Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

As I have mentioned time and again, I am more of a savory than a sweet person. When given the choice between a piece of cake and a roasted chicken, I would go for the chicken every time (and wouldn't mind eating the cake afterwards if it's still around!).

However, in the last days of my pregnancy, I found myself wanting more sweets. And by sweets, I don't mean sickeningly sweet pastries and candy, but good, homemade sweets using the ingredients I already love, like dark chocolate.

One such homemade goodie that I found I could not get enough of was my peanut butter dark chocolate chip cookies. Perhaps it's because they balance savory (with the peanut butter) and sweet. Or perhaps it is just because they are so darn good!

Green Tomato Sauce

It's official. Fall is here and my tomato harvest is officially over. Okay, it's been over for a few weeks now, but I've finally gotten around to harvesting the green tomatoes off of the plants before cleaning the beds up for the winter.

I have lost all hope that these green tomatoes will turn red. And unfortunately, with the rainier and cooler August and September that we had, there are lots and lots of green tomatoes. So, what to do with all these completely green (and only partially ripened) tomatoes? Well, I decided to make some tomato sauce.  Now you might think that to do this you need to combine ripe tomatoes with a small quantity of green tomatoes, but that's really not the case. In fact, I used 100% green and partially ripened tomatoes and the sauce tasted fantastic!

Pumpkin Pie

I've never been a huge fan of pumpkin pie. As a kid, pumpkin pie would always show up at the Thanksgiving table, and I would always pass.

It's a little strange, because I do love pumpkin. I love it roasted, in soup, as a puree or a mash... just not as a pie.

This year, however, is different. It's a year of new beginnings. It's our daughter's first Thanksgiving. It's our first family Thanksgiving in our new house. And it's the year that I give another chance to the pumpkin pie.

Curry Rice Noodles

So, I was craving Singapore Fried Noodles-- the thin, vermicelli noodles that are stirfried with curry. It's funny because I have only ever had them once, when I went to a noodle house with my mom and she ordered them. But they have stuck with me. And I have been thinking about making them ever since.

Well, today was the day. The day that I wanted them so badly. Unfortunately, I didn't have vermicelli noodles, nor ground pork or shrimp which is what the noodle dish I ate with my mom had in them. But that's okay. I improvised to get the flavours that I was craving. And it turned out to be exactly what I had been thinking about.

Just goes to show that you can use what you have around and still recreate the flavours and textures you are craving. (No longer necessary to run to the grocery store in the middle of cooking!!).