Fun with fall leftovers

This is about as close as I've come to cooking lately-- mainly because I'm still staying at my parents house while we complete our move and I'm getting spoiled with my mom's home cooking. As much as I love having a break, since cooking is how I like to relax and my favorite creative outlet, I miss it. Lucky for me, I'm usually on my own for lunches and this family always has a fridge stocked with leftovers.

Today's creation: slices of grilled spiced pork chop, fresh apple, arugula and cilantro pesto on toasted Pumpkin Sweet Corn Bread (a seasonal special from the excellent Red Hen Bread....one of the many reasons I'm moving to Oak Park). With a side of homemade toasted pumpkin seeds from our jack-o-lantern. Yum. Yum and yum.

Not exactly a culinary coup, I know, but hopefully I'll be in our fab new kitchen and able to really challenge myself again soon. Actually -- sooner than I'd imagined. As it turns out, my in-laws would really like to see the house and asked if we would mind hosting a very impromptu Thanksgiving dinner at our place. For 14 people. Nine days after we move in.

I enthusiastically said yes although once I looked at the calendar and realized Thanksgiving is to when we're hoping to close on the house I started to panic a little. Especially since we sold a ton of our furniture in Florida and probably won't even have a couch by then. But my parents are amazing people and  they are planning to come/cook/bring most of the meal and a bunch of chairs so hopefully it will all work out. If not, I'm putting Heavenly Ham on speed dial and telling everyone to sit on the floor.

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying the fall weather with my girls and counting the SECONDS until JiT arrives from Miami once and for all (the Florida house is getting packed AS WE SPEAK). I have high hopes that life might start to resemble normal again around Christmas.