A new installment of Kitchen Adventures

I've been in the kitchen this evening. I wish I had someone here to help me enjoy my results, but it was nice to cook.

I started with dinner - a quick oven sweet potato fry and pork burger combo. Both toss together recipes, that came out great and will make future appearances.

Sweet Potato Oven Fries

As much sweet potato as is needed to feed your crowd, sliced into fry shapes - about 1/4 inch square
Toss with a generous sprinkle of salt, pepper, chili powder, powdered ginger, brown sugar and cinnamon. Drizzle with olive oil.
Toss to coat
Place in preheated 375 degree oven.
Bake until sweet potatoes are slightly browned and cooked through. Toss once or twice during cooking to make sure they don't stick to cookie sheet.

Remove to serving platter and drizzle with honey before serving.

Cranberry Pork Burgers

1 lb ground pork
1 cup julienne napa cabbage
2 T grated carrot
1/2 T grated ginger
1 bunch chopped scallions
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 T worcestershire sauce
1/4 c panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper

Toss all together in a large bowl. Form patties. Grill or pan sear until pork is cooked through (about 140 degrees as an internal temp)

And after dinner, I continued the adventure with a recipe for Lemon Ginger Muffins.  Right now they remain stuck in the pan - as I didn't have any muffin papers.  They are tasty though.  I cut down the butter by a 1/4 cup - mainly because I forgot to defrost enough. I would advise to do more than 12 muffins though. Mine are all joined on the top as one giant muffin. I think a bit less batter in each would make a better muffin top.

Cooking really does make me feel a good better. (we'll see if that continues after I eat a second muffin though.) Its been really quiet in life this week. Some moments are good - like this one now - but others are lonely. Because I'm having a good evening, I feel odd thinking about the bad moments I've been through.  Fear they'll come back and take over my mind I guess.  

I also restarted the next steps on my sweater. Here's hoping that I can keep my knits and purls straight on this attempt. I ordered some yarn online - my first online yarn purchase. I needed a bit more to complete the pattern that KM included in my swap package - so I can now make the larger bag. And I think I'm going to make the smaller bag for a friends birthday.  I am so looking forward to getting started on those.  As I'll need to have them done in a few weeks when I make a pilgrimage to my parents to sort the boxes that arrived today.  I have no where to access a washer here in town that doesn't cost me lots of quarters.  

I also just finished The Friday Night Knitting Club.  It was a good book - until the end.  I don't quite understand why the author did what she did.  It made no sense to me.  (I won't spoil it for anyone - but it just seemed so odd of a turn of events...)