In a thoroughly unsurprising development, the holiday season has left me with less time than I’d like to do the things I enjoy most – namely putter around the kitchen and cook. I eat out too much, go to too many parties, and order delivery too often in an effort to save time for gift-wrapping, which inevitably takes 5 times longer than it takes the average all-thumbed clutz, that I end up cooking less during this home and hearth-oriented season than usual.

And, quite frankly, eating out so much sounds fun, but it is a bit off-putting. I like my own cooking, I like creating something, I like knowing what goes into it, I like being in my kitchen and doing the familiar dance around my pantry and stove, and not doing it makes me feel out of sorts.

Things have been a little hectic around Chez Besotted lately, but the brisk Fall air, ushering in the change of seasons has me very excited for some of my cold weather favorites – chicken stock and soup, pies, and scones, and braised meats.

But, there’s still just enough summer left in the air for a de-constructed Summer tomato sauce, made with farm-fresh tomatoes. This is a no-cook, light and easy week-night dinner (unless you count cooking the pasta) that really capitalizes on the flavor and brightness of local tomatoes.

For those of you that think that vegetarian dinners consist of greater amounts self-righteousness than flavor, let alone decadence, meet the Veggie Popover and…. Eat. Your. Hearts. Out.

Hearty veggies steeped in a deep, rustic wine sauce, baked inside a flaky, buttery pastry shell and drowned in a gorgonzola cream sauce obliterate any notions that vegetarian dinners are an ersatz gourmet experience. Every bite is more delicious and satisfying than the last, and if you also happen to feel a little self-righteous for getting so many veggies into your diet, all the better.

I am boldly plowing my way through a refrigerator full of veggies with some, admittedly, mixed results. Anchovy frisee was not so good. In fact, it was so bad, I couldn’t eat it.

Ah well…. But, this little gem of a culinary epiphany is well-worth documenting, sharing, and trying, and I would encourage all of you inundated with zucchini and summer squash (whether from your own garden or a farm share) to embrace the flour, egg, and bread crumb combo.

There are certain kitchen tasks that, no matter how simple, always reduce my ego and perception of my own mental capacity to the size of a child. For example, basting a turkey…. It’s quite simple, really. You just dip the tip into some of the juice, squeeze the little rubber-thingy, and distribute the juice over the turkey. Simple, right? But, somehow, I always end up choking on the heat of the oven, bump my head tellingly against the oven door, can’t quite get the juice into the baster (at which point it makes that hideous slurp-slurp noise), jab at the turkey senselessly, causing it to lose far more moisture than I ever intended to put in, and usually give myself a nasty burn.

Can all the Bostonians/New Englanders/Northeast Corridorites agree that the rain is getting just a tad old… I’ve only been back for 3 days and it’s already wearing on me, so I can’t imagine what it’s doing to those of you that have been enduring this for a week now.

Which is why, I thought that a little summery, sunshiney pasta dish would be just the thing to make us all feel, if not believe, that the warm weather really is right around the corner.

I know I say this about a lot of things, but Aglio e Olio really is my to-die-for dish. It easily makes the list of top 5 foods I would take with me to a desert island, not to mention the fact that it holds a bit of sentimental nostalgia for me.

I recently received an e-mail from my dear friend, PK (of the Mango Salsa recipe and the very active commenting) requesting help with a vegetarian recipe for a BBQ he was hosting; burgers would be the staple, but he wanted to have a few non-meat options up his sleeve for vegetarian guests.

Vegetarian entrees are fantastic on their own, but when combined with a meat offering, the usual choice is either to go for a pre-made veggie burger or double the grocery list and prep time, neither of which are great options.

I wanted to put together a tasty veggie option, that wouldn’t load PK and Mrs. PK with an exhaustive grocery or prep list. I opted for a marinated portobello mushroom burger, because it almost perfectly mirrors the preparation and condiments necessary for hamburgers, and the ingredient list would most consist of items they had lying around the house.

I love the change of seasons in New England. From September through March foodies wade through the produce offerings in our local stores (our farmers’ market hibernate through the winter) and pick at sad, defeated-looking, uber-expensive summer produce, and we are instantly reminded why we must make every effort to eat local and seasonal, because the alternative is simply not worth the cost.

But then Spring rolls around, and rather than getting a few measly basil leaves for $4, we’re offered a veritable basil tree for $1.99. It really does boggle the mind…. and it also leaves one with the challenge of what to do with all of that access produce. In the case of basil, the simple solution is to make pesto, and it boggles my mind (again) why people don’t make it more often.

So, I’ve received just a tiny bit of flack for featuring a veggie dish that contained prosciutto in the Veggie Dinners post and sought to rectify the situation. In my defense, the second recipe was strictly vegetarian, but I understand that there is a ‘truth-in-advertising’ issue with a post titled “Veggie Dinners” that features prosciutto. Lest I invoke the wrath of any more vegetarians, I will own that the base of this soup is a chicken stock – because that is what I always have on hand – but vegetable stock could easily be used as a substitute.

Tuscan White Bean Soup is a recipe that is both categorically healthy – carrots, white beans, and kale constitute its base – and all succor, warmth, and comfort. It is not every recipe that can soothe both the spirit and the body, but this recipe does so perfectly.

If you are at all familiar with Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore’s Dilemma, you’ve likely heard his mantra, “Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” It is a shockingly simple prescription for health, and its efficacy can be assumed by applying the proof of contradiction principle or inverting the mantra: If one eats a diet of processed food products, a tremendous amount of them, and little produce, the health picture looks grim.

It seems unlikely that someone who regularly extols the virtues of beef ribs, sausages, and a perfectly medium-rare steak would adhere to this maxim, but I am a firm believer that 1 or 2 mostly veggie dinners each week stabilizes weight – or, at least, prevents it from reaching gargantuan proportions. Veggie dinners make me feel, in mind if not in body, more healthful, and they are so agreeably easy and quick to make on a frantic weeknight.