Noodles in Lemon Sauce (for One)

With school back in full swing (and my new role as Home Economics teacher filling my off hours with lesson planning and recipe testing), fast and simple meals are definitely on the menu more often than not. I love Chinese (well Chinese-American) style food, but it's been ages since I've been able to have takeout from anywhere - not a bad thing, really, since my wallet and my health are better for it! Stir fries are the quintessential backbone of most of those dishes anyway, and given that they are so fast and simple to whip up a la minute it's only natural that meals like this one have graced my plate multiple times a week.

I actually started coming up with this combination of flavours when I had an unusual craving for lemon-sauce chicken. Now, I've never liked lemon chicken from the Chinese take-out place, but for some reason that sticky, thick and tangy-sweet dipping sauce was running through my mind. I was also craving a big bowl of veggies and carbs (what else is new?) so I decided to try combining the two for a simple dinner. The sauce was really the catch-all for a host of flavourful ingredients - fresh lemons, tamari, garlic, chilies and ginger, plus a healthy pinch of a premade Nanami Togarashi mixture were all sweetened a touch with stevia and thickened with tapioca starch. It cloaked the brown rice noodles, broccoli and beans delicately without the gluey cloying nature of it's takeout inspiration and was the perfect hit of exoticism for a mid-week, run-off-your-feet meal.

Yoghurt and Brown Sugar Whipped Caramel

I have always loved the rich, tangy flavour of good yoghurt. I'm not talking about the every-fruit-under-the-sun, sticky-sweet flavoured kind - growing up, I was all about the tart vanilla or cappuccino offerings in the dairy case. I would still rather pick one of those flavours for eating on its own, but when it comes to baking and cooking the plain, tangy "natural" container is where I turn to. Not only does it taste great, but it's a great swap for sour cream in most things... cake, muffins, mock sourdough bread, and most recently candy.

As complex as it can be, I have a soft spot for creating candy at home. Give me a quiet morning with a clean kitchen, my digital thermometer and a bag of sugar I'm happy to let my imagination go to work. This time, I took inspiration from the book 300 Best Homemade Candy Recipes, turning their old-fashioned brown sugar fudge into a tablet of tangy, melt in your mouth confectionery. Not quite fudge, caramel or nougat, it's full of molassess-y brown and Muscovado sugar, with a pat of salted butter for decadence and just the right amount of creamy, plain Balkan yoghurt to temper the works. Once cooked and cooled, it's whipped into a thick mixture you'd be hard pressed to avoid licking off the beaters right away (or nibbling out of the pan at midnight). If it lasts that long in your house, a slice or chunk of the tawny caramel is a great visiting gift or sweet table offering too!

Shared with Gluten Free Fridays and Waste Not Want Not Wednesday

Eggplant "Bacon" or "Jerky" (#RecipeRedux)

When people find out that I have to adhere to a meat-free, low fat diet, they almost always ask me the same question - but don't you wish you could eat bacon? I honestly have to tell them no - I have nothing against it, but really, the highlight of my few Sunday brunches out was always the crispy home fries and the bottomless Tropicana OJ that my mom would never buy us. I also never really ate bacon in anything, even as "bits" on my salads or stirred into pasta - if I was going to eat it, it was going to be with something sweet (like maple syrup) and it had better be crispy.

While I don't crave bacon flavours like some people out there, I have to admit I do enjoy having a savoury, portable snack on hand for long car rides or when I'm stuck late at school. With a dehydrator (and a plethora of produce) at my disposal now, I wanted to see if I could make a sweet and salty "jerky" out of our delicious heirloom eggplants. I wound up cobbling together three other recipes, plus my own taste preferences, to come up with this snack. It's flavour-rich enough that you don't have to eat many on their own to be satisfied, plus they make excellent mix-ins for roasted breakfast potatoes and onions or topping a zesty Caesar salad.

Check out the other dehydrated #RecipeRedux posts here

Kale and Sweet Potato Stew #SundaySupper

By now, most of you know that my mom and I are huge veggie fans. In fact, if it grows in the ground, chances are we'll at least give it the old college try - even if it's not a staple on our dinner plate at home. Even we have our exceptions though - I detest rutabaga and turnip in any form, and really don't like the taste of Winter squash all that much either (except delicata and butternut "fries", that is... those rock). My mom's nemeses are parsnips, okra and until very recently, kale.

While I haven't been able to win her over on the parsnip or okra side of things, I have succeeded in creating a craving for kale in my mom's persona. What turned her around on the curly green leafy was this stew that I extensively adapted from The Leafy Greens Cookbook by Kathryn Anible. A mixture of crunchy, natural style peanut butter and smooth cashew butter are the only true buffers against the combination of cayenne, serrano, habanero and black pepper in the base mixture, toning it down just enough to be flavourful and tear-inducing at the same time. The spices also temper the candy-like nature of the sweet potato and garden-fresh carrots, making for a hearty, vegan and gluten free dinner that knocks you down, then brings you back for more!

This week on #SundaySupper, we are gearing up to celebrate any and all of Fall's fabulous food... from carnivals and festivals to the fantastic fruits and vegetables of the late season harvest. This week’s event is hosted by Coleen of The Redhead Baker with help from co-host Conni of The Foodie Army Wife. Thanks ladies!

