Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. ~ Harriett van Horne

I’m a feeder. I grew up with a large extended family that liked to eat. My grandma cooked everything from scratch. No boxes or mixes in her kitchen. The British Hubby says I learned how to cook for an army. Then I had to relearn how to cook for two people. Okay, it’s debatable if I actually mastered that last one. I always cook more food than we actually need. It’s a good thing we love leftovers. This week I had a chance to try a few new recipes and a new butcher. A few years ago, I tried a broccoli casserole that tasted great, but gave us such horrible gas that we didn’t finish the dish. Since then, I’ve been a bit skeptical to try a new cooked vegetable dish. Our no carbs and no sugar quest meant I needed to rethink our traditional holiday foods. (All though our Thanksgiving holiday is anything but traditional, it has been a bit carb heavy in the past.) I came across this brussels sprouts recipe. I made a few adaptations by using salad cream instead of mayo (The British Hubby isn’t a mayo fan) and using cheddar cheese instead of swiss. (That last change was an accident.) The recipe was easy to make and could be prepared ahead if you’re feeding a crowd. This was my first attempt at cooking brussels sprouts as well as eating cooked ones. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. The salad cream gives them a nice tangy flavor. While, this didn’t replace my all time favorite cooked veggie, asparagus, this is a nutritious low carb and high fiber side dish that I would make again. 

Next we had sausage taste test. We tried a new to us local butcher. The British Hubby was very excited to see they make Bangers in house. Naturally, our first trip had several of those in our cart. We also tried some chicken curry sausages. The Bangers didn’t live up to the British Hubby’s expectations. Personally, I thought they were quite delicious, but the British Hubby thinks the spices weren’t quite right. The chicken curry ones are fantastic! An exact replica of a proper take out curry in the form of a breakfast sausage. I can’t wait to try more flavors. My local Ben Franklin Store has already started holiday sales. I’m constantly impressed with the selection at this local store. I went in for some fabric to start a few holiday gifts and was pleasantly surprised to find all yarn 20% off. To my delight they had several new colors of Malabrigo in stock. I had a difficult time deciding, but I finally chose a Renaissance in Mechita. Check out the neat fabric I found. I’m especially excited about the cats in space. Ernie maybe to tired to craft, but stay tuned for plenty of gift giving ideas. I’m a fan of giving small handmade items that can be used through out the year.