It’s a hard thing to do. Waving a big “good-bye” to summers bounty of fresh herbs. I was not looking forward to parting with my basil and mint crop over the winter, so I started searching for options to help me with my herb withdrawals.

Somehow, I am not even sure how, I came across an article about freezing herbs in salt to keep them for use over the winter. The sound of fresh herbs buried in salt sounded not-so-appealing to me. Would they become dry as a fallen leaf? Would they retain the flavor of their sodium captors? The questions had me curious.

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I had been a huge coffee addict in college. Coffee was a way of life for me, drinking 5 cups of turkish coffee before I hit my morning classes was normal, until one day the heart palpitations and headaches started. Then I called it quits for over 10 years.

My husband, David, had never ever drank coffee until about 3 years ago. We had always been tea drinkers. One day he tried a Mocha Latte a friend had bought and he came home raving about how good it was. Thus, started our coffee drinking adventure together.

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Do any of you know that person who can grow anything, anywhere with little to no effort? My Mom is one of those people. She can pick a sprig of who-knows-what off the parking lot of the Home Depot, stick it in some dirt at home and the next thing you know, there’s a tree! Really.

I, on the other hand, have not been that successful of a farmer (except for all the cacti I have, which are hard to kill).  As a kid we always had a garden. Didn’t matter where, my Mom always planted one where ever we lived and it always thrived.

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The other night it actually got cold. The temp dipped down into the 40’s before 10pm and put me in a cozy kind of mood. See, here in North Carolina fall teases us. October can offer an 80 degree day while the next is in the 50’s. It’s a wacky area of the country, climate wise that is, so when we actually get some real autumn weather I head for the stove, get a pot out and make soup.

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Thai food has to be one of my most loved cuisines. Just the thought of  creamy coconut, fresh basil, a kick of chilis in a rich sauce over rice or noodles warms my heart (and tummy) instantly. So, when David and I were planning this week’s Date Night Dinner I immediately said, “Thai.”

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