Fall Baking Aspirations

Aspiration - I really don't know what I think about that word.
it makes me think of the verb - to aspirate
and that makes my face do all kinds of strange looking things
I think I prefer to say the word rather than type it.
Aren't you glad you clicked to read this post?

Okay, back to nice sounding things...
like sweet roasted rosemary acorn squash wedges, and pear crisp with vanilla ice cream, and pumpkin spice muffins. yes, that's much better.

It all began about 1.2 hours after I told a certain man I would be his wife. I was driving home after dropping him off at the airport, and crazy things started to happen to my mind. All these revelations about life started to rain down on me. For example, I realized that the reproductive system was not a fairy tale. It was real. And had one. and it probably worked. And then I thought about the two times in all my life that I held a newborn baby and how I was terrified of not supporting their tiny little heads enough.
AND THEN I thought about cooking. and the fact that I didn't do it. and that Ryan didn't either. And that our diet in this life would consist of Campbell's soup and cheese toast.
And then I had a mini breakdown and felt the urge to find the nearest Barns and Nobles and school myself.

A lot has happened since that day, and when it comes to cooking I feel like I've finally crossed the thresh hold from surviving to thriving. I thoroughly enjoy cooking now. When we moved to Azerbaijan I was forced to take the plunge into the world of cooking from scratch, baking from scratch, EVERYTHING from scratch. And I'm truly thankful. I've learned so much.

All to say - it's fall :-) and I'm SUPER excited to try out new recipes in hopes that some of them will become old faithfuls through the holidays for our little family. Here are some of my picks:

Pioneer Woman's Turkey Brine
that's right. this Thanksgiving my dear friend Amy Noxon and I have decided to embark on the endeavor of brining a turkey. which means we first have to find a turkey and pay a man to lop it's head off. which makes me a little woozy. but it is what it is and it is Thanksgiving. Turkey is a must. I'm trying to be tough, can you tell?

Pioneer Woman's Fresh Corn w/ Wild Rice
there is something very simple and rustic about this one that I really love. and I can find all the ingredients here.

Pioneer Woman's Pear Clafouti
because it's French. and because making something "french" will make me feel fancy and accomplished.

Emma's Pumpkin Bread Pudding
because the whole idea of bread pudding kinda freaks me out a bit, and I don't want it to. i think its quaint and nice and I want to like it.

and many, many more
but its late and I'm in bed
and I don't really want turkey brine to be the last thing I think about before I go to sleep.
so we'll leave the rest for another day...




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while I was writing this my sweet little husband ran down to the market below our apartment to grab me a coke. he returned 10 minutes later with my coke, grabbed an Injeel and ran back downstairs with a twinkle in his eye. its 11:30 at night.
:-) life.