Late night in.

It’s Friday night. I’m twenty-four years old and single...

Where do I find myself? My kitchen. 

And I love it.

As unappealing as it may sound to some to come home from an eight-hour day at work and spend four hours in the kitchen, it’s the best way for me to unwind—to set my mind free. Or, one of the ways. And seeing as how, not long after dinner, I finished the first novel of a series to which I don’t yet have the second, tonight was the perfect night to accomplish something in the kitchen.

In the past forty-eight hours, I have made Carrot Apple Oatmeal muffins (click for the recipe!), Potato Focaccia bread, Whole Wheat Cheese Ravioli, White Bean Basil Hummus (definitely click for this recipe!) and Whole Wheat Graham crackers (try this one out, too!). It’s nearing one o’clock in the morning, I’m tired—but I’m content.

Now, there is no way I’m going to be able to blog about every single thing I made—I’m already behind, Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls and Rosemary Focaccia bread adventures currently simmering on the back burner for when I have a chance to share the experiences with you, so I’ll just say a little something about each creation.

The Carrot, Apple, Oatmeal muffins and Potato Focaccia bread recipes were found while I was at work—scouring the internet for ideas; the best thing about these two recipes is that I had all the ingredients; furthermore, I was seeking ways to get rid of the ingredients before they went bad and I couldn’t use them anymore. I ended up doubling each recipe, in order to use up the potatoes, carrots, and apples that I had in mind to utilize, but that just means I got to stock up my freezer a bit!

Speaking of freezer—I had a container full of white beans I had made a while ago that I kept looking at every time I opened the freezer. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to use them in, until today! I discovered the hummus recipe and thought I’d give it a try. What I love about making hummus is that it’s so easy—throw everything into the blender…and blend. And, let me tell you, when I took a spoon and tasted the delicious dip—I literally stopped dead in my tracks. It’s so good! I didn’t know you could make hummus with any other bean besides a chickpea; now that I know, I may have a hard time being loyal to the original recipe!

The Graham crackers—remember when I made the Sweet Potato Cheesecake? I made graham crackers then and told you I wasn’t so sure I liked them; turns out, I love them! I just don’t enjoy them warm. They are way better the day after. So, I used the same recipe and ended up with a couple bags full of these babies. Yum! (Double yum if smothered in peanut butter.)

Last, but certainly not least, the ravioli! The real reason I wanted to write this blog. I’ve been thinking about making homemade ravioli for a couple weeks, now, and I decided I needed to just make it happen. However, I’m still in a squash phase, so tonight I made the ravioli and stuck it all in the freezer. Turns out, I have enough ravioli to last me about, oh, eight meals—and enough leftover filling to fill at least three more batches. (I definitely overestimated how much filling could fit in each ravioli square…) They turned out very pretty and I’m hoping they cook well and taste just as great as they look! I plan on playing around with how, exactly, I’ll serve them—hopefully I’ll come up with a few good and creative ideas. I’ll definitely keep you posted on how it all turns out--and I’ll post the recipe when I’m sure it’s worth sharing!

For now, though, I should really head to bed!

Goodnight—er, rather, good morning,

Rosalyn