How is it possible? I don’t know where I lost track of time, but suddenly Hanukkah and Christmas are next week already. I think Hanukkah begins on the 21st, which means it’s just 5 days away. And Christmas is just 9 days away.

The funny thing is I thought I’d had gotten an early start on things and was pretty please with myself in early December. Then somehow I am bak in the last-minute mode I had tried to avoid. The scattered presents I had forgotten I would need, the baking ingredients I had even begun to think about. Oh well, I guess I just have to face the fact I will never be one of those people that has everything done the week after Thanksgiving!

It’s all over the news of course how tight things are this year. Actually, the news is pretty scary if you watch it too much – lots of gloom and doom. I know a few people in our neighborhood are seriously worried about their jobs, and a couple have actually been laid off. So it’s no joke that the holidays this year are definitely going to be a little tighter financially for a lot more people. I myself am cutting back – I love to buy gifts for people, I really do. But this year I’m going to do more foodie type gifts – like making homemade treats to give as gifts. These Kaiser Mini-Loaf Pans are a good example of what I can use.

I love these little pans and I love making all kinds of dessert breads to enjoy. It’s so easy to make up your own gourmet gift basket for so much less money than purchasing one from a gift basket store. Plus there’s a lot of satisfaction in creating things yourself – at least for me there is! There are all sorts of wonderful bread pans available to create delicious homemade breads and desserts at home – great food for a lot less money. Sounds good to me!

I just love this time of year. Yes, it’s a little crazy with everything going on between the holidays and the countdown to Christmas shopping, and the tighter budget this year – but it’s still a wonderful time of year. The wonderful foods, the family gatherings, the beautiful decorations. It always makes me a little sentimental too.

I look forward to a great holiday season for our family this year. Thankfully everyone is feeling pretty healthy, and still have their jobs – so there’s certainly a lot to be grateful for.

It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is merely weeks away. I do love the holiday and this festive time of year. Around our home we’re already starting to make plans for the day, figuring out the favorite side dishes to make and what each guest might be bringing, like wine, pecan pie, or another dessert or dish. My aunt is lending us her large maxi covered clay baker to cook the bird in – which also works nicely as a serving dish.

She and I are hooked on cooking in clay and now others in the family have decided they will be buying clay cookware for their kitchens as well. We all agree that we love the naturally juicy foods that cooking in clay creates – and the fact we’re not adding extra fats and calories to create that juiciness. The clay bakers are really quite beautiful as well, and versatile enough to cook meats, vegetables, fish, desserts, soups, and more!

The weather this last weekend was amazing. Beautiful for just about any outdoor activity and we made the most of it at our home. Took a long hike, and then spent the afternoon enjoying our new basketball hoop. The hoop was set to the lower level for some of the kids to play, so it sure made some of us look like we were great at the game. Of course, when they raised it later in the day, it got a little more realistic – turns out I’m not as good a shot as I thought!

It was a good thing we spent so much time being active outside, because we’ve been eating our share of food lately. I know I’ve been cooking more big family-size meals than I did over the summer – and we’re enjoying every bit. And we’ll be saving our pumpkins to make fresh pumpkin pies. It’s a lot of work to clean out the insides and prepare the mash, but the fresh pumpkin taste in the homemade muffins and pies is unbeatable.

As much as I love to cook (and eat!) I had not, until relatively recently, heard of using clay to cook in.  When I think of cooking, my mind usually goes to the types of cookware we had in my home when I was growing up. Stainless steel pots and pans, a hefty black cast iron fry pan and dutch oven that we used constantly, some enameled cast iron we inherited from my grandmother. So when a friend recently bought me a large clay baker, it was all new to me. But now, I am completely hooked.

First, I have to say, I love the way it looks. So classic, so elegant – there’s something so wonderfully unique and timeless about it. It was so pretty I didn’t want to use it at first and get it dirty. But it’s surprisingly durable and even though I’ve used it quite a bit, it still looks great. But more importantly, it cooks fabulously juicy and delicious meals. Roasts, poultry, fish, even soup. I highly recommend everyone purchase a piece or two of Romertopf clay for their kitchenware collection. You’ll be surprised at how much you love using this great cookware.

There are quite a few big colleges where we live and so you can’t drive anywhere these days without seeing car flags flapping around everywhere. You can always tell who has a local game that day by the flags on the cars. And the parking lots are a mob scene the whole day – people start tailgating early in the morning for games hours and hours away.  Grills out, chairs parked, faces painted. It’s a blast, and really pretty tame when you consider how crazy it could get.

