared up for Halloween. Once you've drooled over our latest recipes, from matcha ice cream to jack-o'-lantern cake pops, it's time to get busy and re-create them in your own kitchen!
With the holiday travel on the horizon, there is probably an airport or two in your future. And no matter how hard you try to book those connecting flights with the perfect amount of time in between — delays are simply bound to happen. Running between gates and terminals can be stressful, but all your cross-training is also prep for holiday season and taking on whatever obstacles the airport brings your way.
At first glance, Halloween can appear to be a lonely time for vegan folks; luckily, trick-or-treat favorites like Sour Patch Kids, Smarties, and Jolly Ranchers are all vegan-approved. But being inundated with images of decadent Halloween desserts could make any dairy-free diva squirm, regardless of her commitment to the lifestyle. In order to get in a solid dose of sweet Halloween goodness with vegan flair, try out one of these festive Fall recipes that are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth.
There are hard-core beer drinkers, and those who prefer sweeter fizzy stuff — hard apple cider, that is. Cider fans who want the added bonus of a seasonal flavor: look no further than Ace Hard Pumpkin Cider ($10 for a six-pack). Ace Ciders has been around for 15 years, brewing next door to its wine-making neighbors in Sonoma County.
The fermented apple cider tastes more of green apple than it does of pumpkin, but allspice shines through, offering a hint of Fall flavor. Big, bold beer fans thought the cider was "too sweet," but others loved the cider for its syrupy sugar content. A few tasters described the flavor as "unexpected" and could imagine the cider used in a cocktail or a Halloween punch. If you are gluten-free, don't like beer, or are a sucker for sweet alcoholic beverages, then Ace Hard Pumpkin Cider is the bottle for you.
While we're not ones to judge if there are beans in the chili, a few things are key: the chili must be laden with tons of spices, served piping hot, and garnished with a heaping handful of toppings. These seven chili recipes pack some serious flavor while using lesser-known chili ingredients like smoky sweet pepper seasoning, beer, and cocoa powder. There's a chili for all, so vegetarians, omnivores, and even pollo-tarians can get their steamy fix.
