This week's in-season recipe theme was supposed to be beets! But, due to being sick and in bed for a good portion of the week, I was eating chicken soup and toast and stuff like that instead of experimenting with beets. :P

So I have never gotten very creative with red beets. Pickled beets (which my mom makes) aren't a favorite, by far. ;)

I do love cooked beets, drained and tossed with butter and salt. So yummy!!

How do you like to eat red beets??

To participate in this week's In-Season Recipe Swap:

Post your on-theme recipe, including your own photo of the food. Link to this post, and then come over here and let us know where to find YOU! Just leave your link in a comment and I will manually add them to this post throughout the day. :) Next week's recipe theme (November 11, 2009) is cranberries!

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I love onions! I do lots of cooking with onions, but usually as a flavoring/seasoning rather than a vegetable. For today's recipe swap, however, I added my recipe for French Onion Soup!

This soup is actually very easy to make, and is fun to serve as an appetizer for a nice dinner! :)

The flavorful beef broth is loaded with tender onion slices. Garlic and thyme provide the perfect flavor for the soup. Yum!!

To participate in this week's In-Season Recipe Swap:

Post your on-theme recipe, including your own photo of the food. Link to this post, and then come over here and let us know where to find YOU! Just leave your link in a comment and I will manually add them to this post throughout the day. :) Recipe theme for next week (November 4, 2009) is beets!

1. Dried onions/onion powder (Angie)
2. Sweet Vidalia Pie (Chaya)
3. One-Pan Sage-and-Onion Chicken and Sausage (Chaya)
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I love potatoes! They're affordable, easy to prepare, and so warm and comforting in the winter months! :)

Last week I created a new potato casserole recipe which we all loved, and I've already made it twice! Salmon Potato Casserole is easy (only 8 ingredients -- including salt and pepper -- which is probably a record for me!) and we love the flavor of onions, potatoes, salmon, and the creamy cheesy part that holds it all together. :)

This casserole makes a delicious breakfast or brunch dish. Filling and simple! :)

One of my very favorite potato recipes is Creamy Potato Soup.

And...

...seasoned baked potato wedges! Easier than French fries and just as yummy (Joshua would disagree and say French fries are better!). ;)

And lastly:

Caribbean Sweet Potato Salad, for my fellow cilantro lovers! This is a super-healthy potato salad recipe and when I make it I just can't stop eating it! It's SO yummy.

I have more potato recipes... but I can't link them all right here, so you'll have to head over to the potato page and browse through the photos over there. :)

To participate in this week's In-Season Recipe Swap:

Post your on-theme recipe, including your own photo of the food. Link to this post, and then come over here and let us know where to find YOU! Just leave your link in a comment and I will manually add them to this post throughout the day. :) Recipe theme for next week (October 28, 2009) is onions!

1. Twice-Baked Taco Potatoes (Heather)
2. Cheddar Chicken and Potatoes
3. Garlic Mashed Potatoes (dairy-free) (Alea)
4. Mustard Potatoes (Donna)
5. Scalloped Potato Gratin (Libby)
6. Baked Potato Casserole (Gina)
7. Mashed Potato Soup (Laura)
8. Eggs, Cheese, and Potatoes (Chaya)
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This week's In-Season Recipe Swap is for recipes featuring carrots as a main ingredient!

I love to dice fresh carrots, boil until tender, drain, and toss with salt and butter. Yum! But that's not much of a recipe to share. :)

So instead, here is a recipe from my grandma: Old-Fashioned Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing.

This carrot cake is flavorful and moist, and uses 3 full cups of grated carrots. The 9x13-inch cake is gone in a flash! :)

Here's a tip for substituting carrot in pumpkin recipes: Wash or peel carrots and boil until tender. Drain well. Mash and substitute in your favorite recipes that call for pumpkin! :)

To participate in this week's In-Season Recipe Swap:

Post your on-theme recipe, including your own photo of the food. Link to this post, and then come over here and let us know where to find YOU! Just leave your link in a comment and I will manually add them to this post throughout the day. :) Recipe theme for next week (October 21, 2009) is potatoes!

