Cozy

I cook year-round, but I really love cooking in the fall. I'm a seasonal cook. There are some dishes that are dead to me for large segments of the year, so I love when fall rolls around and I start pulling out recipes that were stashed for the summer.

Fall means all things pumpkin in my world, and Brad found a recipe for these pumpkin whoopie pies with a brown butter filling:

 I surprised the kids and him with these treats after school yesterday. He was getting home just as they were, and they were a huge winner. I've never been so happy that a meeting cancelled at the last minute. I don't get to bake an after-school treat very often, and there is something so cozy and satisfying about it.

Then for dinner, I tried a new recipe for vegetarian Indian shepherd's pie:

The base is lentils with all kinds of veggies and Indian spices, and then they are topped with mashed white sweet potatoes. So good. It was also the first time I got to use the stoneware crocks Mom passed on to me. She didn't use them anymore, and I'm a huge fan. There is something so cozy about the heat radiating off the crock as you eat.

Cozy. That's my theme this week, and I'm loving every cozy moment.