A Butternut Squash Soup kind of day

Good morning, Crushers!

Steve and I have been working on getting through some of the veggies we still had stored in our freezer from last fall's harvest. We recently ate roasted beets from his family's garden. Remember when they turned my hands purple? Fortunately, that didn't happen when we roasted them this time! HA!

I had some left over butternut squash from fall when I made risotto with my grandpa. Freezing the leftovers really paid off because I was able to turn the squash into a really nice soup last weekend. Perfect for a Tuesday night dinner with some fancy grilled cheese (provolone with spinach and mushrooms - yum!). This recipe made enough for the both of us for dinner plus three 2-cup containers for the freezer!

I took a the Butternut Squash and Carrot soup recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and tweaked it. I didn't have enough carrots on hand, so I substituted potatoes. Also, I couldn't find nutmeg anywhere in the house, so I used cinnamon instead. The soup was a bit sweet, but it was a nice compliment to the salty grilled cheese.


Butternut Squash Soup:
Ingredients:
3-4 cups butternut squash, peeled and chopped into one inch pieces
2 cups potatoes (I used red potatoes), peeled and chopped into small pieces
1/2 a large onion, diced
1 Tbsp butter
1 32 oz box container of low-sodium chicken broth (veggie broth would work too)
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup half-and-half or heavy whipping cream

Gear you'll need: A large sauce pan or pot, measuring cups and spoons, a blender or food processor, a sharp knife, cutting board and veggie peeler.

Directions:
I was fortunate enough to already have peeled my squash, so I didn't have to do that again. What a challenge! Anyway, peel your potatoes and dice them and the onions if you haven't already done so. Put the potatoes, squash, diced onion and butter in the pan/pot and cook for about 7-8 minutes stirring occasionally. They should be tender when you poke them with a knife.

Simmerin' away...

Once the veggies are tender, add the broth and bring it to a boil. Turn down the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for a good 25 minutes. You can stir it occasionally. Your squash and potatoes might start to break down a bit. That's perfectly OK since you're going to puree it in a minute.

While that's simmering away, assemble your blender or food processor. I know that I'm one of the biggest food processor fans in the whole world, but I chose to use a blender for this one. I KNOW. Here's why:

1. I knew I would be pouring hot liquids and the blender has a spout.
2. It is easy to measure with the lines on the side of the blender, although you don't REALLY need to measure too much.
3. It is easy to clean up!
4. It has a puree button.
5. I couldn't find the right attachment that I wanted to use on my food processor.

Really, numbers 1 and 4 were my biggest reasons, but I figured I'd share them all just in case it sways you one way or the other.

Make sure the lid is on tight!

Once you're all done simmering, add about 1/3 of the mixture to the blender, make sure you have the lid on securely, and puree the heck out of it! Make sure it's nice and creamy. Although the original recipe said to return it to your sauce pan, I just put it in a big bowl that has a lid because I knew I'd be storing it before we'd eat it. As you repeat the steps to puree the mixture, be careful that you don't spill and burn your fingers or arm.

TRUST ME. IT'S VERY HOT.

Anyway, once you've got that all done and in a large bowl or back in your sauce pan, add the cream and spices. You could have added the spices already, so if you did, that's fine. I don't think it matters too terribly much. All the real chefs out there can prove me wrong in the comments if you'd like!

Now you can divide the soup into "now and later" portions or you can just stand there with a spoon and eat it. There's no judging here.

Enjoy!

Virtual Running Date No. 26: I have purple fingers thanks to the beets

Good morning, Crushers!

If we were on a virtual running date, I would tell you all about our vegetables. LOTS OF THEM.  I believe I mentioned this last week, but this weekend, I spent a good amount of time tackling these veggies, so I get to say it again. More gnocchi was made with delicata squash (same recipe as last time, but I added a little Parmesan cheese to it).

I also peeled and blanched a huge bag of carrots and a ton of beets. That's why my fingers turned purple. See?

Thankfully, a little scrub with some baking soda and it came off!

