For Those About To Rock....

We had a nice week of Indian summer, then the cold started creeping in. Out came the coats, and some days scarves & gloves.

Leaves are changing colours and falling off the trees. Pretty, but sad.

Simon got a new hoodie to keep him warm, but he seems to not like it very much.

So we went out without it. He loves sniffing around in the leaves. I must say, I like that smell of fall too. The rotting leaves, cool air...takes me right back to childhood and memories of Hallowe'en - always.

The cooler weather brings all kinds of comfort foods back to the kitchen. First up, potatoes!

What's more comforting than spuds? This dish is similar to scalloped potatoes, but with vegetable broth instead of milk. The broth was infused with rosemary & thyme and the potatoes were layered with lightly sauteed onions & garlic. Holy! Were these delicious. Thank you Gordon Ramsay for the recipe.

I made a "meat" loaf using Robin Robertson's recipe from The Vegetarian Meat & Potatoes Cookbook. This is the best "meat"loaf recipe I have found. It's so delicious. Instead of gravy, I made a peppercorn sauce. It suited this meal perfectly. While the potatoes were in the oven, I also roasted some carrots. Talk about comfort!

Of course we have wine with meatloaf. Who doesn't? ;o)

This was given to Jim by a customer. I looked it up on line and some sites didn't give it a very good review. I don't know what they were drinking, but we thought it was delightful. It was so smooth, like velvet in my mouth. The flavour complemented the loaf & sauce wonderfully. In the world of wine, there are a lot of snobs. I try not to be snobby, but informed. Really - at the end of the day, it basically comes down to drink what you like. And no matter what others say, I liked this. I thought it was flavourful, with a good structure and balance.

Cold weather always brings soup! There's a lentil soup that I started making years ago complements of Linda McCartney. This was one of the first vegetarian cookbooks that I bought - Linda McCartney On Tour.

I liked the sound of it just by the title. It turned out to be a big favorite around here.

The recipe doesn't call for black beans, but I had half a can left over from making nachos, so I threw those in too. Served with some oregano garlic flatbread it sure warmed our tummies.

Food is good for the soul and so is Rock n' Roll! What better way to feed a rocker's ears than AC/DC!!

As part of Jim's birthday, I got tickets for the sold out Toronto show. The opening was utterly spectacular and it just kept right on going from there. We were on the Rock N' Roll Train for sure.

Those guys blew the roof off the Skydome (Rogers Centre, whatever...to many it will always be Skydome). This was the best effing concert I have ever been to. Two hours passed like that! They were finished and I just wanted more.

I loves me some Angus and he definitely delivered! Old favorites like Highway To Hell, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, Hell's Bells, and a sprinkling of songs off their new album - which is totally kick ass by the way. It went #1 in Canada the week it was released and had the largest first week sales in this country in 5 years.

The show was pure R&R. A few cool things thrown in - an inflatable, cannons, strip-tease - but for the most part, just a stripped down stage and LOUD music. Look at the stacks of Marshalls. That was on either side of the stage. We had such an amazing time, I'm trying to get tickets for their second sold-out Toronto show in January. It was that good. AC/DC - we salute you!