Octoberfest

We’ve hit October and I do like October.  I love root vegetables, pumpkins, spices, colored leaves, hot tea, Halloween, my birthday, Seattle Restaurant Week, and fall beers.  But I still like summer better and it is always a big transition for me to wearing warmer clothes and bundling up for the outdoors.  Not to mention that the sun is now setting before 7pm.  It does help though that we have had sunny skies and good temperatures for a week now though.  But how to make that transition easier:

1. Turn on the gas fireplace whenever I can at night.  I’ve looked up the cost of heating a gas fireplace and it is roughly $.50/hour, reasonable.
2. Buy chocolate mint tea and drink it every night and wish my mom was drinking it with me.
3. Make dinners to keep me up and moving.  Monday night I made chicken jalfrezi, an Indian curry using a puree of tomatoes, onions, green peppers, garlic and ginger and then adding whatever other veggies and proteins you like to simmer in the sauce.  Served with basmati rice and naan.  Tuesday night I made tuna noodle casserole, something I haven’t had in forever and a dinner Bryan used to really like as a kid.  Apparently he still does like it because there was no leftovers.  And one of the few times we have sat at the dinner table and finished an entire bottle of white wine.
4. Work out when I can.  Thank goodness for our exercise room.  I rowed and did arm weights on Tuesday night and yoga, barre, and arm workout short videos on Wednesday night, ran 6 miles on Saturday, and went for a hike with Bryan on Sunday.
5. Foodrunning at FareStart keeps me nice and warm.  Plus a multicourse dinner of lemon-zucchini vichyssoise soup, roasted cod with potatoes and mushrooms, and molten chocolate cake keeps me feeling oh so good. OMG that cake!
6. Dining on Southern food tricks the mind.  Bryan and I grabbed a drink and food at the Lost Pelican to watch Saturday Night Football.  WithSazeracs, crawfishhushpuppies, wings, crawfish pasta, and fried green tomatoes we were transported briefly to the South.

   

   

   

Chelsea