I'm Good Lookin' and I've Been Cookin'

I will be the first to admit, this whole 9-5 thing puts a bit of a damper on my normal domestic diva activities, especially cooking. And, dear friends, when I neglect to plan and cook, I fall prey to the the easy convenience of...

TAKE-OUT

DUN - DUN - DUUUUUUUN!



When I eat take out, my bank account sounds like this...



My favorite poison of choice is Panera Bread. I can not resist the tasty soups and salads and lemonade, and there is one right around the corner from where I work. It is evil!!!

I knew that I could do better, so it was back to the stove with me.

Yesterday I made a yellow dal, that was a bit lacking. It was my first attempt at Indian food, and I omitted some of the chilies to be kind to Matt's poor sore throat. This was a major mistake, yielding bland split peas over rice. My fault!

My lunch for the week was much more successful. I made maple roasted butternut squash soup.



This was wayyy tastier than anything Panera could've whipped up. The recipe Is from the Shelburne Farms Cookbook, and was a snap to put together.

Tonight I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies, and now my kitchen smells dreamy!

During lunch today, I poured over recipes while chatting with my co-worker E. Lately I've been inspired by an idea that I came across at the Progressive Pioneer's blog. Amy does a dinner co-op. Once a week she makes a meal large enough to feed all of the people in her co-op. They, in turn, do the same, and they all swap meals, to lighten their cooking load. I told E. about it, and she was game, so we are going to start a little dinner co-op of our own. We're just going to start with the two of us, and see how it goes. I'm excited!

Have you been making anything tasty in your kitchen lately? What are your favorite recipes?