It’s not always easy (or affordable!) for all of us to get to a game, so we do a lot of home “tailgating” parties around our neighbor’s big-screen tv. Sometimes we get the grill fired up, other times we like to just order up pizza or big sandwiches and make the side dishes.  Another great football dish that’s easy to make is a big crockpot full of chili, or another favorite – buffalo chicken wings. It’s fun for the whole family!

Okay, I’ll be the 1st to admit, I’m food obsessed. Cooking obssessed, baking obsessed, cookware obsessed. If I even let myself sit down for a few minutes and come upon a cooking show, forget it. It just happened yesterday. I was taking a break and sat down to relax a few minutes and came across “Lydia’s Italy“. She was making this gorgeous peach tart and a classic Italian dish. The guest chef was cooking the radicchio entree in what looked a beautiful enamel cast iron dutch oven. All that I know was that I was getting hungrier by the minute.

Next came Rick Bayless making seafood. Now, I’m not a big fan of seafood, but I really do need to learn to enjoy it more. It was still fun watching him prepare for a gathering in his beautiful, woodsy kitchen – and I love how he never measures. It was a good thing some non-foodie show came on after Rick’s or I might have lost my whole afternoon watching TV. Both shows got me jazzed to make something special for dinner, and I think that’s why I love cooking shows so much – they always inspire me to try something new.

The minute the weather became cooler, I popped online to search the local grocery ads to see if any had fresh or frozen turkey on sale. I caught the last day of a great sale so I grabbed two and put one in the freezer for another time.

I love making meals once the weather changes, turning on the oven, filling the house with the aromas of dinner cooking and dessert baking. Yum! Now this weekend I did a bit of a “quick” turkey dinner – the fresh turkey with a sweet potato casserole and wheat biscuits. And it was a busy day so I didn’t get to make a pie for dessert. But it was a delicious meal and a great start to a lot of great meals to come!

One of my favorite all-around foods has to be soup. And while I definitely eat a lot of it during the winter, I also enjoy it year-round. Whether it’s for lunch or dinner, to me there is always something very satisfying and comforting about a bowl of warm, delicious, homemade soup.  That’s why I love these covered soup bowls from Reco. Aren’t they beautiful?  And you can’t beat the price.

They’re so versatile! These great bowls are oven, microwave, dishwasher and freezer safe. And of course, perfect for serving, so they’re just what I need. I’m always on the look-out for handy food storage containers, especially the kind of bowls that can be use for storing and serving!

I have always loved fall. There is something about the season that calls to me – the beautiful changing colors, the cooler air, the promise of the holidays ahead.  I love Halloween and Thanksgiving, and along with Christmas, they’re the holidays I look forward to the most. Some of my friends and family seem to be a bit melancholy that summer is coming to an end, but not me.  I look forward to long sleeves and light jackets, taking walks in the park without sweating and swatting at mosquitos. Count me in!

Of course, like many people, I eat more in the cooler seasons. As a matter of fact, I cook more in the cooler seasons too. I love having the oven on and enjoying the wonderful food aromas that fill the house. It always makes it feel like home and reminds me of my grandmother’s house.  She was a wonderful cook and baker and it’s probably the reason I enjoy creating dishes for my own family so much. Well, that and I love eating too!

One of our friends is getting married early next year and she’s been busy working on her gift registry list. She did a lot of research on cookware and has decided she wants this great Tri-Ply cookware set from her parents. It’s a beautiful set with a lifetime warranty and excellent consumer reviews, so looks like she’s made a great decision.

I do have a bit of cookware envy though.  I took a look at my older set after she showed me this and I think I was a little jealous. It made me realize I need to at least update a few of my pieces…so I think I’ll put it on my Christmas list!

I love to go food shopping, although it’s gotten quite a bit more expensive lately. And today, I made the mistake of shopping on an empty stomach, never a good idea. So I spent more than I intended because well….everything looked good.

I do a lot of our grocery shopping at Whole Foods, which adds up even more. But since we try to eat healthy and keep things like hydrogenated oils out of our diet as much as possible, nothing around here compares to their store. Plus we deal with food allergies, which is another reason why it’s easier to shop there. And they have great organic options, though a lot of the more mainstream stores are starting to offer some good alternatives too. 

So now I have more than I need for the week and a couple of great options to make for family dinner over the weekend.  Luckily some of the items can be frozen. Now if I could just get one of those new big beautiful fridges…..