Herby Barley Salad with Butter-Basted Mushrooms

I was looking through Bon Appetit's Thanksgiving 2015 magazine to look for inspiration for 2016. This Barley salad was awesome, everyone here agreed. Our mom apparently loves barley, and thought this (vegetarian, oh my!) was a great side dish.

Of course the mushrooms alone can cost a fortune (I used oyster and chanterelle, and highly recommend), and the herbs take a bit of time to tear up, so it's not going to be your week night staple. But when you have the time, it's a fantastic hearty, fall side. 

Vegan Banana Bread

I have been trying to diversify what we feed Mr. W, and first started with some spinach-laced baked goods. Those were not well received.

I made this pumpkin bread from Smitten Kitchen, but it has 1 and 2/3 cups of sugar! Way too much. Of course it was amazing.

Sarah told me about this vegan banana bread, which of course elicits eye-rolls and noses being turned up. But it was surprisingly good! I used regular sugar instead of coconut sugar, but otherwise stuck to the recipe easily. Mimi had some white chocolate chips that expired only one year ago, so I threw a few on top. I went out of town and this was gone in about 2 days flat. Highly recommend.

Cauliflower with Pumpkin Seeds, Brown Butter, and Lime

A lot of people grunt and moan about Cauliflower, but once you roast it properly, it can take on the world!

This version from Bon Appetit is pretty simple and very rewarding. Everyone on Leyden ate this up! This is also easy, without too many ingredients or steps.