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!

Kitchen Catch Ups

Hello blog world!

I have been cooking relatively simple things lately and working on other house projects, so I haven't made anything cool lately. Unless you want some pictures of Sloppy Joes or brats on a grill, I've got nothing. We had corn on the cob, baked beans, and (gasp!) box pasta salads as side dishes.

Here are a few quick tips for the foods mentioned above.
1. The canned Sloppy Joe sauce says that it has a whole serving of veggies for every sandwich. I'm not sure I buy that, so I always add diced onions, mushrooms and green peppers. I like a little crunch, so I add them to the browned ground beef after it's cooked but before I add the sauce. If you like them with less crunch, then add them right away.
2. Both the baked beans and the pasta salad give you lots of options for "add-ins". With the baked beans, we added some hot sauce (like Franks) and onions. With the pasta salad, I added some chopped tomatoes. You could also add some grated carrots or cucumbers, but I had neither in the house.
3. Corn on the cob is amazing no matter what. If you eat it with mayonnaise and chili powder as my friend learned to do in Mexico or with a little butter and salt or with nothing at all. It's pretty hard to screw up this amazingly summer-fresh veggie.
4. With the brats, make sure your grill is nice and hot and that there's a beer or other beverage of choice in your hand. Then just go enjoy the great outdoors and the sizzle of brats on the grill.

We ate relatively easy things this week because we've been so busy in other parts of our lives that we haven't spent much time in the kitchen. However, I'm hosting a Thirty-One party soon, so I'll have some fun party snacks to share soon. Plus, it's Football Season, which is like a weekly holiday in Wisconsin or for any NFL or College ball fan. This means that there will be some fun finger foods coming up!

If you have a recipe to share, please post it in the comments!