• Monday: Black Bean Chili, served with tortilla chips & guacamole
• Tuesday: New Year's Noodle Soup, served with baguette
• Wednesday: leftover chili or soup
• Thursday: Farfalle with Asparagus, Shallots, & Blue Cheese; served with bruschetta
• Friday: Roasted Cauliflower & Gruyere Frittata, served with green salad
• Saturday: Kale & Potato Casserole, served with Wild Mushrooms w/ Mozzarella
• Sunday: Every Man for Himself

Between the time change (hello full-on darkness before 6:00) and the past 28 hours of steady rain, I find myself already hunkering down for the season.  I spent the day swaddled in leggings and my favorite threadbare sweatshirt, drinking cup after cup of steaming herbal tea, and digging through my recipe archives for comforting soups and hearty casseroles.

I'm sure I'm jumping the gun.  It wasn't even cold today, and we are likely to have another 15 or so sporadic days of 80-degree weather (which I will gladly treat with respect and the requisite amount of spring fever) before winter sinks its claws into our region , but for now, I think it best to remind myself of all the ways I can nurture myself until the sun returns.

This week's menu is full of some of our family favorites (the chili and the soup recipes are some of my go-to meals for soggy, dreary days) and though I make variations on frittatas fairly often, I am looking forward to trying a new riff on the old standby with this Real Simple recipe that includes roasted cauliflower.  And the wild mushroom with mozzarella recipe?  THAT THING IS MAJOR.  I haven't made it in years (three years of veganism will do that), and I can't wait to surprise the family with that one.