Joy Bauer's 1-Minute Pumpkin Pudding

I'm a little bit obsessed with pumpkin. I eat it all year round—pumpkin oatmeal and pumpkin risotto are a few favorites. I also have some pumpkin ravioli in my freezer right now (thanks, mom!). I saw this video posted on Self Magazine's Healthy Bites blog and wanted to share it with you. I haven't tried it yet, but it's definitely on the to-do list!

What To Eat When "Healthy" Isn't An Option

Okay, so I know that women's magazines aren't exactly the best sources of dietary advice, but sometimes it's interesting to see where the rest of the world outside of a nutrition grad program is at.

On Glamour Magazine's Health and Fitness section this month, there is a piece called "What To Eat When Healthy Eating Isn't An Option," which describes various scenarios in which you might find yourself in a "nutritional wasteland," and what types of lesser-of-two-evils choices you can make to get the most nutritional bang for your buck.

Check it out here.

By now you've probably heard that Conde Nast is shutting down their magazines Gourmet and Cookie, along with three Bridal Magazines.

Gourmet has been around since 1941, enthralling readers with its articles about cooking and travel. As the New York Times puts it, "Gourmet poured money into sumptuous photography, test kitchens and exotic travel pieces, resulting in a beautifully produced magazine that lived, and sold, the high life."

In the current economic climate, I guess selling the high life isn't as profitable a business as it used to be. Fewer people can afford to be interested. Bon Appetit, however, which I've heard called the "younger, hipper sister" to Gourmet, has been doing better in both readership and ad sales, largely in part to the fact that it focuses more recipes than it does on the lifestyles of the rich and well-traveled.

I always think it's sad when a magazine folds. Having worked in publishing and seeing how people throw themselves into the creation of a product, I can imagine how sharp the sting must be, especially if you've been working on one of the most esteemed publications in its class.

On the flip side of that, I once had an interview at Cookie just as I was about to graduate from college, and boy, am I glad that didn't work out. Who knows, though? Perhaps even if it had worked out, I might have been laid off by now. I think what's happening in the publishing industry is really sad. The internet is great, but it's hardly a substitute for being able to bring a magazine on the bus to pass the time and relax.

Engagement Chicken Be Damned!

I should really stop browsing women's magazine websites when my brain needs downtime. Either that or Glamour needs to put an end to the Engagement Chicken hoopla. One blogger has been documenting her Engagement Chicken quest, and I don't know whether to be amused or disgusted.

I do kind of wonder whether I'm jealous, in a sense. I feel like every magazine I pick up "for entertainment" tells me to give my man his space when his team loses the big game and to routinely (but not so routinely as to take away the air of spontaneity) treat him to wings and beer. And then, when I'm ready to put the ol' settle down spell on him, I'm supposed to cook him a big freaking chicken stuffed with lemons and herbs and things.

Come on...

What about all the girls girls out there dating vegetarians who don't drink and aren't sports fans, huh?

And besides, what a way to stereotype men, suggesting that they can be won over by meat and fermented beverages. And does a woman really have to resort to cooking a big chicken with citrus shoved up its ass to coax her boyfriend into making her an honest woman? What does it say about the whole tradition of the man proposing marriage? I neither agree nor disagree—I just think it sends a message I'm not comfortable with.

I know it's just a roast chicken, but the whole thing kind of irks me.

Then again, my mom says my dad fell in love with her mashed potatoes and then her. So maybe I should be careful what I say. If it weren't for home-cooked comfort food, I might not be here...