For a while, probably about a year and a half, I wasn’t doing much cooking. Mostly, I was feeling too busy. This summer, as I got into the habit of finishing all my work during the day rather than putting it off until the evening, I resumed cooking regularly. I’ve continued, even though my schedule has gotten busier.

I enjoy the process of cooking and the pleasure of eating even more than I remember doing in the past. Also, I’ve found that cooking basically eliminates my desire to eat out at restaurants. That’s not surprising, as my cooking is usually as good if not better than what I can order. Happily, that saves us time, money, and calories. (I almost always overeat when I eat out. Plus restaurant food is chock full of calories.)

As usual, I cook from Cook’s Illustrated (a.k.a. America’s Test Kitchen). Last night, I made their Carbonnade a la Flamande (i.e. Belgian beef, beer, and onion stew) served over Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes. It was fantastic!

Thank goodness for leftovers!