Perhaps the title of this post should actually be “Proof that things don’t always go the way I had planned.” Last week I got the sudden inspiration to decorate a haunted gingerbread house. I think I might have spotted a haunted house kit in a kitchen catalog or something, and it made me determined to…
It’s that time of year again… Halloween! As I mentioned yesterday, I’m not a big Halloween person. It’s just not something that I usually get really into, and I really haven’t posted too many Halloween recipes. I don’t want to leave you in the dark searching for recipes, though, so I thought it would only…
News flash… Halloween is only 3 days away!! Yikes… Are you scared?
Ok, so that’s probably really only news to me. I’ve been out of it lately. Last weekend, my hubby and I took a nice long weekend trip to Boston for my birthday. It was fantastic to get away, and I love visiting Boston… But, it got me out of my usual routine a bit, and I’ve had trouble recovering. So, the fact that Halloween is a few short days away escaped me entirely, and I have yet to do anything festive… Until this morning, that is.
I’ve been somewhat exhausted and not feeling great ever since we got home, but this morning I woke up feeling much better… And, I was feeling somewhat inspired to whip something up in the kitchen. Thought I’m not a big Halloween person (I’m more pumpkins and leaves than ghosts and goblins), I couldn’t let the holiday pass without doing something, right? Tonight is the Trick-or-Treat night in our neighborhood, too, so I figured I’d get in the mood by making some easy treats.
Though I was feeling inspired, I hadn’t really prepared for any Halloween treats, so I had to work with what was in the pantry. I have yet to develop the skill to imagine pantry items and have them magically appear without a trip to the grocery store. I need a personal shopper. Anyway, I pulled out a few of my favorite pantry staples and the bag of fall colored M&Ms that I bought a few weeks ago thinking I’d “make something” and the result was these krispy peanut butter truffles. I’m calling them “truffles” because I can’t think of a better name (balls, bites, treats…. blah). Whatever you want to call them, they are quite tasty (and dangerous to have around… I’ve been snacking on them this afternoon, so I need to give them away ASAP).
The October 2010 Daring Bakers challenge was hosted by Lori of Butter Me Up. Lori chose to challenge DBers to make doughnuts. She used several sources for her recipes including Alton Brown, Nancy Silverton, Kate Neumann and Epicurious. I had mixed feelings about this month’s Daring Bakers challenge… I love doughnuts, but I’m really not…
Remember how I said I have been lacking cooking inspiration in the kitchen lately? It seems that my lack of inspiration has also extended itself to blogging. Do not fear… I go through these stages periodically. I find that the best way to get through it is to just push on through and keep writing. So, that’s exactly what I’m doing.
I have a funny thing about food textures. Many of the foods that I’m not too fond of are those that have a texture that I don’t like (mushy cereal, for example)… It has very little to do with the flavor. So, due to my hatred of mushy and soggy things, I have avoided egg and sausage casseroles for years. The thought of bread soaking in eggs and milk just didn’t sound appetizing to me.
A few weeks ago, though, I had some stale bread on hand and for some reason I was feeling especially brave. I decided to tackle the dreaded egg and sausage casserole since I know it is such a popular holiday dish (and I was also lacking cooking inspiration at the time). When all was said and done, it turned out to be pretty tasty. In fact, it was tasty enough that I made it again last week and even took the time to take a few pictures and keep track of the recipe.
I just love this time of year… Don’t you? The leaves here have started to change, and I have been enjoying the crisp, cold air in the mornings when I head out for a run. Plus, the holidays are right around the corner. Seriously… What could be better?
This time of year always gets me into the mood for holiday foods and comforting meals that warm up the chilly nights. I’ve already started contemplating all of the recipes I want to try for the holidays, so I think that may have influenced my picks a bit this week. If you’re in a chilly weather baking mood, I think you’ll like them, too!
Lately I’ve been in a bit of a cooking slump. I can think of lots of things that I’d love to bake, but since I cannot live on cake, cookies, and cupcakes alone (don’t I wish!), I’ve been forced to try to fight through my lack of inspiration and cook anyway.
When I’m feeling uninspired, I tend towards pizzas, frittatas, and soups… They are all of my “blank canvas” foods that lend themselves well to whatever’s in the fridge. I’ve found myself making a lot of them lately… Especially soups. The cooler weather that we’ve been having just begs for soup, if you ask me.
I love to make fresh tomato sauce, but I do not enjoy peeling and seeding tomatoes… At all!
Last summer, I got a big bag of tomatoes (about 40 pounds) from a local farm stand and decided that I wanted to make sauce to freeze so that I would have it for the winter. Fortunately, my mom was kind enough to lend me her food mill so that I wouldn’t have to suffer through all of the dreaded peeling and seeding. I loved it and put it on my wish list immediately (and my mom was kind enough to get me a food mill for my birthday later in the year!).
I’ve been surprised that we’ve still been getting quite a few tomatoes from our CSA this late in the season. So, in case you are still seeing lots of tomatoes, I thought I’d share my quick tutorial on making tomato sauce with a food mill. It’s a huge time saver, and it works for me!
I have professed my love of the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte many times. I love all things about autumn, and I wait all summer for the first cool day when I need to wear a jacket. So, when the first pumpkin spice lattes grace the menu at my local Starbucks, I’m there. As much as I…
If you’re looking at my site today thinking that something looks a bit different, you are correct… Actually, there are a few things that are different, but they are subtle. It’s not a full facelift (I can only handle one of those a year… maybe even one every two years)… Instead, it’s more like new lipgloss or a slightly new haircut.
I spent the weekend working on making a few changes that have been on my to do list for a while. Nothing is drastically different, but I think I have made some improvements. I hope you will find that things are easier to find and more accessible. And, I have even taken the time to update a few of the previously neglected pages!
