Inspiration

I love to cook but I'm afraid my motivation to do so waxes and wanes according to my schedule and how tired I am after a busy day with the girls and work. Recently I saw the delicious movie "Julie and Julia" and my zeal for cooking was renewed after salivating for two hours over butter, Boeuf Bourguignon, chocolate cake and a myriad of other tantalizing dishes. As a rich beef stew didn't seem quite appropriate in the midst of a summer heat wave I chose instead to satisfy my cravings with fresh strawberry scones, summer vegetables and a marinated Asian pork tenderloin.

Trust me when I say that smellavision would have added a lot to this post.

My lead taste tester.
Verdict: "These are really good Mom!" Another happy customer.

Just a quick saute.

Today was a very rainy September day (yay for rain! - that's why we live in Washington), which was perfect for my back-to-school meal-planning extravaganza. I went through all my recipes and cookbooks and was finally able to pull out some of my favorite fall dishes, along with some new ones I'd like to try. Just so you know, I do cheat by having Dinner's Ready meals in my freezer for those days we need something fast and easy but at least several days a week I make large dishes that will give us plenty of leftovers. A few of the recipes on the docket this month are braised lamb shanks with glazed root vegetables, pork with marsala sauce and roasted asparagus, my mom's french vegetable soup, pulled pork sandwiches and butter broiled chicken with sea salt and roasted potatoes. I know the first day of fall is still a couple weeks away but I am prepared with my recipe for hot mulled cider as soon as it hits. If you have a good fall recipe or website you use please tell me about it. I'm in a cooking mood!

P.S. Jason just walked in and said he has a taste for hot dogs. Hot dogs people! Does anyone else sense a disconnect?