November 2014 Books

This month started with a plane trip, so I finished The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman on that plane.

Next up - a guilty pleasure read to help recoup from the prior month's stresses: Undead and Unwary by MaryJanice Davidson.

Left-overs (Part 2)

Pumpkin Plus

It's pie time! I made a pumpkin pie a few weeks ago for a family event. I exactly followed the recipe on the back of the Libby's can*. And the recipe for "pie insides" made just a bit too much pie for the single pie crust the recipe said was called for. 

Well, gosh! What to do with that left-over 1/2 a cup of "pie insides"? I do hate waste, so I covered extra and put it in the refrigerator until I had more thoughts on the matter (and until after we enjoyed the family event.)

Small Changes

The word "change" makes people think: make-over, sweeping changes, new lives. But that's not true. Change that lasts and becomes part of your world, every day, is incremental. Lasting change starts small and builds. Less sugar. 10 minutes more of exercise. More vegetables. Add a color to your wardrobe. Sit down to dinner together 1x a week rather than eat in front of the TV.  (And conversely, not being kind to your spouse, not picking up the clutter of the day before, eating dessert every day or sleeping through "gym time" creep up on you, too.)

Left-overs (Part 1)

Bottom of the refrigerator stew. That's what my mother called taking all the left-over "bits" for the week and making something delicious.

Today I made my own version. It turned out delicious! (Let's be honest, sometimes it's better than others. Today was a really good day - so good the human male asked if I'll make it again soon please.) 

The recipe started with left-over vegetable broth and pasta. And a packet of soup mix purchased 3 months ago for a different recipe, and languishing in my cupboard. Then there was that can of kidney beans I accidentally purchased; the jalapenos left-over from a recipe last week, and the yellow pepper getting a bit wrinkly at the bottom of the fridge....