OMG! where does the time go?

I cannot BELIEVE that the last 'post' I made was in APRIL!!!! April 18th to be exact. Wow! How time really flies. Well, it is obvious that some of my original plans have been a bit derailed, but hopefully I can get them back on track now that I am feeling better and I have a bit more time on my hands...well, at least for the next couple of weeks that is. Anyhoo, anyone who has 'followed' the blog (which by now I'm sure some of you have forgotten all about) know why I haven't been writing...I'm expecting a baby! That being said, morning sickness came in the form of 'sitting in front of the computer makes me nauseous'. That coupled with way too much traveling this summer and simply being LAZY has kept me away from here but I think (hopefully) I'm back in business and ready to go.

So, after coming back from Los Angeles visiting my husband's parents, I arrived home to find a surprise on my front steps...THE JOY OF COOKING! Yay! So, I've been perusing it this morning and cannot WAIT to try some of the recipes! Avgolemono soup, Sour Creme Doughnuts, Baked Whole Salmon, Danishes! Plus all the tips in the book seem very helpful...where to begin?!?!

This week, I learned how to make my mother-in-law's famous peach cobbler! It was not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. I even got to experiment with a new ingredient: shortening. Now I know this isn't a 'novel' ingredient and any seasoned baker has used it time and time again, but it's new to me. It's an interesting ingredient...kind of similar to butter or margarine, but more white and it definitely DOESN'T taste like butter (yea, got some on my finger and I regret sampling it-yuk!). However, it does serve a very good purpose in holding together pie crust. The best part about learning this recipe this week was learning how to make crust. I've been wanting to try baking a pie or a cobbler but many crust recipes seem somewhat daunting. This recipe was pretty simple and straightforward...and I suppose, it was even VEGAN! I can't wait to try this crust recipe with cherries (for cherry cobbler) or even pumpkin (for pumpkin pie).

While I am not including a recipe with this entry, I will include one with my next entry...which will be coming soon...I promise! Thanks to all of you who have continued to support this crazy endeavor despite my 3.5 month hiatus. Love you all!