Busy Kitchen: Add flavors of season to standard recipes

It seems like the closer we get to the end of the year, the faster time flies. It's almost like the excitement of the holidays and the busyness collide to form a super-sonic time — and before we know it, it's gone. For me, the busier I become with projects and activities the more grateful I am to have a stock of sure-fire recipes that work time and time again.

No matter what time of the year, it's always nice to know there are stock recipes available to me that speak the theme of the season and are simple to make, and delicious.

With a few handy tips, you can create a beautiful menu or dinner by knowing how to combine or substitute seasonal flavors with standard recipes that others have been preparing and enjoying for years. There are some flavor combinations that just work. No matter what magazine, blog, newspaper or book you look in, they all create their own version of that tested-and-tried similar classic.

For example, I have a standard soup recipe that works every time. In the spring I enjoy it with mint and pea, the summer it's red pepper and basil, for the fall it's pumpkin with fried sage, and in the winter it becomes potato and kale. The base is the same for each soup; I just incorporate different seasonal flavors, and instantly I have a new soup.

PUMPKIN SOUP WITH CHINESE FIVE SPICE AND FRIED SAGE

You can read Full Recipe @ Tulsa World