How do I love thee? Let me count the ways

I love October.  What's not to love?  In the Northern Hemisphere, the weather is cooling into a delicious (if not sniffle-inducing) autumn.  Having recently become a train commuter, I'm looking forward to watching the trees turn beautiful colors without having to worry if the jackhole in front of me just slammed on his brakes to stare at the accident on the other side of the highway.  Autumn in Pennsylvania is gorgeous, specifically October, which is Pennsylvania's most popular wedding month for that very reason.  So, of course, I'm also looking forward to another celebration of marriage this weekend between a dear friend and his ladylove.  I'm also looking forward to driving the Audi A4 I reserved through PhillyCarShare to arrive at this blessed event in style.

The end of the month will find Mister and I winging our way to sunny Southern California.  Mister will be attending the much-coveted BlizzCon with our brother-in-law and my dear sis-in-law and I will be frolicking old school style (but with the addition of her adorable little son).  I'm already starting my list of awesome places I've read about and desperately want to visit at least once, including Real Food Daily.

love her!

We'll be flying home the day before our anniversary, so we can celebrate by dining at our favorite restaurant instead of flying and going deaf from the air pressure changes.

Last night I made Pasta Jambalaya from Vegan Express and aside from finally fully cooking the celery, there wasn't much to say about it.  Tonight, I reprised Isa's Braised Cauliflower in Three-Seed Sauce from Vegan With A Vengeance.

It was magnificent - far better than I remembered it, and I remembered it being pretty darn good!  There was some neat interaction going on between the tomatoes and seeds that really enhanced the flavor of the dish.  Another part of it might be the minced poblano pepper I sauteed with the garlic in place of the jalapenos called for in the recipe.  Ordinarily, I leave out hot peppers without bothering to substitute anything in place of them, but I've been wanting to cook with poblanos and the one I picked up at Whole Foods was just so pretty and ready to be cooked.  I'll admit, I was a little trepidatious when I was mincing it, since I touched my tongue to a piece and it was a little burny.  I seemed to have cooked out all the hot, though, because it seemed to enhance the sweetness of the sauce which dressed the cauliflower.  It also looked pretty.

Next week is looking to be a bit hectic at work.  We greeted the fourth fiscal quarter today, which generally means a serious slow-down in activity for our sales agents (not many people are eager to lose weight heading into a season peppered with parties and eating - that's what January is for.  It's like a month-long hangover from the festivities that took place between Halloween and New Years.), but it means a serious ramping up in the training department.  In preparation for the penitent clogging up our phone lines come January 1st, now is the time that my boss and I scramble to train roughly 80-100 new hires before Christmas.

What I'm trying to say is this: don't be surprised if the new menu (up soon) is comprised mainly of express meals.