I miss my kitchen!

I miss my gas stove. I miss my double sink with actual working garbage disposal. I miss my own grind-it-as-you-want-it coffee maker. I miss my reusable shopping bags! While I am ridiculously proud of myself for concocting the meals we've had in our hotel room and for using all our ingredients to the best of my creative ability, I am so ready to get back to my own house and real knives that a) didn't come from the dollar store and b) don't freaking *bend* when I try to cut things with them. You know, super-tough things like Roma tomatoes. Ugh.

Last night I was poring over the Sep/Oct issue of Clean Eating Magazine and started circling some recipes I want to try. Things like Chicken Barley Stew, Boneless BBQ Pork Strips, and Candy Apple Pork Tenderoloin with Lemon Thyme Fingerling Potatoes sound so delicious right now! That last one thrills me to bits, too, because it calls for unsweetened apple butter. Uh, guess what I bought a jar of when we first got here? It was meant to be. The Sweet Potato & Cinnamon Brownies are calling to me as well. And even though my sister told me just today she'd rather not eat "healthy" stuff for dessert, I totally plan to make these next time they come over and not say anything about it.

Something else I'm really excited about is the idea of starting a "supper club" with a friend who recently started eating clean. We're going to start small and make just one extra batch of something we're making for our own families and then swap them, but I am looking forward to it. I am keeping my eyes open for things that can be frozen (hello, Boneless BBQ Pork Strips!) and that would be pleasing to adults and small fry, as she has three young kids and I have my (admittedly non-picky) chunky monkey to keep in mind. If you have any dishes that meet this criteria, please send them to me! Use the email address at the right.

And now back to daydreaming of my own grocery store and farmers' market...