Kinda stumbled into this project after hitting the farmers market yesterday. The autumn vibes were strong with all those pumpkins and kale everywhere, so I figured, hey, why not cook up something Mabon-ish? Grabbed a ridiculous pile of veggies thinking it wouldn’t be enough. Spoiler alert: it was way too much. Anyway, hauled everything back to my cramped kitchen counter – already regretting the lack of space.
Let the Chopping Begin (And It Never Ended)
First step? Cutting board massacre. Pulled out my biggest knife and just started hacking away. Got a big platter ready: carrots, celery, onions, like the basics. My counter was drowning in veggies. Not the cleanest work surface, gotta say. Chopped and chopped till my wrist kinda hurt. Seriously, it felt endless. Piles were everywhere – red peppers, yellow squash, green zucchini, purple cabbage… it looked kinda wild.
Then I remembered the recipe called for butternut squash. Ugh, hate wrestling with those things. Mine was stubborn as a rock. Knife was wobbling all over the place trying to get through the skin. Managed to get chunks out, eventually. Tossed it all – the squash bits, plus the celery and carrots – onto baking sheets. Drizzled that golden olive oil all over them, threw on salt, pepper, maybe some rosemary? Can’t recall exactly, just kept shaking jars over the pans. Roasted it hard and fast, maybe 400F? Just wanted some nice color on those veggies.
The Actual Cooking Part (Where I Almost Forgot Stuff)
While the oven was roasting away, I grabbed my big stew pot. Heated up some more oil right on the stove top. Sweated down the onions first. Need that base flavor, right? Then plopped in the garlic cloves. Smelled amazing already – that warm, earthy autumn scent filled the whole apartment. Maybe put in too much? Didn’t care. Next came the peppers and zucchini I hadn’t roasted. Stirred them around, trying not to make them too mushy. They looked… well, they kinda collapsed a bit.
- Dumped in two cans of chopped tomatoes. Big splash!
- Tossed in the chickpeas and kidney beans straight from their cans. No draining? Probably should have, but didn’t. Too lazy.
- Stirred in a big squirt of tomato paste. Gotta thicken things up somehow.
- Then the spices hit: more salt, pepper, a crazy amount of paprika, turmeric maybe? Some dried thyme. A bay leaf? Who knows. Just kept shaking stuff in.
Finally dragged the roasted veggies out of the oven. Those squash chunks smelled incredible, like proper autumn. Dumped that whole charred, sweet mess straight into the stew pot. Gave it all a massive stir. Added some veggie broth maybe? Just poured it in till it looked soup-y enough. Popped the lid on and just let it bubble low and slow.
The Waiting Game (And The Final Taste Test)
Left it simmering for maybe… 30 minutes? Might have been longer. Got distracted scrolling social media, honestly. Came back, lifted the lid, and holy steam cloud. Burnt my tongue testing it. Needed more heat? Yeah, definitely. Added like four more shakes of chili flakes. Felt better then. Took out the bay leaf (actually found it!). Let it rest maybe five minutes.
Scooped a big bowlful. Topped it off with a spoonful of this tangy vegan “cheesy” sprinkle stuff I bought ages ago. Forgot I even had it. Made it look nice, at least. Took the first bite… and yeah. Warm, chunky, tons of textures. The roasted squash was definitely the star. Felt like eating a hug? Cheesy topping was weirdly good.
Made way too much. Like, freezer meals for the week level of too much. But hey, sharing the Mabon bounty, even if it’s just with my future self, right? Messy kitchen, delicious pot. Job done.
