an afternoon cooking

"The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. 

In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude."
— Julia Child

 I love cooking...or at least the adventure of trying to cook.

Yesterday, I left work and went straight to the grocery store with a long list of
ingredients I have never bought before in my life, let alone used...

[I will even admit to standing in an aisle googling where to find
a particular ingredient in the store itself!]

I came home and literally chopped, studied, re-read, stirred, scooped and sighed

for two and a half hours straight before I was able to stand back 

and let sit what needed to cook and freeze what had to be frozen.

The result: vegetarian slow-cooked chili and homemade peppermint patties

And while they dont necessarily sound good together, 

I must say both turned out quite well - especially the peppermint patties!

(I added a drop of red food coloring for a valentine's day themed patty)

Recipe found here....definitely do freeze the filling before dipping it in the chocolate

and use parchment paper instead of wax paper.