cold weather food.

I can tell it's finally getting to be winter. Why? Because I can't get enough toast, soup, and pasta. (Carb-tastic!!) Protein has almost been an afterthought these days . . . all I want are whole grains!

Here's a pasta I enjoyed, in leftover form, for lunch today:

Whole-wheat elbows tossed with garlic, mushrooms, spinach, some dried fines herbes, salt and pepper, and "salad beans" (a mixed can of garbanzo, kidney, and pinto beans) sauteed in a little olive oil. Finish with a splash of balsamic vinegar! Yum.

Dinner tonight:

My infamous sweet potato coconut curry soup, with a side of pita chips. (This soup is more of a Thai curry flavor, as opposed to an Indian curry flavor -- ginger, red curry paste, coconut milk, and cilantro are the key players, besides the sweet potato, of course!)

I also indulged a little bit the other day . . . I had almost an entire box of Annie's Bunny Pasta, with some shelled edamame mixed in. (When you consider, however, I was feeding the end of a migraine, I don't think that indulgence was all that bad!)

I wish to conclude that, despite all of the carb-loading these days, I have not gained any weight . . . in fact, I have managed to drop five pounds (well, seven, if you count the two that I gained while unemployed,) over the past couple of months. My jeans are baggy . . . this is a problem . . . I can't afford to buy new clothes! Hopefully, the holidays will fatten me back up a little bit. ;)

Speaking of the holidays . . . photos of Christmas cookies coming up in the next couple of days!