Happy Fall, Y'all!

I'm a summer girl, through and through. And I live for the Memphis heat, tank tops, short shorts, and swimming pools (when I can find one to swim in!). But by the time fall comes around, I start to warm up (see what I did there) to the season of changing leaves, jean jackets, pumpkins, my birthday, Halloween, and — my favorite holiday — Thanksgiving! I'll miss summer dearly, but I'll welcome fall because, well, I have no choice. And besides, fall in Memphis isn't that chilly. Temps don't dip below the low 70s until November. It's still in the high 80s here today, on the Autumn Equinox.

This past Saturday, a few friends came over to celebrate Mabon, the Autumn Equinox Sabbat. Since I'm doing 80/20 Plants, I wanted to focus on whole foods with the snacks I made, so I could save plenty of space for chocolate chip cookies and wine!

I made the Creamy Vegan Spinach Artichoke White Bean Dip from 80/20 Plants for us to enjoy with whole wheat bread. Bread is traditional at this second harvest holiday. Shown here with a pita chip though!

This oil-free dip is made with white beans, fresh spinach, chopped artichoke hearts, lemon, and lots of nooch (some mixed in, some sprinkled on top). It wasn't the prettiest dip, but it sure did taste great right out of the oven.

We typically always have cashew cheese at these seasonal gatherings. Sometimes, we grab Miyoko's or Treeline from the store. But this time, I made this Sharp Cheddar Cashew Cheese from It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken (recipe is here!).

The 80/20 Plants website contains original recipes (like the dip above) that are only available to subscribers. But they also link to WFPB recipes from across the web, and this yummy cheese spread is included there. I've made it twice now because it's so good and so simple. You just blend cashews with coconut oil, nooch, miso, and a few more things, and thanks to the coconut oil, it sets up as a spreadable cheese.

Now for my not-so-whole-food treats! I baked some Simple Truth Organic Plant-Based Chocolate Chip Cookies that I picked up at Kroger. I forgot to take a pic, but the package looks like this. Have y'all seen these yet? I was sooooo excited to find them next to the non-vegan, pre-made cookie dough. They bake up to be perfect, chewy cookies.

Megan came a little late, but she brought — not pictured — dolmas from Trader Joe's and her mom's pickled okra. So yummy! We blessed apples for the fall and we used flying wish paper (this stuff is so cool!) to release things that no longer serve us. Much wine was consumed, and Paul even built us a fire in our fire pit!