Spiced pumpkin seeds

I made these several weeks ago to garnish butternut squash soup, and they'd do just as well atop pretty much any fall dish. Or with your morning yogurt & granola? Plus, they make a tasty snack all by themselves and with garam masala (quite possibly my favorite spice blend), your house is gonna smell great.

I will admit to buying pumpkin seeds in the bulk section. But you can make use of your jack-o-lantern innards, too. You're gonna want to rinse then simmer those fresh seeds in salted water (about 2 c. water for every 1/2 c. of seeds) for about 10 minutes, then drain and proceed.

Oven-roasted sweet potatoes

Served over rice with crumbled bacon.

Well over a month. Wow. Well, I'm keeping it simple as I dip my toes back into the blogging world. It doesn't get much easier than this!

And I won't bore you with all the details of what's been keeping me busy.

Okay, maybe I will just a little (it's all good stuff):

I got to spend a child-free (Thanks Gma & Gpa!!) weekend in Chicago with this guy:

On the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier.

...for a really fun wedding (Thanks and CONGRATS Caroline & Steve!!):

Don't ask how many gin & tonics I'd had at this point ;)

I've been crafty as all get-out...

Pattern here.

Re-usable sandwich & snack bags from this online tutorial.

A cardigan I knit.

And of course, the kids started school! They're doing great. Second grade, kindergarten and nursery school. (I can barely say that out loud.)

Now, on to the super-simple recipe. Quick -- before another month passes me by!

Olive Oil Drop Biscuits

Omigosh. I swear to you that we here do not live on baked goods alone. I actually wanted to blog about this really pretty good and extremely healthy soup I made out of roasted beets and carrots and fennel, sweetened with just a little maple syrup, then blended until smooth with a little chicken stock. But it wasn't great... Josh added some lemon juice to the leftovers and it was better. It needed the tang. I love the idea of just tossing roughly chopped healthy stuff into the oven, then pureeing it into dinner. But that recipe needs tweaking before I post it. I will post it, though, and I will post other healthy stuff. I will, I will.

Roasted Beet Soup

We've also been very into salads lately, because they're so easy. A baby greens & herbs salad, on top of a slice of toast, with a lightly-poached egg and a pinch of salt and pepper. That's healthy, right? We eat stuff like that, too.

But for now: Biscuits. Tasty, tasty baking powder biscuits with olive oil instead of butter. See? I am totally concerned about your HDL.