Yeah, time to cook!

[wildeyed]

And it won't be the depressed, comfort seeking baking spree I went on in 04 either :)

Tonight, grilled chicken breast with curried cauliflower and rice. Tomorrow, split peas soup. I will do a double batch and freeze some for later. Probably whip up a fresh loaf to go with the soup. I have some chard, so maybe a nice chard tart for Friday or the weekend. I think I need to have a party, too.

What are you up to, cooking-wise? Any plans, or are you still recovering?

[The empressof all]

1. I'm exhausted and I never did make that pie

I have two pie crusts that need to be used soon so either today or tomorrow I'll be making pie. Probably the coconut/pecan/chocolate which I'll freeze for Thanksgiving. I'll either do a rustic apple tart or an apple crumb with the other crust.

Since I've been dieting I haven't been cooking much at all other than my daily ration of cabbage in the pressure cooker. So I'm all about planning the Thanksgiving menu. I want it to be extraordinary but I don't want to have too many left overs to tempt me. Left over Turkey is fine of course but I need to pare down the stuffing and make sure I make desserts that aren't things that tempt me too much.

[grasswire]

2. cabbage every day?

Wow. You are dedicated.

I had some roasted brussels sprouts the other day at a New Seasons market. Roasted with thyme and lemon. Deeelicious. Would that be as good as cabbage?

[The empressof all]

3. I'm all about doing things easy

The weight loss regime is hard enough. The cabbage is easy. I eat egg roll on a plate almost every day. I cook up a bag of shredded cabbage, and mix it with two Morningstar Farms Asian Patty and a bag of shiritaki noodles. I dress it with light soy and some sri racha sauce. Lunch for two and about 160 calories for a huge serving.

I love Brussel Sprouts, especially roasted but I hate having to prep them.

[Warpy]

4. Time to BAKE

This is the time I welcome the supplementary heat from the oven. I just bought a 10 pound bag of super dark chocolate chips at Costco and will undoubtedly be perfecting a lot of recipes.

[Arkansas Granny]

5. It's time to plan those holiday menus. My daughter and I go all out on

Thanksgiving and Christmas and cook a big family dinner. We make a pretext of planning the menus, but we wind up fixing all the family favorites and the only "planning" is deciding how many pies to bake.

[eleny]

6. Saags fennel asiago sausages in tomato sauce with fried peppers on top

Served on Italian bread. Fun food for good times!

[hippywife]

7. We're having friends over on Sunday for dinner.

Two of the very few liberal couples that we know out here in our rural area. I'll be making a pork tenderloin that I got through our coop with some sauerkraut and potatoes, probably mashed.

My husband is going to make a pumpkin pie out of the last one from our garden, one of my friends is bringing a chocolate mousse pie.

For an appetizer, I'm thinking either a brie with fruit or this: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=236&topic_id=38398

Big thanx to grasswire for that recipe! I've been dying to make it again!

All of it total comfort food fitting for the season! :9