Breakfasts can get a little rushed as the holidays grow nearer and nearer. Heck, everything can get a little rushed. But with a little planning, fall breakfasts can be something other than cold cereal or coffee shop scones.With apples, pears, figs, plums, quince, persimmons, and raspberries (depending on where you live) in season, folding them into a simple muffin or scone is something that always inspires us.

The New Year brings different traditions for different folks. Some make black-eyed peas, others make firm resolutions. I make chicken stock. There’s something wonderfully industrious about making homemade stock, and this year on New Year’s Day, that’s where I found myself. I find that the soups I make throughout the year are rather predictable. In the fall, puréed soups have their day in the sun.

I love chai. I love making homemade chai. And I really love bourbon. So when I saw this recipe on Saveur’s website last week, I knew it would be on the weekend agenda.If you’ve never mixed your own chai tea blend at home, you’re in for a treat. I’ve talked about it on my own blog last year, and the cool thing that will happen once you start mixing your own teas is that you’ll become quite a pro.

Beets aren’t just for salads anymore. These highly nutritious root vegetables can be found on dessert menus nationwide and are popping up on baking blogs right and left. Why? Well, let me show you. Beets add moisture to baked goods without the addition of oil or butter, and they also add a natural sweetness. Win, win! They’re most commonly used in chocolate desserts because they add moisture, yet the cocoa powder and chocolate mask any possible subtle earthy flavor.

I am biased because I love scones. And I can’t seem to get enough grapefruit or citrus lately so these are a win/win as far as I’m concerned. But I think even non-scone folks will appreciate the oat-strewn dough, subtle citrus bite, and warm notes of ginger and honey you’ll find in this recipe. Moistened with a heap of Greek yogurt, this is your new winter go-to scone.There are many different types of scones out there.

I don’t buy Nutella because, truthfully, I can’t be trusted with it around the house. I like it a little too much. But for some reason, when I make it at home and see the ingredients I’m using before me it doesn’t seem all that bad. My nutella recipe is quick: no melting chopped chocolate or heating milk. It’s a simple food processor affair, and I’ll often make a double-batch and keep it in the refrigerator for when a little chocolate need arises.

As you’ve likely already noticed, we’re focusing on lunch recipes this week on The Kitchn and to do so fully, you’ve got to get down to basics. And what’s more basic than the true building blocks of a great sandwich? Ah, sandwich bread. We all have our preferences: white and squishy, hearty whole grain, or crusty baguette. And once you get into the groove and have a bit of practice, it’s quite simple to make.

Dinner parties deserve snacks, too. And while dips and chips and veggie spreads are all fine and good, there’s something quite wonderful about spicy roasted chickpeas. We had a housewarming party this past weekend and made these roasted chickpeas to set out on the table right when folks arrived. They were such a hit that I barely got to sneak a small spoonful before they were gone. The reason?

Whether spring is in the air in your neck of the woods or not, we can all pretend. These bright, citrusy lemon cookies will help with that.During this funny time of year when the farmers markets are struggling slowly towards spring, I still find myself gravitating towards citrus for color. And what’s better than a recipe that uses three different kinds of citrus to add an extra punch of fragrance and flavor to a simple butter cookie?

Mornings are meant for muffins. They’re portable, easy to throw together, and can incorporate the season’s fruit beautifully. Such is the case with these vanilla-flecked, oat and coconut-strewn, mango-laden beauties. I love these muffins for many reasons. First, you can mix them by hand and there will be very few dishes (always a good thing). Second, they rely on my most favorite fat for cooking and baking: coconut oil.

Over the years, coconut oil has had a bad rap, but studies are now finding it has great health benefits and is a wonderful substitute for other oils in your cooking and baking.Because it tolerates high temperatures, coconut oil is a great substitute for shortening, butter, margarine, or vegetable oil. I find that when I bake with it, the resulting muffins, scones, or cakes have a special lightness to them and a slightly sweet fragrance unique to coconut oil.

You know it’s really spring when rhubarb is in the markets. That’s about the time I begin roasting it to eat with yogurt and ice cream, making crumbles and crisps, and folding it into every cake and muffin batter I can think of. Rhubarb is so delightful because it’s slightly tart and ever so bright, complimenting simple buttery desserts and vanilla flavors so well. It wants to saddle up to something a little sweeter than itself — take Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, for example.

This recipe delivers on nearly every expectation of a great weeknight recipe. It cooks in one pot, calls for just five ingredients, and makes for very good leftovers. It’s simple and delicious and perfect for the change of weather. Here’s a recipe that takes 30 minutes to make — a recipe that you can stretch for a few nights if need be, or freeze so you’ve got another meal waiting in the wings.

Much like kale, quinoa is one of those foods. I see it everywhere lately, from food blogs to lunch menus to dinner parties. And there’s a good reason why: it’s quick to make, simple and inexpensive, and much higher in protein than many other grains. So when a reader wrote in this week asking for protein-heavy vegetarian dishes, a big bowl of spring vegetable quinoa salad seemed like the easy choice. If you’ve never cooked quinoa before, it’s pretty simple.

When most people think appetizers, toasts, and crostini, they often turn to bruschetta, that classic Italian combination that usually includes juicy tomatoes, cheese, and herbs. But there’s a whole world of toasts out there that rely on seasonal ingredients and innovative flavor combinations, spanning the map from skirt steak to strawberries and everything inbetween. There is a restaurant here in Seattle, Dinette, that specializes in toasts.