Appetizers and Drinks

• Hatch Chile Hummus by Shockingly Delicious
• Pearfect Harvest Cocktail by Eat, Drink and be Tracy

Soups, Stews, Chili, and Casseroles

• Butternut Squash Chowder by The Texan New Yorker
• Butternut Squash Soup with Sage and Sautéed Mushrooms by Cooking Chat
• Cheesy Potato Chard Bake by Food Lust People Love
• Fall Harvest Onion Soup by MealDiva
• Homemade Poultry Seasoning and Chicken Dumpling Casserole by Hot Momma's Kitchen Chaos
• Kale and Sweet Potato Stew by What Smells So Good?
• Pumpkin Chili by Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen
• Smoked Gouda Cauliflower Casserole by Casadecrews

Salads and Side Dishes

• Brie and Pear Salad by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Butternut Squash Dinner Rolls by Life Tastes Good
• Carrot and Chevre Souffle by Jane's Adventures in Dinner
• Fall Harvest Panzanella by Curious Cuisiniere
• Garlicky Roasted Butternut Squash by Panning The Globe
• Maple Roasted Acorn Squash by Jelly Toast
• Roasted Vegetables with Spiced Pepitas and Sunflower Seeds by Nosh My Way
• Wild Rice Stuffed Acorn Squash by Ruffles & Truffles

Main Dishes

• Chicken alla Vendemmia by Crazy Foodie Stunts
• Oktoberfest Schnitzel Melt Sandwich by Kudos Kitchen by Renee
• Ratatouille by A Mama, Baby & Shar-pei in the Kitchen
• Roasted Pork Tenderloin over Sweet Potatoes by Family Foodie
• Streamlined Weeknight Shepherd's Pie by The Weekend Gourmet

Desserts and Baked Goods

• Apple and Cinnamon Cake by Happy Baking Days
• Apple Challah Bread French Toast by Desserts Required
• Apple Dumplings with Salted Caramel Rum Sauce by The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch
• Apple Hand Pie {Apfeltaschen} by The Not So Cheesy Kitchen
• Apple Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies by Pies and Plots
• Apple Pie Bars by The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Caramel Apple Cider Ginger Ale Floats by NeighborFood
• Chai Tea Jello Shots by Peaceful Cooking
• Cranberry Orange Baked Doughnuts by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Maple Glazed Apple Galette by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• No Bake Caramel Apple Cheesecake Parfaits by Chocolate Moosey
• Peanut Butter Ginger Apple Cookies by Ninja Baking
• Pear Walnut Bread Pudding by Magnolia Days
• Pumpkin Bagels by The Redhead Baker
• Pumpkin Cheesecake by Confessions of a Culinary Diva
• Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Cookies by Momma's Meals
• Pumpkin Coffeecake Muffins by Take A Bite Out of Boca
• Pumpkin Ice Cream by Amee's Savory Dish
• Pumpkin Pie Cookies by Fit Foodie Runs
• Pumpkin Scones with Maple Glaze by The Foodie Army Wife
• Pumpkin Snack Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting by Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Rustic Apple Pie by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Southern Coffee Cookies by Killer Bunnies, Inc
• Sticky Apple and Gingerbread Cake by Mess Makes Food
• White Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookie Bars with Browned Butter Pumpkin Spice Frosting by Cupcakes & Kale Chips

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. Check out our #SundaySupper Pinterest board for more fabulous recipes and food photos. Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy! You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

Ratatouille Sauce

The culinary highlight of my gardening season is always right at the end, when the last glut of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and squash all make their appearance. It's only then, when frost is threatening the tender leaves of those plants we worked so hard to grow, that we find our table, fridge and cold cellar bursting with produce of all colours, shapes and sizes that are begging to be enjoyed right this minute lest they self-destruct overnight. When not a single vegetable more can fit into our household, my mother and I silently and instinctively know what must be done: ratatouille.

Ratatouille at home was, for the majority of my childhood, a running joke my dad, mom and I shared. At the time, Mom was really the only person who liked the stewed vegetable medley, and for reasons that became obvious in the hours after the evening meal the recipe became known as "rataTOOTie". Of course, a lot has changed since then - namely, Mom and I eat a lot more vegetables more frequently, making our digestive tracts more receptive to fibre-rich, vegetable-packed main dishes. We've also taken the classic components of the French recipe and twisted them around a couple different ways, from a cumin-laced Moroccan version to a Disney-esque baked casserole and even a flash-in-the-pan microwaved version. This year, I took the theme of savouring Summer a little further and ventured into canning the sunshine-filled bounty of our garden, turning our favourite chunky ratatouille stew into a pasta-perfect sauce.

Creating this pot of flavour was (at the risk of sounding crazy) quite transcendent for me. There was no recipe to use as a base, no required sofrito or roux or complex techniques, only the "voices" of those vegetables and herbs that were, until mere hours before, still growing and thriving outside. They told me when to add them, and with what - from a palmful of fresh thyme leaves and a spoonful of fennel seeds that evoked thoughts of sausage to the magical hint of nutmeg that adds an addictive aura to the sweet-tart tomato base. Stirred into a bowl of rotini, brown rice or wilted greens, it is a rich, fragrant and hearty meal that is perfect after a long day.

Shared with Waste Not Want Not Wednesday