The Joys of Cooking and Baking

This weekend I spent a lot of time in the kitchen. I really generally enjoy it. That would be miserable to spend so much time in the kitchen if I didn't like it. I supposed that is why I do spend in there, it relaxes me and gives me a great sense of satisfaction knowing I made something healthy and nourishing for my family. Yesterday Carson and I made pumpkin spelt muffins. He's a great little helper in the kitchen. Today, I made homemade turkey noodle soup (yep, with Thanksgiving day leftover turkey). I used some chicken broth that I made previously and just thawed it from the freezer- about 4-5 cups. I diced up 4 celery stalks, 3 carrots, one white potato and about 1/4 of a box of whole-wheat rotini pasta. I added salt and pepper to taste with a touch of chili powder. I sauteed the celery and carrot first, then added the diced turkey and cooked pasta. I made sure the potatoes were small so they would cook fairly quickly. The end product was delicious! I made some homemade whole-wheat biscuits to go along with our soup. Later this afternoon I made some butternut squash soup. I baked the squash yesterday and had it waiting in the fridge. While I was thawing out broth for the turkey noodle soup, I got out another batch for the butternut squash soup. Then, my sweet tooth kicked in and I made some whole-wheat chocolate chip cookies. They turned out much better today than the last time I made them. There is a theme, whole-wheat. We've gotten really used to it and I can't really taste the difference any more. I know a lot of people are going wheat-free but I don't really feel like I have a reason to at this point. My stomach is far happier without additives, preservatives and artificial dyes and flavorings. I found a recipe for cinnamon struedel coffee cream so I adapted it for one cup of coffee I may tonight-a few drops of vanilla and almond extracts and 1 cinnamon stick. The original recipe calls for ground cinnamon to be added to whole milk and cream but I was in a rush.