We had our first real snap in the air last night and decided to have supper by the fire. So far the super-dorky structured approach seems to be helping me out quite a bit. Where ever I had a curve ball, I just shifted that meal to the next week, and it's clear that this one is now a staple. Neel likes my version better, and I like his. This just follows my theory that you like the best the food that someone makes you. But the warm, slightly spicy noodles and the stewed chicken were perfect for this crisp evening. As was the fire.

Our living room is one of my favorite rooms in our house, and I love how it can smell like woodsmoke even in the dead of summer. It was lovely to have a weeknight fire and lovely to eat dinner in front of it. I plan on doing it a lot this winter.

Everybody seemed to like it, so why not?