what to do with Brussels sprouts | fall cooking

Hey! Happy Monday! Sorry, but that seems to be the way I always start my posts at the beginning of the week. I don't use the computer a lot of the weekends, if at all, so I feel like I'm reentering the world of the internet and a cheery greeting seems necessary. Please forgive me if I repeat myself!

Anyway, this post is reminiscent of my past menu of the week posts which almost always went live on Mondays. With fall upon us there are tons of new recipes to try - everything hearty and cozy and always delicious. Brussels sprouts are not a vegetable I would usually eat, but they're in season so when my mom gave me two pounds from the garden I decided to experiment. Here are three stellar sprout recipes you should have in your repetoire... 

whole grain spaghetti with Brussels sprouts and mushrooms - Giada never lets me down, and this recipe is no exception. How can you go wrong with crème fraîche? However, I highly recommend skipping the salt and pepper at the end of the recipe and seasoning to taste instead, or else you run the risk of your dinner being severely oversalted. (I originally found the recipe in Weeknights with Giada which had lots of other yummy recipes... definitely worth checking out!)

Brussels sprout lemon pizza - We love pizza around here, but we tend to stick to the same old toppings - usually pineapple or peppers and onions - so when I saw this recipe in Whole Living a few months back I dogeared the page for future use. I couldn't believe how amazing the lemon slices were, so don't skip them!

salmon and Brussels sprouts with ginger scallion sauce - I tried this recipe from Dinner A Love Story a while back and wanted to bring it back into the rotation. We have salmon a lot but I never do much with it, so this is an easy way to spice things up.

Do you have any fall recipes that I should try?

image via Martha Stewart

fresh from the farm

(image via Dr. Green's Blog)

Usually my favorite part about summer is that there's no school which, in the past for me, meant no work.  Now that Ezra is here I'm not working outside of our home anymore so the allure of summertime has changed.  This year I'm looking forward to receiving our weekly CSA share from Ledge Ends in East Greenwich.  We're trying to be more mindful of what we put into our bodies, so joining a CSA seemed like a good fit for us.  We'll have a box of produce dropped off for twenty weeks starting in June and lasting through late October.  My plan is to blog about the delivery and meals I make with it each week.  I'm especially excited about the option to sign up for additional items, like meats, cheese, and even flowers.  Have you ever joined a CSA or do you shop at farmer's markets?  What are some of your favorite seasonal fruits and veggies?  

smooth move

(images by Grant Cornett for Real Simple)

Now that spring is here I can't wait to begin making lots of smoothies with fresh fruit again.  I love these smoothie ideas from last month's issue of Real Simple.  First on my list to try are the mango, kale-apple, and raspberry and nut smoothies.  Whole Living also has some tasty looking smoothie recipes, like avocado pear.  What are your favorite combinations?