Soup of the Day: Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

Fall, widely understood to be the greatest and most wonderful time of the year, is not just about peaking colors and dropping temperatures, but flavors.  We all associate certain dishes, ingredients, and flavors with fall.  While I am a major contributing culprit of the pumpkin overkill culture, today, I’m rooting for the underdog: Butternut squash.

Yes, it’s fairly similar to pumpkin in taste and texture, and yes, its shape and flesh-toned exterior make for super awkward grocery shopping trips in which you want to shout “I REALLY AM GOING TO COOK AND EAT THIS, PERVERTS!”

I digress.  The butternut squash is charming for many reasons, but largely because each squash has a love note inside:

What’s up, Butternut?

Tonight, the butternut squash charmed us in the form of soup.  Delicious, fall-in-a-bowl, soup:

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

(adapted from eMeals)  Serves: 4-6

1 1/4 lb butternut squash, peeled and cubed
3/4 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 T olive oil
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp kosher salt (plus more to taste)
1/4 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp dried thyme
1 cup half-and-half
1 T thinly sliced green onions, for serving
Shredded Parmesan cheese, for serving

Heat oil in a Dutch oven.  Add squash, potatoes, and onion and saute 6 minutes:

Stir in broth and 1 cup of water.  Season with salt, pepper and thyme:

Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered, 25 to 30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

Remove Dutch oven from heat and let cool 5 minutes.  Using an immersion hand blender, puree the vegetables into a thick but smooth consistency.  Stir in half-and-half:

Serve immediately, topping with cheese and green onions:

This soup is great with Parmesan French bread toasts (because, can there ever truly be enough cheese?)  Enjoy!

 

Carrot Cake Trifle

My family is, if anything, efficient.  This Sunday, we celebrated Easter (April 20th), my husband’s belated birthday (April 8th) and my father’s upcoming birthday (April 23rd).

As an efficient family, we typically delegate tasks according to how much time each person has that particular weekend, and after much debate, I was given dessert.  As previously admitted, I am not a baker or dessert maker.

Because it was Easter, and both the birthday boys were fans of carrot cake, I start scouring Pinterest for a recipe.  I pinned a few, including a very impressive looking trifle recipe, but decided I didn’t want to take a chance on an “unknown”.  So, I went to my favorite and most dependable source:  Brown Eyed Baker.  Her blog lets you browse by ingredients, so I moseyed over to the C’s for carrot recipes, and lo and behold – the trifle recipe I had pinned was hers!  As it turns out, the trifle was originally a three-layer cake, but due to her cakes sticking to the pan, she called an audible.  You will be shocked…shocked, I say…to hear that my cakes also stuck to the pan, so a trifle it was for me as well!  Luckily, even I can’t mess up her delicious recipes, so this is my new go-to carrot cake/trifle recipe!

OK, so my aesthetic and photography skills need some work, but it was delicious!

(adapted from Brown Eyed Baker)

 

Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 teaspoon salt
10 oz bag of grated carrots
1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, plus more for garnish (optional)
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 eggs

Icing:
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature (1 1/2 boxes)
6 ounces (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature (1 1/2 sticks)
1 1/2 pound (~5 2/3 cups) powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Thoroughly grease and flour three 9×2-inch round cake pans (these cakes are prone to sticking). Put two pans on one baking sheet and one on another.

2. Pulse the grated carrots in a food processor or blender until finely chopped.  Transfer carrots to a medium bowl, and stir together with coconut and walnuts.  Set aside.

3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice and salt.  Set aside.

4. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and oil together on medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one, and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently stir in the carrots, coconut, and walnuts by hand. Pour evenly in the three baking pans.

5. Bake for 40 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back after about 20 minutes, until a thin knife inserted into the centers comes out clean; the cakes will have just started to come away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

6. To make the frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract until well-combined.

7. Once the cakes are cool enough to handle, carefully crumble the first cake into the bottom of a large trifle dish (for more layers, crumble only half of the first cake) and top with a generous layer of icing.  Repeat layers until the dish is full, top with icing, and garnish with walnuts (or extra cake crumbles – both look nice!)  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

(For a traditional cake, stack the layers, spreading a generous amount of icing between layers and then cover the top and sides. Garnish with walnuts and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.)

