Here's something I am interested in attending. While I'm not expressly vegan (though I've shared many vegan recipes that I didn't realize were or planned them to be), I am all for cooking food that tastes good and learning new recipes.

Below is a quote from a flyer I received for Feb. 3 at 7:00 pm:

While I hadn't planned on sharing details about my New Year's Budget Resolution, I expected you would want an update sometime. However, I never imagined now would be when it finally registered with me a) why I budget and b) why I shouldn't get mad when I allow Paul to grocery shop with me and add excess items to the cart.

It's been so long since I posted a menu plan--not because I didn't have one, but because there were other things to talk about. Plus, there were the holidays when you generally just think of leftovers for every meal.

My husband sent me this article from the New York Times about nonstick cookware care just before I made a trip to our church's Gift-and-Thrift to donate three previously well-used skillets. Luckily, we didn't have to spend money on new ones because we had each collected a few on our own and had been given some as presents. I was quite grateful for the "simplification" my cabinet had received.

You can find the story of the soup pictured above here. Don't forget to read about my first resolution if you missed it.

As is my tradition, I start my January by reviewing the resolutions I made for this year. I then edit my goals for the next year based on how well I did the previous year. I still have the goals. But some will be more detailed in requirement than others.

I have written about this fabulous fruit topping recipe before! I love it. This was the first time I actually had the pears to put the recipe together the right way. The only problem was that I failed to tell my mom the cake needed to be large, not in the form of cupcakes. I think it still presented well. It was just a little harder to cut.

I sat down with my Moosewood Soups and Stews Deck of recipe cards looking for any soups I could find that I had at least most of the ingredients to complete. It was cold in Florida. I didn't want to leave the house. I was thrilled that this one even had sweet potatoes, which I love to squeeze into meals because of their food value.

I have been looking for this recipe all my life! It was exactly what I imagined. French onion soup is very elegant. This version is so easy. I'll be finding excuses to make it. I'm sure I've passed it numerous times while shuffling through my Moosewood Soups and Stews Deck. I don't know why it didn't register until last week. But I'm so thrilled that it did.

Paul and I did this last Sunday morning. This week, Paul did it all on his own.

At nearly 11 months, Nora seems to be weaning herself off of the bottle. She really likes to see table food and wants to eat it even if we don't let her.

Paul loves cooked oatmeal in the winter. He usually cooks up a big batch Sunday morning and eats on it the rest of the week. This year, Paul is willing to share. He doesn't get to add salt if he shares with Nora. It tastes great with just cinnamon, raisins, dates, and dried apricots.

A few years ago, I learned from The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet that it is possible to mix and mash white and sweet potatoes. No, the nutritionist in me had never thought of it before. Keep in mind that I had only ever had sweet potatoes with cinnamon and sugar and didn't realize there was more to their value. I've since learned to love sweet potatoes.

I have a friend in Germany whose father teaches English to seniors. He has asked that I post simple stories about a traditional Christmas menu as a way to teach English and a little about American culture at the same time.

I would say that our traditional Christmas dinner menu is very similar to our traditional Thanksgiving menu because they are about one month apart from each other, and therefore are in the same season with the same fresh produce.

There's an old saying: The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. But the following story elaborates.

Yesterday (Dec. 11, 2010), our pastor was talking about Jesus showing love. At Prayer Meeting (we call it House of Prayer) last week, he had asked people to anonymously write on cards how they had been shown love that week. Here's one of the responses:

My mom makes me a sandwich every day. She just started putting fruit in my lunch.

Tomorrow is the Mommy Group Christmas Party and Cookie Exchange. I decided to make the consistently popular caramel squares that my mother-in-law seems to serve at every event. (And no one is ever sorry.) Instead of typing and handing out copies of the recipe, I just decided to put it on here. Cause I suspect most people are like me and have their recipe collection on their computers instead of in binders.

We got in at midnight last night from a 48 hour trip to Louisiana. My grandfather's baby sister passed away unexpectedly last week, and although it was nice seeing family I rarely see, I have been quite upset over the situation.

Luckily, I have little time to focus on sadness. This is finals week for the class I'm teaching. Plus, I have a special request series for EatLikeaRabbit.net that needs work to be posted next week. Then, there's Nora's swimming lessons and our little mommy-group holiday get together.

Soups are wonderful. You can put anything in them. It's a great way to use up samples of something. Like the little cup of corn leftover from last week. I was really craving a potato soup this week. I imagined the finished product much different from the way it turned out, but Paul didn't complain. After I reevaluated my seasonings, I was happier, too. Below is the corrected recipe.

I do want to point out that you could have just as much fun with chopped onions and garlic instead of the dehydrated powders. Use what you've got!

It's Nora's first Christmas. I wanted a tree, but we knew we couldn't have a large one with all of our breakable ornaments as she is mobile and curious. We chose a table top tree, and she's yet to notice it. I'd be pretty happy if it stayed like that for about a week.

A big thank you to my father-in-law for forwarding me this great story from the NY Times that appeals to me as a medical professional, as a mother, and of course as a budget-friendly vegetarian blogger.

For our Thanksgiving Day menu, please check out this post.

What does this picture have to do with Thanksgiving? Well, this light dinner we ate a few weeks back reminds me that that's about what I normally eat. I don't have to have an overflowing plate Thanksgiving Day just because it's a holiday. I hope I remember that next week. . .

OK, the moment many of us (including myself) have been waiting for: Our Menu Plan for Turkey-Day 2010.

OK, as expected, this wrap just didn't go too well. I guess there wasn't anything sticky enough to keep it all inside and it fell completely apart. Frown.So much for cleanliness. But the smile was right back on my face again when my husband said it would have been great just as a salad. The next time, it was a salad. And he was right!

This may seem a little late to post such things, but in Florida it's been warm enough to still yield in some really nice "late, late summer" crops.