What's cooking? Who cares! Feel the heat!

A duck walks into a bar, and says: "Anyone up for some apple-cinnamon muffins? How about a big boiling pot of beans? Or would you mind if I did some really vigorous pilates -- I'll just throw my mat down right here next to the bar. Or perhaps some feel-the-burn cleaning!" Now sub me for the duck. It's really not a joke, but it's what I'm doing today just to keep icicles from forming on my nose. (Hey -- aren't you the EnviroMom who avoids cleaning? Be quiet you voices in my head! You're confused.)

Yes, it's fall. And yes, my house is like ice-station zebra all of a sudden. I keep sidling up to the programmable thermostat to have a look-see at the temp. Oooh-boy. You don't want to know how low it's gone. In a matter of days, the temps have dropped here in Portland, and it's testing my energy conservation mettle by freezing my fanny. I will not turn the heat on in September. I will not!

On the plus side, the cold does give me license to bake with abandon, something I avoided all summer long like the plague. When my husband suggested we have black beans for dinner, my reaction was: Beans? Why yes. I'm going to be home this morning. Hot beans simmering on the stove... Why, that sounds downright delightful! Why didn't I think of that?

And I really have been meaning to make some muffins. My kids have a mean case of muffin envy and keep talking about the pumpkin muffins Heather's kids have been packing for school snacks while we suffer every day through the same-ol' same-ol' boring crackers and apple slices.

OK. So I'm going to reveal something here that might make child safety advocates scream foul and rush to save my offspring. When the oven has finished baking, I usually crack the door a bit and let all the heat fill my kitchen instead of venting to the outdoors the way it's built to work. Do normal people do this? (I still harbor guilt over using the oven to heat my cheap college rentals in instances where the landlord wouldn't turn the heat on 'til November or December -- and this was Wisconsin). Typically I only open the oven door right after dinner is cooked and all the little fingers and toes are safely seated at the kitchen table. Also, my kids have reached an age where I can say: Please don't burn yourself on that hot oven door, and for the most part, they listen to my words. Obviously, this wouldn't be practical if you have toddlers or younger.

And here's one more sorta related tip. Well, more of a housecleaning item. If your pantry is stocked with stuff you know you won't eat, and it's already been opened and tried (so a food pantry won't take it). Meet up with all your mom friends for a coffee, and at the end of the coffee offer up your goods. A friend of mine did this right after school started, and while she was apologizing for foisting all this stuff on us, no apologies were necessary as we happily snatched up items we wanted to try. Hence the apple-cinnamon muffins I'm making today.

How are you generating heat while freezing your tush?