It’s been a long time since my last post but I am back now! We moved again which disrupted my cooking routine but we are finally settled just in time for the best time of the year: autumn!  Ok, well, officially it is still late summer but it has been feeling very fall like around here…great sleeping weather!

When I first move into a new place, I am always a little weirded out that I am using space that was just occupied by someone else. I am sure most people feel that way. It takes a little while for it to feel like yours…especially in the kitchen. We have been in our house about 2 months now and truth be told, I have yet to use the oven.  I have been baking stuff but using our table-top toaster/convection oven instead of the regular oven. I have probably held out christening the over a little longer than usual this time but only because it’s was summer when we moved in and the table-top oven doesn’t heat up the entire kitchen like the big oven does. Another thing that delayed me using the oven initially was a gas leak! It is fixed now, but it dragged out over a two week period due to inept repair companies.

The above picture is some pasta salad I made for a family party this weekend: Tri-colored pasta, red onions, celery, cucumbers, black olives, pepperoni, feta and Kraft Italian dressing. Delicious if I do say so myself…the veggies added a great crunch and the pepperoni and onions supplied just the right kick.