I’m still getting back in the swing of things after more than a week of vacation. We did pretty well using up our veggies and working through what has been hanging around in the crisper drawer for a while.

These teriyaki mushrooms with sauteed bok choy and hon tsai tai are supposed to be served over udon noodles, but of the three grocery stores I went to this week, none had the 100% buckwheat variety in stock. These are black bean noodles, which have a somewhat grainy texture but a pretty good flavor, especially when combined with the stir fry sauce.

I’ve made this fajita chicken salad in more attractive forms, but it still tastes great. I missed all the warnings about reserving half the mixture for marinade and half to use as dressing, but I cooked poblanos and onions in a pan, and just poured the “contaminated” sauce on towards the end of cooking to add all the flavor back in.

These white sweet potato gnocchi have 4 ingredients – roasted and puréed sweet potato, salt, an egg yolk, and flour! It’s all combined until no longer sticky, rolled out gently and cut, then boiled in salty water until they float. I’ve made a lot of gnocchi that turn out gummy and tough, but these were pretty close to ideal texture. I chalk it up to more luck than technique… To make it a meal, I tossed them in brown butter and added some chicken breast and chives.

We also had roasted acorn squash (split in half and rubbed with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roasted cut-side down at 450F for 25 minutes) stuffed with a wild rice blend mixed with hot Italian chicken sausage, goat cheese, and Craisins. The menu is certainly starting to look like Fall!