There’s something magical about fall—the crisp air, golden leaves, and the comforting scent of spices in the kitchen. It’s the season for cozy breakfasts, warm drinks, and recipes that make you feel wrapped in a soft blanket, even on the busiest mornings.

One of my absolute favorite fall recipes is sweet and spiced pumpkin oatmeal. It’s simple, healthy, and full of autumn flavor. Bonus: it makes your kitchen smell like fall heaven. 🍁

After Thanksgiving, I had a lot of leftover cranberry sauce. I usually only make a little to go with my cornbread dressing, but since the bag of frozen cranberries had been sitting in my freezer for a while I cooked the whole bag. As a result, I had a bowl full of cranberry sauce that I had no clue what to do with. I’m not someone who doesn’t like to waste food, so I try to find a use for leftovers. While I’m used to having leftover cranberries after Thanksgiving, but not leftover cranberry sauce. I searched the internet for ideas but came up empty. The recipes I came across called for whole cranberries and not cranberry sauce. After coming up empty I was worried that my cranberry sauce was going to go bad and I’d have to throw them out. So I decided to get creative and try to make a cranberry sauce coffee cake with the leftover cranberry sauce.

Well, I’m one of many who buys bananas to let them ripen so that I can make vegan banana bread. I’m not a fan of bananas, but I try to eat them every once in a while since they are packed with potassium. I put them in smoothies, make peanut butter and bananas sandwiches, or have them as a snack. But when I have a bunch and they start spotting I make vegan banana bread. I like to have it as a snack with my tea or as a quick breakfast when I’m on the go. It’s also a great way to keep them from going to waste. I usually have the ingredients to make banana bread in my pantry, so I can easily take an hour or so to make banana bread.

Biscuits and gravy are something I never had prior to going vegetarian. It’s typically made with pork, and I don’t eat pork.  So it was something my mother didn’t make for breakfast. I’d see it on the menu when we’d go out to eat, and wondered what it tasted like. Now that I’m vegetarian, I’ve learned a lot about making substitutions in recipes. And I enjoy experimenting in the kitchen and creating plant-based versions of dishes I used to eat or haven’t tried. I haven’t been out to eat in months, and one of my favorite vegan restaurants added biscuits and gravy to their menu. But they were out of it by the time I got there. So I decided to try my hand at making it.

After Thanksgiving, I have a few things left over that I need to purge from refrigerator or pantry. And cranberries are usually one of those ingredients. Instead of making cranberry sauce, I bake with them and make vegan orange cranberry quick bread. It’s an orange sweet bread with a little bit of tart from the cranberries. That’s easy to make and a great way to get rid of leftover cranberries from Thanksgiving. Also a great holiday breakfast or a teatime snack. So if you’re working your way through a bag of cranberries, then consider giving this recipe a try. You can make it for yourself or as a gift for family or friends.