Sunday Dinner

Sunday can be a good day for food around our house.  Last night Ray made stuffed portobello mushrooms and stuffed butternut squash.  With all the different seasonings going on, the whole house smelled like October. 

I did my part too.  I made herb and garlic brussels sprouts! 

Yes folks, there actually are times when I break out the cooking gear to prepare food and yes, I did say brussels sprouts. 

I love brussels sprouts.  I threw some chopped onions, garlic, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper and butter into a skillet.  After stirring that up for a bit, I threw in steamed brussles sprouts that were halved. 

Ray fired up the juicer as well.  He is such an alchemist when it comes to food.  After extracting the juice from a bunch of carrots, he whipped together a carrot cake thingie with the leftover pulp.  It was pretty good–anything is if you coat it with enough butter.  Butter is the solution to all food experiments and it’s good for your coat.

The one thing I like to do when cooking with dry seasoning is to break out my pestle and mortar.  A quick little grind is optimal in unlocking the flavor and it’s a great way to work out your daily frustrations. 

Dinner was totally delicious.  We scarfed down our food and watched the first season of Family Guy on DVD. 

Ray didn’t serve the butternut squash though.  We’ll probably have that tonight. 

This is the time of year when it’s dark before six o’clock.  Winter is closing in fast and evening wind-down desires shift from cocktails by the pool to spiced tea by the fireplace. 

Both Ray and I hunger for harvest foods like pumpkin, squash and sweet potato.  Eating (and cooking) becomes a sensory experience.  I think it’s due to the fact that the holidays are just around the corner.  The smell of harvest foods, spiced tea and roasted anything set off a chain of melancholy childhood memories.  I become giddy and excited like a little kid. 

I’m so looking forward to the holidays.  Halloween, Thanksgiving, the Pagan one with the tree that the Christians appropriated and New Years are all favorites of mine.  It’s all good…until it’s over.  Then it’s just cold and dark.  At least here in Arizona, it’s like that until March unlike Chicago where it’s winter until late June…