Nothing too Exciting . . .

Fall is HERE in Chicagoland.  We had our first frost this weekend.  Now I'll have to figure out where to plant the daffodil bulbs I got.  They are the only ones that the deer won't eat!  And I need to wrap my young maple in the backyard to keep the deer from chewing on it.  We're not supposed to have as bad a winter as the last two.  Famous last words . . .  ;-D  Still, I'm hoping that it won't be quite so brutal.  Two in a row was enough.

I tried a new, vegetarian recipe yesterday.  It's called a Spiral Veggie Tart.

This is before it went into the oven.  It's pretty - and it actually tasted pretty good.  There is a lot of prep work.  A mandoline helps.

I had to make a crust for it - that was interesting (I never made one before!) - and I made a few subs/mods/additions to the recipe.  Here's my take-away:

• You have to make the slices pretty much wafer thin.  I used my mandoline, but I think I could have made them even a little thinner.  I cooked it for 10 minutes longer and the slices were still pretty al dente.
• The slices work better if they are all the same height -  I had to fold some in half.
• Wrap as tightly as possible.  I think this might come with practice.
• I used Greek Yogurt instead of creme fraiche.  I think I used too much because the crust was a little wet.
• I added parsnips - don't do this if you don't like them.  They have a very distinctive and strong flavor. I don't think I would add them again.
• The veggies need seasonings.  The recipe called for sage.  I'm thinking that some garlic and onion tucked in those rounds would really help.
• I also think some cheese would be an excellent addition - maybe some feta over the top in the last 5 or 10 minutes in the oven.
• I added some Balsamic vinegar to the olive oil that you drizzle over the top - it could go either way.
• It makes 6 servings as a side and 4 as a main.
• I don't think it's going to reheat well - it might be best to make when you know you'll have enough people to eat it all in one sitting.

I've been really deficient in vegetables for the past month or so, so I decided I needed to try to get some in.  I think this qualifies.  :-D  I've got a delicata squash that I'm going to play with today  :-)

I continue to hammer away on knitting projects here - I'm not making a lot of progress, however.  But I'm nearly done with the Elementary Watson Socks, so that's encouraging.

The budgeting is going pretty well.  I'm not always perfect, and there are expenses that come up that have to be taken care of.  Still, it's going well and I have only had to touch my savings for one medical expense.  I'm hanging in  :-)

I went back to Weight Watchers a month ago.  That's going pretty well, too.

The Cubs won on Tuesday and lost last night in their race for the National League pennant.  Only time will tell . . .