Presently...

I’ve been on a cooking craze over the last two weeks. And I mean an I-think-I-have- a-problem type of craze. First there was Horchata (awesome, but impossible to finish the 2 gallons I made), then a Pear Cake with Bittersweet Chocolate (pretty good, would make it again), then Apple Cheddar Scones (oh man what a disappointment), then a Dutch Baby with Jalapenos (unusual and tasty), and now there’s Pumpkin Brioche rising on my countertop (it calls for 2 sticks of butter to make 18 rolls, so it better be good). I’ve also printed recipes for Spiced Brown Sugar Pecan Coffee Cake and Chocolate Bread. That’s only mentioning the sweets.

I finally killed my little pumpkin and turned him into an impromptu Pumpkin Soup (next time I make Pumpkin Soup I’m going to add bacon pieces; everything tastes better with bacon). There was a Pot Roast somewhere in the recent past as well as Chicken Empanadas; and I’m planning Chicken Piccata for dinner tomorrow (my first attempt at the dish). All this cooking and I still feel like a miner who hasn’t struck gold yet. I can’t stop! I want to, I need to, but something is driving the cooking half of my brain crazy. I think it’s the weather. California sunshine why have you forsaken me?

Completely unrelated: check out these awesome flying pictures from our most recent trip up to the ranch. Isn’t it amazing what the tectonic plates do? The landscape looks surreal.