Recipe Round-Up: Fall Flavours

As the temperature has slowly been falling (on some days, positively diving - with no complaints here!) from the twenties to the teens, my body has fully kicked into fall mode. I'm craving thick, savoury stews and soups, large slow-cooked hunks of meaty goodness, and roasted squash and root veggies. Not to mention warm spices (cinnamon! nutmeg! allspice! cloves!), preferably in yummy baked treats or steamy mugs of coffee and tea. I have therefore assembled some very autumnal recipes to whet your appetite for some festive flavours. After all, Thanksgiving is just around the corner.
 

Pumpkin Bread in a Bowl - I think this hearty breakfast idea could be enjoyed all year round, but lately I have been craving everything and anything pumpkin-y! Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks, Pumpkin Spice Chai tea from David's Tea, and the Pumpkin Gratin recipe that I just noticed on our kitchen wall calendar. And this:
 

I actually woke up this morning dreaming about making
this dish (no joke)!

 

Chorizo-Stuffed Acorn Squash - Normally any recipe with the suffix "-stuffed" in the title does not entice me to seriously consider making it for dinner. Too fussy, especially for a weeknight. And I am most emphatically not a fan of dishes that require a lot of hollowing out of ingredients with care and precision! But this puppy might just change my mind.
 

Real Simple always styles their food so beautifully,
don't they? Although, is it just me or does that lettuce
look a touch on the "brown around the edges" side?

 

Roasted Tomato Soup with Broiled Cheddar Lids - Ok, I know I've posted this recipe before, but honestly, can you blame me? I have also made this recipe before and can thus personally attest to the fact that it merits another honourable mention. Or two. Or 15. Seriously, are you still reading this? Hie thee to the nearest farmers' market or grocery store and fulfill the destiny of any sad, end-of-season roma tomatoes you can find!
 

I think it's official: Deb is a genius. The woman combined
roasted tomato soup and grilled cheese in a single dish, people.
Brilliant!

 P.S. Deb, the genius-woman behind the best food blog of all time is coming to my beloved city as part of her book tour next month! How thrilled am I?!?! (And secretly hoping I can find someone to come with me to her book signing, but as much as I hate large gatherings where I don't know anybody, such is my love for Smitten Kitchen that I have actually made plans to go alone if I can't convince any of my friends to come along.) It will be epic, I tell you! SOOOOOO excited!!!!

Happy October!

After an exhausting end to September (a persistent UTI that wouldn't go away until the second round of antibiotics, followed by a family health crisis which is thankfully in hand now), October is finally here! I am looking forward to cooler temps (although really, since last week when fall officially commenced, the weather has been simply gorgeous for the most part) with crisp autumn breezes, baking lots of yummy spiced goodies, indulging in the occasional Pumpkin Spice Latte, wearing sweaters and thicker socks, and having a more structured weekly schedule (shifts at work + a little tutoring on the side). Plus, our exciting Thanksgiving plans include spending the holiday Monday cleaning out some piles of stuff that have just been sitting around (shoved into closets or, more embarrassingly, in a heap on our bedroom floor) for faaaar too long. You have no idea how much I am looking forward to that day. It'll be like my birthday's come early!! :)

Today was a much needed day off for me, but after a luxurious 11-hour sleep I actually had enough energy to be fairly productive, to wit: I took care of some financial housekeeping and some real housekeeping and even baked two loaves of bread ("honey whole wheat" and a new recipe for banana bread, yum!) after dinner. Maybe it's nothing more than the change in the weather, but, for whatever reason, it seems like I suddenly have my cooking mojo back, and I'm loving it! So much, in fact, that I can hardly wait to share a fall recipe round-up with you guys. But that's for tomorrow...
Happy October, everyone!

xx,
K

A Do-Nothing Day

Despite waking up this morning at 6:30 am and discovering that the back pain I was experiencing in my dream was actually back pain I was experiencing in real life, it's been a pretty good day all around. I cancelled my morning gym appointment, soothed my back with a hot pack that Wilson heated up for me, and then tucked in for a lazy day at home. Well, after making scrambled eggs and oatmeal for breakfast. I figured since I was already awake and clearly not about to go back to sleep anytime soon I might as well make myself useful before Wilson left for work. :p

Miraculously, my back pain has completely disappeared now (What the what?! Not that I'm complaining!), and I'm extra rested and ready to face a full day of work and errands tomorrow. Plus, I've checked some correspondence items off my to do list, researched what kind of tablet we should buy if we do indeed buy a tablet, and even signed myself and a friend up for ZUMBA! classes at a local studio, thanks to a great online deal.

So now it's off to listen to more tracks from Laurence Fox (my latest music obsession), read the graphic novel I borrowed from the library, and make a teriyaki shrimp stir fry for dinner. Life is good. :)

L'obsession

Forgive me for a slightly vapid post today, buuuut...I can't stop thinking about this perfume!

Quite a few months ago it was highlighted on a blog I frequent, and I was planning to check out a sample but I never actually ended up going to Sephora. (Admittedly, I have a bit of a hang-up about going into stores like Sephora. Always makes me feel so self-conscious, way more than I usually do!!) Then today it popped up on my radar again and I can't get it out of my head.

It's described thusly on the website: "This fresh, smooth floral fragrance evokes sublime powdery rose. The effect is chic, comfortable, and entirely addictive. Top notes of pink peony, freesia, and lychee embody subtle freshness. At the heart, midnotes of magnolia flower, lily of the valley, and rose rise to sublimated femininity. A base of velvety elegance comes to fruition through cedarwood, amber, and honey."

Alright, so the description is a little over the top. (Sumbilmated femininity, really?!?!) But don't those delicate, flowery scents sound perfect for summer? Or fall? Or winter...

One compliment I find secretly thrilling is when someone says, "Mmm, you smell great!" Haha, juvenile perhaps, but true! Who doesn't like smelling fresh and lovely, though? So maybe I'll do a Sephora-run tomorrow after all. (Bonus, I can pick up a refill of my favourite lip balm of all time. Yay, two birds with one stone!) I wonder if the Chloé Eau de Parfum will displace my usual scented shampoo/conditioner as my "signature" fragrance of choice?