A Girl's Gotta Eat!

I read a recipe a while back for Summer Squash Pasta Soup (it's another from Seasoned to Taste by the JL Chattanooga.) I thought it sounded delicious, but I don't like making soup during the hot months, and good summer squash is sometimes hard to come by in the colder months. I have a solution. In our past couple CSA boxes from Delvin Farms , we've been getting more pattypan squash than we could stuff and eat. Technically the recipe calls for yellow crookneck squash, but I decided this would be an acceptable substitute and put some tasty looking squash to good use. Also, Mom and Dad haven't been able to eat all their pattypan, so I decided to make a double batch and invite them over for supper. Mike decreed the result as his new favorite soup, and the rest of us thought pretty highly of it as well. I didn't have fresh thyme on hand, but thought dried worked fine. If you don't have or prefer not to cook with wine, I'm sure you could use additional brot...

Well...it almost is, anyway. With a long-missed crispness back in the air today and a baseball game on TV tonight, I was in the mood to break out the soup pot again. Mike thought it sounded good, too, and we both agreed that we should try something we've never made. So, I pulled out some past issues of Food Network Magazine and EveryDay with Rachael Ray and got busy browsing. Rachael Ray won this time with her Curried Chicken and Cider Soup . It seemed easy, healthful, and the perfect start to the season. Anyway...this was, indeed, quite tasty. I doubled the recipe, since I couldn't think for the life of me what we'd do with half a chicken and half a head of cauliflower. The original said this freezes well, so I decided to make extra and we could always freeze some for later. Mike loved coming home from class to the smell of this on the stove, and ate until he was stuffed. All-in-all, I'd say it was a success. I think I might also add a pinch of cloves next time. ...

Today's treat is in honor of Shayla's birthday. I was in the mood to try something new, and I knew she loved coconut. Hence, this Almond Joy Cake. I did everything exactly as directed by the recipe, but I will share one word of warning: The cake pan gets very full. As in, when I was adding the chocolate topping, chocolate started oozing off the sides of the pan and all over my table. You should probably set it on a cookie sheet first unless you have a super-deep cake pan (in which case, I'd like to know where you found it.) Oh! I also used dark chocolate chips instead of semisweet because I was just certain Almond Joy candy bars were made with dark chocolate. I was later informed I was incorrect, but I thought the cake was delicious nonetheless. I would say to go with your personal preference. Almond Joy Cake 1 (2-layer) package devil’s food cake mix 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk 1½ cups sugar 25 large marshmallows 1 (14-ounce) package flaked coconut 1 cup sugar ½...