Life: It Goes On - September 29

September is over and the month that should be my favorite month is upon us. But October is also the month that we could start having winter and you know how much I loathe winter. Autumn would be much easier for me to love if only winter didn't start until the end of November. Alas, I live in Nebraska so the length of autumn is entirely at Mother Nature's whim.

Yes, I own an iron. No, I cannot
be bothered to pull it out.

To try to keep my focus on the season at hand, I've made two trips to the pumpkin farm and my house is full of pumpkins and warm fall colors. The bread machine has been pulled back out and, especially after reading all of these books about food, I'm ready to pull out the crockpot, too, and start making soups. In fact, it's grey, rainy, and in the 60's today so it may be time for the first batch of chili of the season.

Last Week I:

Listened To: Hunger by Roxane Gay (so good!) and I started Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane which I'm impressed with so far.

Watched: The season premiere of The Voice and lots of football. LOTS of football.

Read: I've been on a reading roll this week - I read Stir by Jessica Fechtor, Relish by Lucy Knisley and French Lessons by Peter Mayle. I am so inspired to get back to cooking!

Made: Two loaves of bread, BLTs (trying to get as many of these in with garden fresh tomatoes as we can!), caprese pasta (ditto with using tomatoes fresh from the garden), and grilled turkey burgers. Clearly, I've still been cooking summer meals this week!

Enjoyed: Working on a cookbook project. Ten years ago I put together a recipe book of the recipes that my side of the family has enjoyed when we've been together. Now it's time for an update that includes a lot of new recipes that each of our families enjoy, not just when we're all together. At this point, the supplement may be as big as the original book!


This Week I’m: 

Planning: On finishing the cookbook project and continuing with a massive reorganization project I started yesterday in the basement. 

Thinking About: Food. See what I've been reading. I'm putting together a menu for the week today, something I rarely do in the summer months. I need a whole chicken (thanks to Stir), good mushrooms (thanks to Stir and French Lesson), and pancetta and cheese (thanks to Relish and French Lessons). Fall Feasting always  does this to me!

Feeling: Groggy. I've had a sinus headache for more than a week, thanks to the weather. I need a couple of days without low pressure and with a lot of sunshine!

Looking forward to: Getting my hair colored on Saturday. I always feel ten years younger when I leave the salon but also so relaxed. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if I ever win the lottery, I'm never doing my own hair again!

Question of the week: What's on your menu this week? Are you busting out the soups yet?