Lots of cooking has been going on around here.  [Lots of knitting too, but that’s for the next post.  I finished a sweater and started something else!]  Now that the weather is turning a little chillier (we had our first fire in the wood stove the other day!), it’s just so much more comfortable to turn on the oven and cook up a storm.

First up was Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with Cinnamon Chips:

OMG.  So good.  Paul’s racing friend Mike told us about these Hershey’s cinnamon chips, but said they were hard to fine.  They were.  Three stores later, we found them in Shop Rite.  But, oh my.  So yummy.

Then there was this easy peasy meatball recipe my sister-in-law gave me:

Frozen meatballs, a 12 oz jar of Heinz Chili Sauce and a 10 oz jar of grape jelly.  You can put them in the crock pot, or simmer on the stove for 45 minutes or so.  A tad sweet (I’d probably put in a little less jelly next time), but great with rice.  Yum!

Then there was the Eggplant Involtini:

This is a Cook’s Country (America’s Test Kitchen) recipe, so the link is for a video because you have to subscribe to their website to get the actual recipe.  Another OMG, this was so good!  I love eggplant and this was one of the best recipes I have ever made.  Eggplant slices, roasted and then rolled up with ricotta, breadcrumbs, parmesan, basil and lemon juice, simmered in tomato sauce.  Even Paul says, “It’s pretty good.”  And he doesn’t really love (or even like) eggplant all that much.

I also made Joy the Baker’s Marrakesh Carrots again:

I make this for my lunches because Paul wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole.  Carrots, raisins, chic peas, pistachios, feta cheese, lime/turmeric vinaigrette.  mmmmmmMMMMMMMM! (also, this picture is a little deceiving because it is a very small amount in a custard cup – which I put it in when I was tasting it.)

And finally, Curried Butternut Squash Soup:

Without the coconut milk because I didn’t have any.  I used some half and half. And without the chunk of palm sugar.  I used some brown sugar.  And without the shallots.  I used red onion.  Holy cow,  it’s spicy — with the 1/2 tablespoon of red pepper flakes and the 1/4 cup fresh ginger, which I probably put in more of because I didn’t exactly measure either of them.  But it’s yummy.  Also something Paul won’t eat, so into the freezer it goes for lunches another time.

Here’s what we aren’t eating:  Anything from my garden except for a few tomatoes from the plants my other sister-in-law gave me.

Specifically, we aren’t eating broccoli:

Those two tiny stalks are all we got.  Then, when I cooked them, found a green worm in them so we didn’t eat them.  Gross.  I know worms can be there, but apparently I didn’t catch it before cooking.

We also are not eating watermelon:

Four plants, several flower, one tiny fruit.  This was going to be a sweet, yellow one:

I did taste it.  Sort of sweet.

And I will try to add this to a ratatouille:

Apparently I had a micro-vegetable garden this year, but didn’t know it ahead of time.