1. Crockpot Chicken and Noodles
2. Carrot Cake
3. Carrot Cake (Sara)
4. Whole Wheat Carrot and Zucchini Cake
5. Lasagna with Vegetables
6. Honey-Glazed Carrots (Lora)
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This week's Recipe Swap theme is pumpkin! I love cooking with pumpkin. :) I have so many favorite pumpkin recipes, but I'll try to be somewhat brief and not mention too many different ones. ;)

The boys and I recently made pumpkin pancakes! These Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes were so tender and moist. We ate most of them hot off the griddle, without syrup. Such a comforting Autumn breakfast on a chilly morning! :)

(Yehoshua [5] and Eliyahu [3])

Pancakes are easy to make and I had two very willing helpers! Yehoshua is quite capable in the kitchen, but Eliyahu on the other hand is just finally outgrowing the "Can't control my wild stirring!!!!!" stage. ;)

These Pumpkin Dinner Rolls are my staple Thanksgiving dinner bread/rolls. :) The pumpkin gives them a beautiful yellow color and when they're hot and fresh, spread with butter, I could forget the turkey and just eat these rolls. :)

Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is simple, beautiful, and delicious! The sheet cake size (made on a jelly roll pan) makes it easy to serve to guests. :)

Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins are really sweet, like cupcakes, and another favorite! Last week I was craving these muffins but didn't have butterscotch chips. I made them anyway, poured the batter into cake pans, and frostened with cream cheese frosting. Yum! :)

Pumpkin Cheesecake! Joshua made this and it's a delightful seasonal cheesecake! I love Joshua's awesome cheesecakes. :D

Roasted pumpkin seeds are good for you, and a great way to use something you might otherwise be tossing into the compost! :) These seeds never last long here... I love them!

And last (for now!) is Cream-Filled Pumpkin Cupcakes. I'm not sure how to describe these besides "YUMMY!!!" They're a fun treat. :)

I have more pumpkin stuff to share later this week, including my mom's pumpkin pie recipe! But now, I want to hear about your favorite pumpkin recipes!! :)

To participate in this week's In-Season Recipe Swap:

Post your on-theme recipe, including your own photo of the food. Link to this post, and then come over here and let us know where to find YOU! Just leave your link in a comment and I will manually add them to this post throughout the day. :) Recipe theme for next week (October 14, 2009) is carrots!

1. Pumpkin Cake Squares
2. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
3. Glazed Pumpkin Cookies (Donna)
4. Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins (Chelsea Rae)
5. Stevia-sweetened Pumpkin Pudding (dairy free) (Shannon)
6. Easy Pumpkin Spice Cake (Alea)
7. Pumpkin Bread (Shannon)
8. Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Pie (Gina)
9. Pumpkin Squares with Cider Caramel (Gina)
10. Spiced Pumpkin Butter (Gina)
11. Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies (Risa)
12. Chocolate Pumpkin Pancakes (Heather)
13. Easy pumpkin muffins/bread (Katie)

This week's In-Season Recipe Swap theme is cabbage! :)

My mom always grows lots of cabbage in her garden, and I grew up eating fried cabbage, sauer kraut, and cole slaw regularly. Since getting married, I've also made this easy cabbage casserole, which is a nice change of pace when cabbage is in season. Although cabbage isn't one of our favorite vegetables, Joshua and I both like variety. :)

When we were in Ohio earlier this month, my mom made fresh cole slaw a number of times. I took pictures while I was there! :)

My mom makes her homemade cole slaw with a vinegar and oil dressing, and a bit of carrot and onion for flavor. So many people have said, after trying my mom's cole slaw, "I don't usually even like cole slaw, but I like this!" :)

To participate in this week's In-Season Recipe Swap:

Post your on-theme recipe, including your own photo of the food. Link to this post, and then come over here and let us know where to find YOU! Just leave your link in a comment and I will manually add them to this post throughout the day. :) Recipe theme for next week (October 7, 2009) is pumpkin!

1. Cortido (Latin-American version of sauer kraut) (Shannon)
2. Oriental Cole Slaw (Sara)
3. Katie's Simple Cabbage Soup with Secret Super Food
4. Beef-N-Cabbage Bake (Donna)
5. Easy Steamed Cabbage Wedges (Donna)
6. Cabbage and Veggie Medley (Lauren)
7. Tofu and Cabbage Soup
8. Sweet 'n' Sour Beef 'n' Cabbage (Jane)

This week's In-Season Recipe Swap theme is apples! I love apples. They are so delicious to munch on fresh, and so easy to use in a variety of baked foods. I don't think I ever get tired of apples! :)

My Mom's Baked Apples is a fun alternative to making fresh applesauce, for an easy fruit side dish. :)

Today Yehoshua (5) and I made Apple Brownies. This is a favorite recipe from my childhood, and very easy to make!

We had a good time in the kitchen! :)

The finished Apple Brownies: Moist and sweet! :)

I also made New Year's Apple Challah twice last week, in celebration of Yom Teruah (Day of Trumpets), one of the Biblical festivals we observe. :)

To participate in this week's In-Season Recipe Swap:

Post your on-theme recipe, including your own photo of the food. Link to this post, and then come over here and let us know where to find YOU! Just leave your link in a comment and I will manually add them to this post throughout the day. :) Recipe theme for next week (Sept. 30) is cabbage.

