The arrival of autumn...

I might as well admit it; fall is here.  It is the last day of September, after all.  But the temperature is really starting to drop and it's getting harder to get by with just a sweater and scarf.  Pretty soon I'm going to have to start putting the lights on my bike when I ride home from work.  Where did the summer go?!  Oh wait, we didn't really have one, or a legitimate one, anyway.

As much as I'll miss my summer produce, I really do love the comforting foods of fall.  After a summer of being reluctant to turn on the oven and add to the heat in my non-ventilated kitchen, I'm always ready to start roasting.

Tonight as my hands froze as I rode home, I couldn't wait to return to the black eyed peas with sausage that I knew awaited me in the fridge.  It's one of those meals that really needs to be made on a weekend, it takes forever (dried beans be damned), but is so worth it that next day (and the next... and next) when it just needs to be reheated on the stove.

Who wouldn't want to come home to that?

I'd like to find a way to make it vegetarian, but I think I'd lose some depth of flavor from the sausage (Lionette's has the best all-natural, free range, etc. handmade Italian sausages; not to shortchange the phenomenal lamb and apricot sausages...).  Any ideas on how I might gain some of that back from a non-meat source?  I was thinking maybe adding a beer instead of some of the water, an Octoberfest-style lager perhaps. 

I'm also on a mission to consume everything in my pantry before we move.  Tonight, that means chocolate pudding.  Not sure why I bought chocolate pudding, it's not exactly a normal pantry staple for me, but I had some whipping cream left over from the gateau last week, so....