Sugar and spice

I love to cook.

I tend to cook something I love over and over again until I am thoroughly over it. I think that's why I like dishes that are holiday specific. Hamentaschen are for Purim. Anything with matzah is for Passover. Latkes for Hanukkah.

Usually, I pull out a handful of cookbooks from the giant bookcase in the kitchen, and pore over them for hours...or days. On big holidays, like Passover, I try to incorporate at least one new recipe into the mix, revamping the tried and true dishes that seem to be crowd pleasers.

For the past year or two, I've been in a bit of a cooking slump. Soup was about the most exciting thing I made all winter. My spices haven't veered much from cumin, turmeric, oregano and pepper. I was starting to get bored. That leads to rotten eating habits, like making soup more interesting by eating it with potato chips. Thankfully, I've kicked that habit.

A little over a week ago, I got a new cookbook that I cannot stop using. I've made olive-lentil burgers, butternut-sweet potato-pinto bean enchiladas and tofu sloppy joes with coconut creamed spinach. I'm salivating just thinking about them!

The next recipe I'm slated to try is a chickpea-zucchini kofta recipe. Is it wrong that I'm so excited about cooking? If you tried this food, you wouldn't think so.