Virtual Running Date No. 51: 6 miles, hummus, and coleslaw

Hello Crushers!

If we were on a running date, I would have a lot to tell you. First, I'm signed up for another half marathon. This time I'll be running through the gorgeous Peninsula State Park in Door County. This will be the longest race that I've run since Ellie was born. I did a training run on Saturday for 6.29 miles! WHOO!

If we were on a running date, I would confess how hard it has been to get back into running. Since Ellie has a spring birthday, I got to take her on lots of walks and we took her hiking all over Wisconsin and even took a trip to Denver to visit friends (Hi Susan and family!). There were lots of people that saw us hiking through the mountains, and stopped us to say, "You have a baby. On the trail. In the mountains." Yes, yes we do have a baby. She hikes. She's awesome.

But you know what? It's not awesome when you're struggling with this weird guilt that you want to go and do something by yourself (run) and you miss your running partner (Steve) because you now have to share. You have to split your running time so that one person runs while the other person watches the baby. As much as she loves the running stroller, she probably wouldn't sit in it for anything more than 4 miles. Plus, there's this jealousy that Steve got to go running while I couldn't. And even now when she doesn't sleep through the night, I'm just tired even though I know I need to keep running for my health and sanity. It's rough. Mommies need to stop judging each other. We judge ourselves plenty!

If we were on a running date, I would catch you up on a few things in our family. One of Steve's sisters and my sister had a baby in 2014, too! That's right, there are lots of tiny girls in our family! So many little ones to bring us joy, and wow they are good at it! Sadly, we had to say good bye to my maternal grandfather (pictured here) in January. He got the flu, pneumonia, COPD, and had other health issues related to those things. He was doing alright until something took a quick turn for the worse. Grandma missed him and God called him home to Heaven. As much as I miss him, my friend, and I miss him A LOT, he is in a better place. The best place. My paternal grandfather is starting to slip away from us with Alzheimer's disease. He is angry a lot of the time and taking out his struggles on my dad. Please send up a prayer if you have a moment. Both for the arrival of healthy babies (another of Steve's sisters is due with her 2nd baby in October!), and for those who are/were caregivers. 

If we were on a running date, I would tell you that we had a delicious weekend (this is a food-based blog, right?) with homemade coleslaw, a new recipe for a torte I'll try out in the next few weeks, and lemon garlic hummus. Not to toot my own horn, but I came up with the lemon garlic hummus and submitted the recipe to Wildtree and they made it and took a picture (that credit goes to Wildtree) and posted it on Instagram and it was amazing! Not amazing - my run-on sentence. Whatever. I FINALLY HAVE A PUBLISHED (sort of) RECIPE! WHEE!

Ahem.

If we were on a running date, I would also tell you that the next few weeks are going to be fun because a) Girl's Weekend, b) Easter, and c) Ellie's 1st birthday. And I am good at themes and Pinterest recreations. How cute are these? Some bunny is going to be turning one... he he he... So many silly things I can do with that! Since her birthday happens to be after Easter this year, I am planning on getting deals on decorations and stuff. Or raiding a dollar store... Whatever.

If we were on a running date, I'd also tell you that class is going well. Most of my students are awesome and the rest are still nice. I also started a new job as a content writer for some manufacturing companies' websites. It won't be nearly as fun as this, but a nice challenge.

Coleslaw recipe coming soon...

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. 33: No excuses and lots of sharing!

Good morning Crushers!

I would like to apologize for my silence in the blog-o-sphere for the past week. It's been crazy around here. I do have a recipe to share and fun news.

If this were a running date, I would tell you that baby and I did some run/walking while Steve actually ran. It was nice that he was happy to just jog on his own. We've had some snow here in Wisconsin, and that means there's some icy spots hiding. I hate ice. I do not want to slip, especially now! Unless I have ice clinking in my glass of iced tea or lemonade or keeping my cooler chilly, I do not need ice.

If we were on a running date, I could tell you that we finally sold our house! After moving the closing date three times, we were able to close on Friday after Thanksgiving. So while everyone else was out buying things, we were selling! YAY! New home in 19 days... pictures will follow I'm sure.

If this were a running date, I would tell you that I got to spend time with two of the cutest dudes this weekend. See?

Oh the cuteness! Such chubby cheeks!

If this were a running date, I would share this adorable photo of my 97-year-old grandpa helping me make butternut squash risotto (recipe from Iowa Girl Eats here). And yes, you really can make risotto by pouring in all the broth at once. Just keep stirring! It was delicious, but I would definitely add more garlic than the recipe calls for. We have garlic lovers at our house!

He's carefully measuring squash for me.

One last fun piece of news! We had people guess the baby's gender at work and at Thanksgiving. Since we've been on this football theme, my friend Sarah made these yummy cupcakes.

People placed their bets!

And the answer...

Team Pink!

We're very excited to be able to call the baby "she" or say "her" instead of "it" all the time. Healthy baby girl on the way! Can't wait to decorate the new house and the baby's room!