If we were on a running date, I'd tell you about how I peeled all the veggies, then put them in boiling water for no longer than 5 minutes. Let them cool a bit before bagging them up to freeze. That, Crushers, is how you blanch.

All the carrots!

We've got the Beets!

I cannot take credit for this. I actually had to call my Kitchen Crush mom and ask how to do it. I always get "shocking" and "blanching" mixed up. The first is taking it from boiling to an ice bath and the other is just to boil it for a short time. Here is how I plan to remember this:

"Shh" is the sound you make when you step out into the cold in winter. Shh = Shocking

Blanch and Boil start with B. It's kind of Dr. Seuss-y.

Anyway, that's all done thankfully!

We were not the only ones with veggies on the brain. When we went running on Saturday morning, we headed past the farmer's market. Too bad we know a million people because our 3-plus-mile run turned into a 2.5 mile run. We had to stop and talk to people. Or, well, we didn't have to, but it's hard to pass up saying hello to your friends.

Speaking of friends, if this were a virtual running date, I would tell you how my friend Kalie is coming to visit from Texas. I can't wait to have her here in town. She is the one that introduced me to 7-Up Biscuits. Maybe we'll have to make some while she's in town with a nice roasted chicken... Yum!

Note to self: learn how to roast a chicken...

Roasty-toasty potatoes and pork chops (Wildtree stuff)

Good morning, Crushers!

Have you ever had one of those mornings where you know it's going to take a little more make up than usual to feel and look awake? Yeah, it's one of those mornings.

Source

I should be all rested and relaxed after last night's delicious dinner. Not going to lie, I kind of winged it, and it worked out. WIN!

Last week, Steve bought a big package of boneless pork chops. Before popping the whole package in the freezer, I divided them in two freezer bags and added some Wildtree goodies. One bag has four pork chops and a 1/4 cup of Wildtree Wicked Good Slow Cooker sauce in the freezer, and the other had four pork chops, 2 Tbsp Wildtree Natural Grapeseed Oil and about 1.5 Tbsp lemon and rosemary blend.

While I was waiting for Steve to get home from a meeting last night, I drizzled four small chopped potatoes in olive oil and some more of the Wildtree seasoning and then added beets because they sounded all good and fall-ish. Mix those veggies up and spread them out on a baking sheet. Then I popped them in the oven for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees F, or until Steve got home. It was about 30 minutes...

Tip: When baking beets, I suggest lining your baking pan with some aluminum foil. Beet juice can really stain things (as I found on on a white towel recently and you can see on the potatoes below), so why make more of a mess than you have to? Clean up is easy too, since all you have to do is toss the aluminum foil!

Anyway, I put the pork chops in a frying pan with no extra oil or anything, and let them sizzle way for 4 minutes on each side. Then I turned it on low to keep it warm until Steve got home.

Here are the pork chops half way through.
The long sprigs of rosemary are from our garden. Time to flip!

We ate a late dinner of pork chops, roasted veggies and applesauce for our sweet. It was so good!

Had to eat all this good stuff before I could get the applesauce out. Yum!

Hope this meal brightens up your morning! It's really cloudy here in Milwaukee. Maybe I'll go put another swipe of mascara on!

Beet summer

Hi Crushers,
I've been enjoying a lot of wonderful food here in Australia. We went out last night for sushi in Chinatown. So good! I bravely tried a few different types of sushi that I've never eaten including spicy salmon. It might be my new favorite.
Another new favorite? Beet salad. This cold, summery salad is a wonderful side dish! I can't wait to get home and try out Martha Stewart's recipe for Tomato-Beet Salad. Doesn't that look wonderful?
Have a wonderful day from Darling Harbor!

Very fuzzy picture of a didgeridoo player. In order to play one, you must "buzz" your lips (trumpet players would understand), use your voice box to throw sounds, use your tongue to make a beat and breath in through your nose and out through your mouth at the SAME TIME. Kudos to anyone who can actually play one.