I had a forehead-slapping moment at the grocery store this week. It’s finally turned a bit blustery and rainy in Seattle, and so many of us have been welcoming the fall weather with open arms. So I found myself gravitating towards the bulk tea aisle, where I picked up a jug of apple cider and got sucked into buying an over-priced satchel of mulling spices. When I returned home, my boyfriend chided me for falling into the “mulling spice trap.

End of Summer Prune Plum PiePlums seem to be the one reminder of late summer in the grocery store these days. That and tomatoes, I suppose. And even more: the plums this year have been incredible. While they’re great as a snack, folding them into simple fall desserts and is an obvious choice. They add a soft sweetness to everything from cakes to tarts to pies, and variations and inspiration abounds!

I was a vegetarian for years and years and truthfully, even today, turkey isn’t at all my favorite part of Thanksgiving. And ham doesn’t do much for me at Christmas. Instead, I tend to geek out over new vegetable side dishes and flavor-filled herby stuffing. But I remember the days where it did feel like vegetarian options were slim at the holiday table. They don’t have to be.Vegetarians and even vegans can fare just fine with side dishes during the holidays.

I was a vegetarian for a good fifteen years — all through college and most of my twenties. It was never a huge struggle for me because my family didn’t eat a great deal of red meat growing up and I wasn’t crazy about fish at the time, so it was a natural transition in many ways. I went to college in Boulder, CO, and as anyone who either lives or has visited Boulder knows, it’s a very tofu-friendly city.

I’m not sure whether it’s the beginning of tax season or the gray Pacific Northwest days we’ve been having lately, but many people I know have been a bit down. In line at the grocery store, I hear families dreaming up sunny vacations and faraway weekend plans. But for the rest of the week, for the slog that February can feel like, I have a small solution: The Winter Warmer Cocktail.

I haven’t made a pie in awhile and I was thinking at this point that I’d hold out until early spring berries made their way into the markets. But recently, I overheard talk of a pie that caught me off guard: Chai-Spiced Banana Cream Pie. I didn’t have a recipe, but I could only imagine how amazing the spice-flecked vanilla custard, soft bananas and pillowy whipped cream would taste, so I set to work.

I’m guilty of always reaching for the same appetizers when having friends or family over: good olives, flatbreads, interesting cheeses, and rosemary nuts. If you’ve been to our house for drinks or dinner, this likely sounds pretty familiar. The reason for the repetition is ease, but what if there were a creamy, lightly fried bite of polenta that was just as simple? An appetizer that would trump olives and nuts any day of the week?

The reason I love baked ricotta is because it’s so simple and you can fold in any variety of herbs or chopped greens that you’d like. It also feels much more special than simply setting cheese out to slice, and can be reheated the next day to slather on top of toast in the morning or to dollop into green salads or spring pastas in the evening.

In cooking and baking, I refer to certain dishes as “bridge recipes.” You know the ones: food that gives you a peek into the new season without fully committing to the produce or the feeling of the days ahead. Right now, an asparagus tart would be considered a bridge recipe for brunch. If you’re in California (sigh), strawberry shortcakes are your early peek into spring.

But spring potluck-ing is pretty straightforward: hearty salads are always a hit, grains are filling, and seasonal vegetables are a welcome burst of color. What are some of your favorite spring potluck dishes?

Bran muffins can get a bad rap. They’re so often dry and overly-sweet, which always feels like a shame because bran has such a nice flavor in and of itself. Plus, there are so many ways to add a punch of flavor without a lot of extra sugar. How about a mound of blueberries, fresh lemon zest, and coconut oil folded into a delicate whole-grain batter? Truthfully I rarely bake muffins at home (I’m much more of a scone gal) because I usually find them to be not all that satisfying.

We have a great Middle Eastern grocery a few miles north of our house in Seattle, and given that my boyfriend Sam is Lebanese, we visit often to stock up on chickpeas, good feta and tahini — the latter being the one non-negotiable; we’re always stocked with tahini. And this recipe was born, really, from a few leftover beets and a love of tahini. That’s all you need.

Living alone or as a couple can prove to be a challenge come dinnertime. When a recipe serves six, but there are only two of you, it can be a bore to eat the same thing several days in a row. This is why I wanted to write a recipe today that was the perfect size: a hearty dinner salad just for two. Taco salad reminds me of two things: my mom and my college days in Boulder, Colorado.

Lately all of my favorite food websites and blogs have been awash in the bright, fresh colors of spring. From crisp asparagus to sweet fresh peas, there are signs of abundant warm-weather vegetables and salads everywhere I look. While my senses love it all, on cooler spring afternoons, comfort food is still the order of the day. So last weekend I pulled together this creamy baked orzo to have for a lazy lunch when lofty plans for hiking flew out the window at the first sign of a drizzle.

This past February, I had the extreme good fortune of accompanying my family (or, really, inviting myself) on a vacation to St. Barthes. February in Seattle is one of the darker months, so this was a most welcome break. Since St. Barthes is an island with limited produce deliveries from the mainland, it was a common occurrence that restaurants or grocery stores would be out of a dish or ingredient “until the next boat comes.” There was little urgency about it; people just made do.