I took a quick, random poll of e/peeps to see what I should try tonight: mini pies or honey muffins. The muffins won.
I read a very old cookbook at Jeremiah's grandma's over Christmas, and the theme was zen macrobiotic cooking. The main idea I grabbed from this wacky book was that cooking is best done alone, and while you're in a good mood, so that's what I did. To get in a cooking mood, I cleared off a spot on my counter, put on my apron and a headband. For Christmas, my brother crocheted me an awesome scarf with a matching headband; I wear it inside, sometimes. This put me in a beatific baking mood.
Anyway, from that same shelf, I borrowed a book called The Complete Yogurt Cookbook. This inspired me to use yogurt, that of course I made myself. Hooray for yogurt makers. It's a healthy, natural way to add moisture and nutrition to baked goods, without the hydrogenated ickiness of oils.
Here goes ...
Ingredients, dry
1 1/2 c. a.p. flour
1/2 c. corn meal (I used white corn meal)
1/4 c. sugar (to taste)*
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon (or more)
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. ginger
Ingredients, wet
2 eggs
1/2 c. plain yogurt
1/3 c. honey
1/4 c. milk*
1 tsp. vanilla
Tools
large bowl
spatula/spoons for mixing
muffin tins and/or bread pans
Steps, short version
Combine dry ingredients; add wet ingredients; bake as muffins or bread at 350 degrees for 20 minutes +.
Steps, long version
Combine the dry ingredients. I read on a baking blog (yes, they do exist) that using more baking powder makes for a fluffier muffin, so that's what I went with.
For my next attempt at these muffins, I'm going to omit the ginger completely. Ginger adds a strong flavor, and I fear I added too much in this version. It threatened to overpower the honey flavor; instead, I may bring out the vanilla flavor even more with more extract.
I used vanilla sugar, instead of "regular" sugar. [To make this sugar, just take a container (I used an empty salsa jar), pop in a whole vanilla bean, and fill with sugar. Shake each day for a week or so, and voila - vanilla sugar. You can replenish the sugar for a long time, which is useful, as vanilla beans can be expensive.] More sugar will make a much sweeter muffin, but will also alter the texture and make it more carmelly/sticky. Alternately, you can use less sugar or use sugar substitute. Brown sugar would work well with this.
Combine the wet ingredients. Whisk the eggs with the honey (melt in the microwave if it's too stiff) and vanilla. Reserve the milk. I used "real" honey - raw, unprocessed stuff that I bought at a place called the General Store down in Colden.
Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Mix thoroughly, and add the milk (or up to 1/3 c.) if necessary. You want a "muffiny" dough. I don't know how else to describe it. It has to be thick, not runny. Fill the tins to about 2/3 - do not overfill, or else you'll have a mess.
The yield was 12 muffins and one small bread loaf. I used my (new) silicone bakeware (muffin tins) and a small loaf pan. The silicone bakeware is fantastic, leaving a lightly crispy crust and a fluffy, beautifully textured inside.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, at least 25 minutes for the bread loaf.
Store in an airtight container. I plan on eating most of these myself, just to make sure the taste of each is acceptable. Call it my rigorous quality control process.

Think of Wannaspell as the most anarchic Scrabble game that you've ever seen. It's as though someone took all the pieces, threw them on the floor and said, to a worldwide audience, "Ha ha, now you figure it out."
I just "played" it for a few minutes over lunch, and was amazed at how, through brief glimpses, you can see order in that chaos.
After doing the normal things that one could do (spell out my name, spell out "IMPEACH"), I tried to introduce this "room" to the joy of alphabetical order.

And for the next few minutes, it worked: people took the letters they needed, and restored them when they had finished their words and phrases. While not at all scientific, I think this would qualify as the type of homeostasis? There's another term from organizational communication theory that is related to this, but it escapes my mind at this point.

Thanks to a fantastic deal from the Stock Exchange, the decor of the apartment has transformed from garage sale/hand-me-down chic to a more adult style.
Though it required two trips with a trailer and station wagon, minor scrapes and bruises, and a lot of muscle, we hauled a dresser/mirror combo, two bookcases, two end tables and a gigantic coffee table from Hertel Ave., up a narrow staircase, and into our humble abode.
I will say this about the Stock Exchange: the quality and beauty of this furniture store's pieces is extraordinary. Antique desks and postmodern sofas sit side by side in a showroom that is filled with enough items to qualify as cramped. This is a good thing. Everywhere your eye turns, you will see something different.
This probably reads like an advertisement for the store: it is. They have an awesome (40% off) sale going on right now, and the folks who work there are good people.
Images to follow: I'm not comfortable taking pictures of the furniture until I've done a bit more organizing.

Soup. The best soups combine hearty vegetables with a delicious blend of liquid and spices. For a cold winter day, canned and processed souplike products from the likes of Campbell's and Progresso do not fit the bill. I based this soup on a recipe from Rachael Ray's newest cookbook, 365: No Repeats--A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners
Behold: a 15 minute soup

Ingredients
Olive Oil
Crushed Red Pepper
Marjoram (or, any green spice: name your flavor)
Garlic (not powder)
4 cups fresh or frozen vegetables (thin sliced carrots, celery, onion, zucchini, green beans, yellow beans, sugar peas, peppers)
1 can/1.5 cups chicken broth
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 jar tomato sauce (plain)
Parmesean or Romano cheese
Italian or French Bread
Tools
Large saucepan/pot
Spoons
Sharp knives for cutting veggies
Can opener
Steps
Line up your ingredients: chopped/sliced veggies in a bowl; spices; cans and can opener.
Add a few tablespoons of OO to the saucepan, medium heat.
Add a few (chopped) cloves of garlic. You can't have too much garlic!
Add a sprinkle of crushed red pepper.
Add the veggies. Mix to coat with the oil.
Cook the veggies, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.
Add the cans of broth, tomatoes and sauce.
Add another sprinkle of crushed red pepper and whatever green spice you're in the mood for.
Heat through, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat, top with a dash of parmesean/romano cheese.
Serve with a few slices of fresh italian or french bread for dunking.

With my move back to Buffalo, one of the things I looked forward to the most was being close to the ski hills to the south. Kissing Bridge and Holiday Valley offer just enough variety for a new skiier like myself.
I'll never be a fast and furious skiier, racing down a slope at breakneck speeds while doing tight little spins, like Jeremiah. I won't even be as mobile as the four year olds I've seen zipping along at Kissing Bridge. However, I ski slowly and steadily, with occasional slips and falls. For someone who hadn't even encountered the Bunny Hill until she was 24 years old, I do fine.
We bought our Schussmeisters ski passes; our equipment (boots and skis) is in great condition; and, we have most evenings free to hop on the Schuss bus.
While walking outside today in the mud, I'm just bummed that the ski conditions are, to put it bluntly, totally sucking. We won't be back in business until a few more heavy snowstorms come our way.