Falling into Fall!

If you know me well, you know that my favorite season (by far) is fall!  I love the fresh air, the autumn chill, sweaters, jeans, boots, scarves (both knitted and otherwise), and the upcoming holidays!  This year, I'm particularly excited about fall because I'll be in a new job (I'll post more when I'm officially on the payroll), losing weight to fit into numerous pairs of jeans that fill my dresser drawers because I REFUSE to throw them away, and continuing my new-found passion for cooking!  That said, I'm falling into fall!

However, before the days of jackets and turning on the heat return, I have to wrap up the summer.  My last post talked about the refocus of this blog to reflect my old love of food and my new passion for cooking.  While I would love to say that I cooked a lot recently, I haven't had much time.  I was busy wrapping up my position as an AmeriCorps member and prepping for my new job (so many cryptic references...).  I also seriously refocused my weight loss strategy to reflect what I know I should be doing.  I hate to say that I'm still working on it, but I developed a reward system today of all the things I've wanted to buy recently but haven't (much of which includes crafting stuff).

However, I did do some cooking and baking, and plan to do more in my time off while I wait for the paperwork regarding exiting AmeriCorps and coming into my new job to catch up with me!  My brother turned 30 (are we that old already?) in July, but we officially celebrated his birthday just yesterday.  I made two FANTASTIC dishes, both of which I received numerous compliments on.  First, I tried my hand at an amazing, yet high-calorie, high-sugar, dessert.  Pictured below is the Raspberry Pretzel Salad and the recipe for it!  It's absolutely delicious, but I would avoid it if you're trying to lose a few pounds.  However, I had one piece at my brother's party.

Yummy!

And a close-up of those delicious, albeit frozen, raspberries.

The recipe for the above delicious-ness :)

I also made Asian Coleslaw, which I have made before.  It's probably one of the easiest salads to whip up quickly.  Here are some pictures (because I like to record my creations, much like I photograph crafts and cards I make), and the recipe.  

Yum!

:)

The recipe for Asian colelsaw:

16 oz. pre-packaged Cole Slaw
1 pkg. Chicken flavored Ramen noodles, uncooked
1 bunch chopped green onions
1 c. slivered almonds
1 c. sunflower seeds

Dressing:
1 c. light olive or vegetable oil (I usually only use 1/2 c. vegetable oil to cut calories).
1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. vinegar (I use white vinegar)

The seasoning packet from the Ramen noodles

Finally, two more exciting bits of news.  The first is...I'm going to North Carolina in October!  One of my best friends from college is doing AmeriCorps there, so I am going to visit her.  I'm so looking forward to seeing her (it will be over a year by October), and doing all kinds of fun things.  We're doing some history tours (since we're both history geeks), going to a winery, going shopping, and...running a 5K in Ocean Isle Beach!  That's my second bit of news...I'm running a 5K!  I'm training for it now with a friend/colleague.  The program we are using maintains that we will be able to run 3 miles in 9 weeks, and we are one week into training.  It feels good to be running again and getting back in shape.  

I guess that's it for now.  I will update again soon after I make this week's recipes: Pumpkin Oatmeal, a pumpkin smoothie, and Autumn Bean Soup!  

Peace, love, and cooking :)