Oh boy, have Kevin and I been feasting for the last two days! We, who do not historically cook. We, who rarely have more than eggs, soy milk and old onions in our fridge. We, who would be happy with Taco Night every night forever and always. (Actually, I think that’s just ME, not we.) We’ve been feasting.

Since I know that the days when each dollar will matter more to me are not far away, I’ve decided to get a jump start on making more meals at home. It’s something I’ve often tried to do in fits and starts, but now I’m determined to solidify the habit.

We did a big, pre-planned grocery shop on Sunday. And since then, our little oven has been working overtime. We’ve made the following in the last two days: breakfast quiche (an easy, lower-calorie recipe provided by my friend Jess), vegetarian chili, smashed cheddar onion potatoes, pumpkin coconut cookies, and my personal favorite – hot wing inspired turkey sloppy joes. This is big for us.

Kevin made the sloppy joes and potatoes himself and, let me tell you, I was impressed. He chose the recipes out of Rachel Ray’s Big Orange Cookbook and spent an adorable two hours in the kitchen last night putting it all together. You guys, it was amazing. So delicious…mm-mm-MM. I’m having leftovers for lunch today and my mouth is watering just thinking of it.

But let’s get down to business here. After he was done heating up the kitchen with his skillz, I decided to make pumpkin cookies for dessert.

Several months ago, my grandmother sent me an envelope filled with old recipes that she’d collected or found tucked inside books at the thrift store where she volunteers in Quincy, Illinois. This envelope of weathered paper, each piece covered with the sort of careful handwriting that so many of the older women in my life seem to share, is something I have cherished since the moment I received it.

What a great gift to have all these old recipes! Thanks, Gram!

I decided to make use of my first-ever purchase of a can of organic pumpkin and chose a pumpkin cookie recipe from the batch. It seemed simple and it was. To be fair to myself, I do know how to bake. I guess I just haven’t baked much pumpkin stuff before.

Anyway, within half an hour, our house smelled like autumn, like Thanksgiving, like heaven.

They might not look like much, but these pumpkin cookies, to which I added a little coconut for texture, were delicious. I ate, uh, more than one.

I should probably bring them into the office to share the wealth, but whatever. My dog ate them or some other reason that I won’t bring them into the office.