meatless monday: feelin' hearty

So, for meatless monday today, I want to tell y'all about the savory and satisfying meatless meal I made last night. It was a recipe in my new Living that just came in the mail last week, and it was delicious. Martha called it "minestrone with parmesan biscuits"--and it ended up being a hearty casserole-type-thing with a thick, bean-and-vegetable soup for the filling and quickly whipped up parmesan biscuits for the topping. You'll have to grab the mag for the actual recipe, but I wager it is somewhere between this:

and this:

It was a perfect fall dish. I sauteed and simmered the veggies in a pot, threw the biscuit batter together, and then plopped it all in a baking dish and threw it in the oven. Surprisingly fast and easy!

What about you? Do you have any surprisingly easy, yet hearty cold-weather dishes up your sleeve? Do tell!

Five Gratitudes

Happy, Happy Friday! Whew. Does it seem like this week took forever~yet went at a frenetic pace~or is it just me?

Here's what I'm grateful for today:

image source

1. Today marks the Autumnal Equinox, and I'm so grateful that my favorite season officially here! I'm also grateful to Adam Frank for posting a thought-provoking blog about The Tyranny of Modern Time on NPR's website that fits in with the occasion perfectly.

2. I'm grateful to my uncle for posting this mesmerizing video shot from the International Space Station.  Can we say jaw-dropping? Look at all those cities!

3. I'm grateful to Alli for posting about one of my favorite books ever, Pride and Prejudice. On a rainy day like today, thoughts of curling up with a classic comfort read make me smile.

4. I'm grateful that tonight, Jake and I have the chance to try out this new restaurant that just opened in our town. Looks like it will be a delicious dinner!

5. Last but not least, I'm grateful to ProfHacker for this blog on thinking about ways to make writing fun. For myself, for my students, I want to think more about ways to inspire a desire (heh, that rhymes!) for writing...and I am still musing on this quote: 

"I wonder what it is that tells us that only difficult tasks are worthwhile, that fun tasks are frivolous and unnecessary."

Indeed. 

What about you, friends? What are you grateful for today?