Catching Up

So I've actually been cooking recently (and taking pictures) but I haven't posted anything but whines in a while.

No recipes, just pictures and a general idea of what got tossed into the pot. (As best as I can remember...)

Pumpkin seeds (October 19th): remove from pumpkin, rinse off, put onto a foil-lined baking sheet, sprinkle with salt, and bake at 425F for 20 minutes, or until they start to burn a little. (This is about 7 pumpkins' worth of seeds, as I was the only one at the pumpkin-carving party that wanted them.)

Hot and sour soup (November 14th): This is, of course, a totally bastardized version. But I was hungry and it was cold. And the steam looks totally sweet. Let's see: veggie broth (canned), rice vinegar, garlic, thinly sliced carrot, powdered ginger, dried shiitake mushrooms, sesame oil, chile oil, soy sauce. Cooked rice? Onion? I can't remember.

Baked stuffed golden acorn squash (November 17th): This is them before going into the oven. First, make a pilaf: Saute onion, celery, and garlic, add veggie broth and dried shiitake mushrooms, and powdered ginger, cumin, and thyme, let it simmer for a few minutes and then add instant barley. Cook until tender. Meanwhile, split and clean an acorn squash, and bake it (cut-side down in about 1/2 inch of water) in a 400F oven for about half an hour. Pour out the water, flip the squash cut-side up, fill it with the pilaf, cover the pan with foil, and bake until the squash is tender. (Uh...about another half-hour.) I will definitely be making this again...because it is tasty. And I like to say stuffed squash. And Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, which is easier to say than to type.

I made more seitan soup but I didn't take any pictures. I've also been knitting, but I don't want to jinx anything by posting yet.

And, gratuituously, the dog:

There are several pictures in the "Dog Destroying Toy" series, but that one is my favorite.