It's Fall

It's Fall. I can tell for a few reasons.

1. I turned off the AC yesterday and opened all the windows. It was 60 degrees when I left the house to drop Riker off at daycare this morning. Whaaat?

2. I started drinking hot tea in the afternoon.

I love that Yogi Tea tag. I was just about to pull out the tea bag and toss it in the trash when I noticed the saying, and it stopped me for a moment. I think it's often easy to forget to show compassion and kindness, especially when life is busy and work gets a little stressful, and it's something I always feel I can do better on. I pinned the tag to my bulletin board in my office so I can remember it daily.

3. Football is back!

And so is my undying obsession with Sons of Anarchy, which took a hiatus during the warm weather. I've been seeing the billboards advertising the new season starting next week, and have been getting an itch to start watching it again. Yesterday was a bit of a rough work day, and with my stress level a little high and the cool weather and darkness setting in early, rather than doing something calming like going for a walk or doing some yoga, I got a sudden urge late in the day...must.watch.SOA. And so we did. One episode on Netflix was all it took and I'm hooked again. I'm hoping to finish season 3 next week, fly through season 4 and DVR season 5 which starts on Tuesday so I can pretty much watch SOA through the whole winter.

4. I'm craving pasta. I'm staving it off by making big bowls of spaghetti squash smothered in homemade red sauce and leftover pesto, and it's working.

I'm not sure how it happened, when just last weekend we were beaching and BBQing and it was 95 degrees and humid, but it did happen. It's Fall. I can't say I'm upset, it's one of my favorite seasons. It's almost time to break out my boots and start drinking pumpkin spice flavored everything. Wee!

Off to work, happy Friday!

Cauliflower Crust Repeated

Hello, friends! How was everyone's first day back at work? It's never easy going back after a long weekend, but it also felt kind of nice getting back into a routine. After my family left yesterday, I spent the afternoon cleaning the house, getting groceries, running a few errands and making my breakfast and lunch for today since I had to be up early to go into the city.

When dinnertime rolled around, I decided to give the cauliflower pizza recipe another try. I had bought a bunch of cauliflower and needed a way to use it up - and I realized that the last time I made the crust, I cooked it at a lower temperature than the recipe called for which is why it didn't come out right. Duh! When I cooked it at the higher temp last night, it actually came out pretty perfectly.

I could hold the crust like real pizza! Flavorings were way out there this time, and inspired by an Indian flatbread recipe I saw Bobby Flay make on Food Network last weekend. I topped the crust with homemade tomato jam and fresh mozzarella cheese, and when it came out of the oven I added a dollop of cumin Greek yogurt. Weird, right? It was SO good.

I made two pies so leftovers is on the agenda tonight. Time to eat, pack a lunch and crack open a new book before doing it all over again tomorrow. G'night!

Farewell Sweet Summer

It's been quite the fun filled weekend. My whole family came into town on Friday, including my mom, stepdad, grandma, sister, her boyfriend, my aunt and her two kids. A couple family friends came over to visit too. We had a packed house but it was a lot of fun being all together and enjoying everything the summer has to offer for one last beautiful weekend. It will still be summer for a few more weeks, but with school starting back up this week, chilly nights and early sunsets here to stay, and pumpkin scented candles already on the store shelves, fall is well on its way. We said goodbye to summer in style.

Happy Labor Day!