1. Stevia-sweetened Applesauce (Shannon)
2. Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins (Quinn)
3. Apple Crisp (Amy)
4. Apple Slaw (Sara)
5. Mom's Apple Pie (and more!)
6. Nanna's Apple Pie (Jessica)
7. Apple Pie Muffins (gluten free) (Chaya)
8. Apple desserts (Lynn)
9. Favorite Apple Cake (Donna)
10. Jewish Apple Cake (Lauren)
11. Pressure Cooker Applesauce (Alea)
12. Libby's Apple Spice Cobbler (Libby)
13. Apple Cranberry Crisp

This week's in-season theme is tomatoes! Oh, how I love garden-fresh tomatoes! They are so sweet and juicy and make salads and tacos extra appealing to me! :)

In years past, we have had bushel after bushel of tomatoes from my mom's garden. This tomato soup (shown above) is easy to can (see recipe for details) and makes a delicious meal during the autumn and winter months!

Tomatoes and Black Beans over Pasta is one of my favorite quick meals! I cook dried black beans, and with homegrown tomatoes, this is a fun, economical meal. :D

I can't wait to see your favorite recipes using tomatoes! :)

To participate in this week's In-Season Recipe Swap:

Post your on-theme recipe, including your own photo of the food. Link to this post, and then come over here and let us know where to find YOU! Just leave your link in a comment and I will manually add them to this post throughout the day. :) See future recipe swap themes here.

1. Greek Orzo Pasta Salad (Shaina)
2. Homemade Tomato Soup (Connie)
3. Pork-stuffed Poblano Chiles w/Walnut Cream Sauce (Betsy)
4. Green Tomato and Yellow Split Pea Stew (Mrs. Mordecai)
5. Mom's Gazpacho (Amanda)
6. Ratatouille
7. BLT Pizza (Jill)
8. Black bean salsa (Jennifer)

This week's recipe swap theme is cucumbers! We enjoy fresh cucumbers, but I haven't gotten too creative with them.

Growing up, my mom always made lots of quarts of her garlic dill pickles with cucumbers from her huge garden. :)

My favorite way to use fresh cucumbers is in tomato cucumber salad! It's as simple as dicing a few tomatoes and cucumbers, sprinkling with lemon juice, and lightly seasoning... delicious!

What are your favorite ways to use cucumbers? :)

To participate in this week's In-Season Recipe Swap:

Post your on-theme recipe, including your own photo of the food. Link to this post, and then come over here and let us know where to find YOU! Just leave your link in a comment and I will manually add them to this post throughout the day. :) See future recipe swap themes here.

1. Refrigerator Pickles (Shaina)
2. Honey-sweetened Sweet Pickle Slices (Shannon)
3. Bread and Butter Pickles (Tanya)
4. Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls (Lisa)
5. Cucumber Salad (Jill)
6. Summer Cucumber Salad (Sara)
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Summer squash (yellow squash, zucchini, etc.) is one of my favorite seasonal veggies. It's so versatile and even when our own plants have wilted and died on us, it seems that other people are better at growing them than we are and kind enough to bless us with their excess! :D

This year we (i.e. Joshua!) has made shish kabobs several times on the grill, and I was hoping to get his exact recipe to share here since they are SO YUMMY! But when I asked him earlier this week he said he's still experimenting and not ready to write anything down at the moment. So I'll just say that we love zucchini or squash slices on our kebabs! :)

Our main favorite way to enjoy summer squash is in Chicken Squash Bake. This dish is relatively easy to make (can use grilled or baked chicken breast), relatively healthy, and amazingly wonderfully delicious!! Joshua likes it best with grilled chicken breast rather than baked (recipe includes instructions for both). I love it either way! :)

We also like Abigail's Summer Squash Casserole. :)

I can't wait to see everyone's favorite summer squash recipes!!

To participate in this week's In-Season Recipe Swap:

Post your on-theme recipe, including your own photo of the food. Link to this post, and then come over here and let us know where to find YOU! Just leave your link in a comment and I will manually add them to this post throughout the day. :) See future recipe swap themes here.

1. Various zucchini recipes with photos (Snow White)
2. Zucchini brownies (Laura)
3. Sausage zucchini bake (Katie)
4. Various zucchini favorites (Amy)
5. Garden patch saute and more (Quinn)
6. Zucchini Crust Pizza (Gina)
7. Orange Pecan Zucchini Bread (Shaina)
8. Summer Pasta (Sara)
9. Zucchini Pizza (Lynn)
10. Zucchini Crisp (Jane)
11. Zucchini Muffins (Amanda)
12. Zucchini Omelette and healthy Zucchini Pear Bread (Rachel)