Very often it seems that my kitties want to be included in the photos I take.  I suppose that when I crouch down to take photos they might become curious and feel the need to investigate.  That, or they just really want to make it into the shot.  Let me assure you that I am not short of ‘cat’photos.  I have hundreds of planned and unplanned shots.

I wanted to capture one of the pumpkins that Jason grew in our garden.  As soon as I snapped the first shot, this is what I came up with.

Oh, but she did not stop there!  The spaghetti squash from Mom’s garden was all the craze.

There’s that pumpkin I was talking about!

The funny story behind our acorn squash, is that I did not plant them.  Well, not intentionally, that is.  I often put the fruit and vegetable scraps in the garden for compost.  So the acorn squash self planted itself this year and I’m not complaining.

The End

For me , it easier to take fun photos than it is to write a half way entertaining post to go with them.  What happens is, I end up with way more photos than I ever post.  Then when I sit down to actually write a post, I feel overwhelmed with where to start, or find that some of the photos seem outdated.  Today, I deleted quite a few that “didn’t make the cut.”  The ones that did are going to make this post a bit lengthy.  This is my way to catch up.  My goal, is to then post more regularly.

I will start with some scones I made about 3 weeks ago. I had some figs that were ripening faster that I could eat them.  Jason was out of town and so I was the only one eating around here.  I searched for a fun recipe and came across these figgy buckwheat scones. I subbed Earth Balance for butter and almond milk for heavy cream.  My filling consisted of fresh fig, Earth Balance, vanilla extract, cinnamon, ground clove and a bit of stevia. I didn’t have red wine or port and I was using fresh, rather than dried figs.

Last Sunday, after my trip to an Asian supermarket to get hijiki, I made my first recipe from The Kind Diet.

Hijiki-Tofu Croquettes

I will be making this recipe again for sure! Do pick up this book.

Miso soup with soba noodles, collard greens, broccoli, edamame and cutie mushrooms. I used unpasteurized-brown miso and diluted about 1 tablespoon to 1 cup water. Bring water to a boil then add the vegetables and let them steep maybe 5 minutes and then stir in the miso. Miso paste should be thinned out in a few tablespoons of water first.  You can reheat if you prefer, cautious not to overcook the veggies and miso.  Enjoy!

With Fall swirling by me faster than I appreciate, I made sure to make pumpkin cookies earlier this week.  Pumpkin-Molasses cookies to be exact.

Pumpkin Molasses Cookies

If you like pumpkin AND molasses, Do make these cookies! You will not regret it!

HAPPY SUNDAY!

Wowsa!  I did some maja squats and lunges with weights on Saturday.  I was so out of shape sore that it even hurt to move in bed.  Sitting and standing were a chore! I think I was even more sore this morning!  So, as the day passed I was thinking of using this little excuse to pass up my workout after work….Well, I didn’t and I am so glad!  I put in 35 minutes on the elliptical and did arms and stomach.  I love how good it feels post workout!

Last night I cut up the last pumpkin from Halloween.  All others were carved.  I made sure to save one for decoration and cooking.  I like to cook it and then freeze it 1 cup and half cup measurement for later use.

I made some pumpkin soup.  It wasn’t to shabby.  Although, I think I am a pumpkin/sweet, more than a pumpkin/savory kind of gal. Into the food processor went: cooked pumpkin, roasted onion, garlic and red bell pepper, vegetable broth, salt/peppa, chile and cayenne, and 1 bay leaf.

It also doubled as leftover lunch.

QUESTION: Is it ok to drop globs of hummus into your soup?

ANSWER: Hell fricken ya!

The hummus kinda melted into the soup when I stirred it.  Cool deal!

After the gym I rushed home to make a salad.  I was crazy hungry!

green leaf lettuce, spinich, yellow pepper, mushrooms, tomato, sweet potato, hummus and baked tofu. Dressing was a combo of some teriyaki sauce and the hummus.  Good times!

I could really go for a hot fudge Sunday right now.  I was hoping the tea would curb that though.  It did.  Phew!

Do be warned, this stuff is tart. Oh well, it helped me stop wanting sweets.

My goal is to try and wake up @ 5:30 tomorrow and get to the gym before work.  Wish me luck