i'd rather be baking

I don’t know about you, but for having the world’s biggest sweet tooth I’m already about sugared out, and it’s not even Christmas yet. I got pretty excited to make this snack mix and you’d better believe that none of it is being shared with Ryan’s officemates.

I know this might seem a bit basic, but who doesn’t love chex mix? The great thing is that you can use whatever you’d like in it. And it travels well (which I’m looking forward to, come Friday).

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I don’t know when I’ve baked so many savory muffins and quiches and things as I have this fall, but I suppose it’s my own feeble effort to keep from going into pumpkin/apple overload. Don’t worry, we’ll return to our regularly scheduled sugar overload very shortly.

In the meantime, this is a wonderful cornbread addition to many things you’re probably eating these days, namely soups, stews, chilis, and the like. It’s that time of year, right? The days are shorter and crisper and although I’m usually decidedly anti-soup (a bowl of liquid for dinner, really?), I find myself making exceptions. Admittedly, I’m a lot more interested when things like this are involved. Plus it gives me an excuse to play with chile peppers and an open burner.

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Is it just me, or are we all so happy it’s the weekend? This week flew by and I think it’s because I spent so much of it in the kitchen. This time of year always makes me want to spend every afternoon in my warm little kitchen, baking and cooking away. Lately I have found myself eager to experiment with new flavors and foods and these muffins are the perfect example. It’s no secret that I love pumpkin, but incorporating it into more savory applications has been a new, fun, and delicious challenge.

I made these muffins one night last week when it seemed that fall had happened overnight. Do you know the sort of change I mean? Suddenly it’s dark before seven at night and venturing out early in the morning requires a fleece jacket. Naturally, I find myself making things like pumpkin cornbread.

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I know we don’t often talk about dinner around here, but let’s be honest, we really don’t eat cake and cookies all day long. There are typically many more vegetables than sweets on a daily basis, and thank goodness for that. I asked Ryan a few weeks ago (oops) if he had any requests for the blog, and he immediately asked for quiche. It’s one of my favorite weeknight dinners and technically, it is baked.

I usually try to incorporate eggs into our dinner plans once a week because they’re a great meatless protein source and just so cheap. Quiche is one of my favorite ways to do this because it’s kind of like pizza: you can put almost anything in it. I’ll admit, I see both as ways to use up whatever random vegetables are left in the fridge. This time was yet another case of using what the CSA sent us: swiss chard.

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As summer trudges onward, I find myself less and less hungry. What can I say? The heat is starting to get to me. Dinner is certainly the most affected and I’m beginning to feel sorry for Ryan because I just don’t feel like cooking. I find myself turning to salads and sandwiches as often as I can because it’s just too hot to cook a big meal.

It was with this mindset that I contemplated baking bread this week. It’s been awhile and I just didn’t feel like buying any, but the idea of a big, coarse loaf wasn’t nearly as appealing as it is with a chill in the air. I thought some light rolls might be a nice alternative and found just what I was looking for (not surprisingly) in Cooking Light.

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