It's cold outside. What's your favorite comfort food when the tempeture drops?

1. vegetable beef soup

2. white bean chicken chili

3. chicken and sausage gumbo

4. beef stew

5. chili

all served with crackers and/or cornbread!

Mixed Vegetable Soup

Serves 4

2 tbs sunflower oil

60g leek, roughly chopped

2 medium sized potato, roughly diced

60g carrot, roughly diced

60g parsnip, roughly diced

2 tbs split red lentils

1 pint of vegetable stock

Additional water

Salt & Pepper to taste

Over a medium heat sauté the leek with the sunflower oil for approximately 5 minutes.

Add the potato, carrot and parsnip.

Cook for a further 5 minutes.

Add the stock and lentils.

Bring to the boil, turn down heat, cover and then simmer for 30 minutes.

Liquidize, return to saucepan, and add water until required consistency.

Heat, season and serve immediately.

Chestnut & Mushroom Pie

Serves 6-8

For the Pie:

200g dried chestnuts, soaked overnight

2 medium onions, peeled & chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped

340g mushrooms, washed & sliced

4 tbs olive oil

2 slabs of vegan puff pastry

For the sauce:

2 tsp cornflour

140ml chestnut stock

2 tbs tomato puree

few drops of soya sauce

sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Set the oven to 400 F/200 C/Gas Mark 6.

Have a 10" (25mm) diameter ovenproof plate ready.

Simmer the chestnuts in the soaking water for half an hour or so, until tender.

Drain and slice.

Keep the stock and put aside in a large bowl.

Fry the onions and garlic until golden brown.

Add the mushrooms and fry until tender.

Add all these to the chestnuts and leave.

To make the sauce:

Mix the cornflour with a little extra stock to make a smooth paste.

Whisk the paste into the other ingredients of the sauce thickens well.

Stir thoroughly into the chestnut mixture.

Roll out the slabs of pastry on a floured surface and use one to cover the plate.

Trim the edges and fill with the mixture up to 1" (25mm) from the edge.

Brush with water and lay second slab on top, trim the edge and seal well, crimping pastry edges.

Use remaining pastry to decorate your pie.

Brush with soya milk and bake for 45 mins, middle shelf, until golden brown and risen.

Serve with a varied and colourful selection of seasonal vegetables.

Drink: hotchocolate with peppermint schnapps

breakfast: oatmeal with brown sugar and cinnamon

lunch grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup

dinner roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy

snack: fresh hot from the oven chex mix with lots of nuts.

Hamlin Pub's Chicken and Dumpling stew

Chili and corn bread, Anything Pumpkin, Hot Fudge Sundae Cake, Hot Chocolate (especially the Mexican variety).

grilled cheese sandwich (oat nut bread, monterey jack cheese, slice of tomato, sliced honey ham) and a bowl of Campbell's Tomato soup with Cheezits floating in the soup. Maybe a pickle on the side....

OR

homemade meatloaf sandwich (light rye with a little mayo and Howard's Pickalliy relish) and homemade fish or clam or corn chowder.

Grandma's Vegetable Soup with a grilled cheese sandwich.

Homemade Chili & cornbread

Homemade Spaghetti & garlic bread

Roast & potatos

Beef Stew

Clam Chowder in sour dough bowls

Chili with corn chips, sprinkle the top with shredded cheese. Yumm

Beef stew sounds good also.

Any type of homemade soup as a meal with grilled cheese. For a snack, hot chocolate and kettlecorn.