Back in the kitchen

I'm officially back in the kitchen. The weather has been perfect and the view is getting colorful.

Two weeks ago I had a 15 hour marathon session which started with two kinds of cookies (Chilmark Chunk and peanut butter Chocolate Chip).

I moved from there to grilling up some chicken piallard with a southwest seasoning mix (to be used later for a light supper over greens) and then realized I wanted to make adjustments to my seasoning mix. So I created a new one and popped a container of it onto the spice rack. T

hat got me thinking about staple foods, so I immediately set to work to make a gallon of granola (Seeded Maple).

I got hungry so I whipped up a Tuscan white bean salad for lunch which became an antipasto melange when I realized that I had some fantastic artichokes to add. And the artichokes got me to thinking about my favorite soup (from Giada DeLaurentis) Artichoke Leak soup - a kind of vichyssoise that can be served hot or cold (I omit the marscepone because it is rich enough without it!) A batch of that was created to compliment our light supper.

I realized that we might need another desert (because there's always a reason for more sweets) so I made Triple Chocolate Sorbet and poured it into my rocket pop molds. Its a kind of portion control. If I don't do that, Doug will finish the whole container before I get a taste!

After a short break I created our dinner salads with the chicken and served a spot of that yummy soup. Not satisfied enough to stop, after cleaning up, I thought I should make a treat for the folks I work with so I whipped up a chocolate pecan pie. This time I used Ghiradelli's bitter sweet chips and I must say, I 'm not thrilled with the result. I like darker chocolate but am not thrilled with the flavor of these chips. I've got to find a new chip source for my semi-sweet, bittersweet and white chips.

As soon as I figure out how to create and organize a new section for this blog, I'll add recipes for each of edibles I reference. Until then - enjoy the view!