Monday, October 14, 2013

Virtual Running Date No. 28: More Fall Soups!

Good morning, Crushers!

October is here in full force with wind and rain mixed with sun and falling leaves. It's gorgeous! If we were on a running date, I'd be talking all about fall. Fall is soup time for me. If you hadn't noticed from the other soup recipes that I posted from Susan, I'm going to give you another today.

If we were running today, I'd tell you about how excited I am that we are expecting a new nephew today! I cannot wait to meet the little man and shower him with kisses and snuggles. Fortunately, that's just what we get to do this coming weekend! So excited!

If we were running today, I'd tell you how Steve and I went running this past weekend and then got caught in a heavy downpour. Rain is good for the ground and all, but blinding when you're running without a hat, right? After that, we went to see the homecoming football game for the high school where Steve teaches. And it rained some more. With lightning! Being the dedicated fans we are, we huddled together under an umbrella and stuck it out until they cleared the kids to come back out on the field to keep playing.
Empty the field! (note how we're winning)

Rain, rain go away! The stands are soaked and kids want to play!

Pre-rain
 If we were running today, I'd tell you how proud I am of my friends Margaret and Kristen who did the Chicago Marathon yesterday. All I could think of was that moment at the beginning of my last half marathon where we all took a few seconds to remember what happened in Boston. Those few moments of silence are enough to make you tear up.

If we were running today, I'd tell you about the wonderful spaghetti squash that I roasted last night while I was baking bread (which turned out so well). It's ready for some spicy African sausage that we found at the farmers' market last week. The sausage is called boerewors, which is a South African sausage based on a Dutch recipe. It's very lean and flavorful. I'm excited to try it with some squash and marinara sauce. We might also throw it in some jambalaya. Yum! So hungry now!
I had two different sized loaf pans. Can you tell?

If we were running today, I'd just keep up the recipe sharing and let you know about this bratwurst and butternut squash stew recipe I just found on Chow.com. I think I'll use it for my office's annual fall food challenge. It seems nice and hearty, and I could use a turkey sausage to make it healthier. Otherwise, it's all veggies! Maybe I'll replace some of the potatoes with carrots. What do you think?

Bratwurst and Butternut Squash Stew

  • 1 (1-pound) butternut squash
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 12 ounces fresh Bratwurst Sausage (about 3 sausages - I'll probably use turkey sausage)
  • 1 medium yellow onion, medium dice
  • 4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 10 ounces red potatoes, large dice (maybe use some carrots or yams instead?)
  • 3/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
  • 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes and their juices
  • 3 cups water
  • 6 ounces baby spinach
Doesn't that sound delicious?!
 
Have a wonderful day, Crushers!

4 comments:

  1. What bread recipe did you use to make those two loaves? They look so yummy! Were they easy to make? I keep going back and forth about making bread :\

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Susan,
      I use the recipe from the little cookbook that came with my KitchenAid Mixer. I highlighted it here: http://kitchencrushes.blogspot.com/2013/01/bread-two-variations-one-dough.html

      The white bread is wonderful, but I've found that the wheat bread recipe is too dense. I make the bread with half regular (white) flour and half wheat flour for a nice middle ground.

      Delete
    2. Also, it's incredibly easy to make, but you have to have at least 2 hours to make it since it needs time to rise.

      Delete
  2. Thanks Jen! I will check it out. Maybe next weekend i will have to try my hand at it!

    ReplyDelete