Time to Cozy Up in the Kitchen

 

In two more days the calendar will confirm the official start of the autumn season.

That first nip of cooler air always turns my thoughts to cozy kitchen time.

After the heat of the summer, it feels good to turn the oven on once again and spend the day cooking and baking as the wind whips and the leaves whirl outside.

Now is a good time to put some thought into which cooler season recipes are worth re-visiting or which new recipes will be tried for the first time.

Maybe a nice moist apple sheet cake or perhaps a pan of brownies.

Decisions, delicious decisions :-).

When it comes to cookie baking, the choices seem endless.

Ginger Snaps and Snickerdoodles offer that touch of autumn spiciness that I find so appealing right about now.  Oatmeal raisin just plain seems like something direct from grandma's warm and loving kitchen and chocolate chip... in my book you can never go wrong with chocolate chip cookies.  Which brings to mind a very dear blog friend who bakes them at the drop of a hat to share with friends and neighbors and even her dentist.

 Despite my love for fall baking, I try to limit my sweet intake more these days.

Maybe one day I'll whip up an angel food cake and top it with some fruit.

Of course the cozy fall kitchen doesn't just mean baking.

It's also fun and appealing to create delicious, tummy warming meals on the stove top.  I'm looking forward to soups and stews and chili again.

In the midst of all the creating in the kitchen it's important to pause now and then for a restoring break.  A warm cup of tea works well.  One of my favorite teas for this time of year is Constant Comment.  How about you, do you have a favorite fall time tea?

As the autumn season moves along it will be more important than ever to take those restorative breaks because... ahem... I think we all know that turkey time will be here before we know it.

 

*****

This year I received an unexpected surprise in the mail that has made me more excited than ever for my fall baking and cooking.

That dear blog friend I mentioned earlier sent me every one of the baking pans you see featured above.

She even sent that darling tea pot which was something I had once seen in an antique shop and reluctantly passed up.  I had kind of regretted that decision ever since.

  Each time I look at these sweet treasures from the past, I will be reminded of the kindness of Karen.  I've been reading her blog, Life Is Good ever since I started blogging.  She inspires me every day to get outside and walk more, to treat others with kindness and most of all to look for the good and happy things in life.  If you've never visited Karen's blog, I invite you to do so.  

Thank you, Karen for adding a heaping helping of sweetness to my kitchen!!