Yep.  Food is on my mind these days.  Having less time for other pursuits (such as sitting quietly to read a book), I’m finding that cooking is a solace, a bit of a retreat from it all so to speak.  Yes, it gets routine and no, every evening doesn’t include a new recipe!  But one of the benefits of enjoying cooking is that I get to both take care of my family and do something relaxing as well.

With a newly turned 6-month old (yikes, how did that happen?), there’s been a lot of making of baby food—pureed avocado, squash, bananas, and the like being eaten & stored up.  I like the Super Baby Food book or Wholesome Baby Food website as a resource.

And I’ve been really getting into vegan cooking since several of us cannot have eggs or dairy—um, we still eat meat though so it’s a contradiction so to speak.  Anyway!  My new cookbook of interest is Vegan Soul Kitchen, a gift from my sister-in-law.  This week I’ll be trying a butternut squash and pear soup that gets its creamy smoothness from coconut milk; the recipe had my mouth watering.  We’ll see if the family likes it.

And though I don’t plan to grow a big garden this year, I’ve spent many evenings curled up in bed for a few minutes of browsing through Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalog.  Oh. My.  If you’re a gardener, get one of these!  I plan to just do a few potted plants or a small raised bed.  Here’s a great post on getting organized for a larger garden planting.

So…food, food, food.  Does the mind and body good.