Rainy Day Meals

I’ve discovered something about myself lately: taking pretty pictures of things in slow cookers is not my forte.
Monday was our first truly chilly and drizzly day of the autumn season. The low fog was sending a constant mist over everything. The temperatures hit 32 degrees Fahrenheit. It was officially freezing – the perfect type of day to cook something warm and delicious.
Coconut Curry Chicken with homemade vegan naan. See? I told you. Not a pretty picture. (Side note: clean up was pretty! I love those slow cooker liners with all my heart!)
Try again? Nope, still not pretty. All I can do is tell you how very delicious this fragrant and simple dish was, and highly recommend that you make it. And buy some pre-made naan from Whole Foods. The homemade vegan naan was a massive fail on my end.
Tuesday was pretty similar in terms of weather. We got a three-mile hike in with the pup before returning home with windburned cheeks and frosty noses. I sat down in front of the fire to defrost and was thrilled to see that my Ask a Cicerone article went out yesterday morning!
I knew something was up when my views had spiked through the roof by 9am! Always love promoting my local breweries – Verboten Brewing, Loveland Aleworks, Grimm Brothers and oh, so many more that I still need to do full write-ups on!
After returning phone calls, planning meetings and picking up an un-Godly amount of Halloween candy, I got back into the kitchen to prep for another wonderful meal. Dinner was homemade pizza – one half with my spinach basil pesto recipe (coming up soon once the pictures are all edited) and parmesan, the other with balsamic caramelized onions and bacon over homemade pizza sauce.
I also wound up making another batch of spent grain bread with the remains of my snow day brew day spent grain. Something about this cold weather just makes me gravitate straight to the kitchen!
After hearing about it all over the blogopshere, I had to try it.
Lactose intolerant friendly? Yes, please! Flavor? No, thanks, I’m good.

Sorry to say, all you Arctic Zero fans, but I was not in a happy place. Please tell me it’s because my flavor choice was wrong? I’m willing to give it another go if anyone has recommendations… Instead I ate too much Halloween candy and felt ill. Hooray.
And here’s one more gratuitous beer and beer related pumpkin carving as an apology for the horrific food pictures above. Go in peace.

When it gets cold out, what are your favorite meals to make/beers to drink?