 

New Year’s Disillusions

Now that I have firmly established myself as an inconsistent, unscheduled, and disorganized writer, I am confident to pick up exactly where I left off.  Wait, where was I?  OK, maybe I should just start with now.

It’s yet another new year and I’m sure the health food aisles and gyms are bursting at the seams with those of high hopes and good intentions.  I, on the other hand, know the house always wins this game of inevitability, and I like to start out ahead.  So no sweeping resolutions here.  No schedule-morphing, habit-dissolving, life-changing goals for me.

I find unattainable goals to be one of the greatest evils.  We are taught from childhood “You can be ANYTHING you want if you put your mind to it.”  Unfortunately, with sheer will power alone, I could never be, for example, male.  Or seven feet tall.  It’s an optimism epidemic.

So, I choose to go the way of the dangling carrot, and set generally moderate, yet feasible goals:

I want to be nicer.  Not the nicest person who ever lived.  Not nicer than everyone I know.  Just somewhat nicer than I am now.  To others, to myself, in thought, and in speech.  I want to more often assume the best of others, and not the worst.  I want to immediately think of you instead of me.

I want to be healthier.  Not lose 100 pounds or run a marathon.  Just be all around, holistically healthier.  Eat good food.  Spend non-couch time*.  Cook a lot.  Read a lot.  Cuddle.  Laugh at life (not at others).

[*Except when trying to surpass your husband’s XboxLive Gamerscore.  Virtual improvement is still improvement, right?]

I want to read more.  Truly read, not skim.  Not read a greater quantity of books, but remember more character’s names.  Be able to recount more plot points.

I want to care less about inflammatory statements, and more about the accuracy of my own.  I want to care less about the bill after an excellent meal, and more about the tip I leave.  I want to care more about what my husband will think of my outfit on date nights, and less about my ever present and unsightly facial hair.

2014 is looking pretty doable to me.

 

Young Me

Dear Young Me,

Sup.  We need to chat.

You know how you’ve got it all figured out?  How you’re smarter than your peers, most adults, and most definitely your parents?  How your opinions about life and religion are, in fact, accurate and as such, will never change?

*Spoiler alert*, you don’t, you aren’t, and oh, will they ever.

They say hindsight is 20/20.  So I’m writing to preemptively correct your vision.

Over the next decade (and then some), everything will change.  People you elevate to near perfection will disappoint you.  You will disappoint yourself.  Repeatedly.  You will be wrong.  Consistently.  Absolutes will become a hazy gray.  Never evers will become, eh sometimes.  You will come to adamantly disagree with many of the ideologies of a church you once wholeheartedly supported.  You will become disenchanted.

But here’s the catch.  Here’s the secret that if you will learn now, you will truly be ahead of the game.  That is life.  No one is exempt from disappointments and just being plain wrong sometimes.  So your options are to:
A) flip out, get your heart rate flaring, wail, stomp feet, gnash teeth, and assume you are alone in the universe.
B) allow yourself a moment of slumped shoulders, maybe some chocolate, maybe a tear or two, a deep breath, and then a realization this too shall pass.

You will find that once you start consistently going with option B, your glass might be a little more full than empty.  You might find angry, offensive people that surround you aren’t all that bad, they just went with option A and their glass is in need of a refill.  The point is, you can only control your reaction and you have a choice.

Over the same decade (and then some), everything else changes.  People you looked down on will pleasantly surprise you.  You start making better decisions and occasionally will impress yourself.  Every once in a while, you will get something right.  Your lack of absolutes and never evers will allow you to judge less, love more, and earnestly forgive (even yourself).  You will replace a love of church with a love of God.  And best of all, you will choose to be happy.  Oh, you will sometimes indulge in option A, as you are rather skilled in the wailing and gnashing of teeth department.  But option B gets easier to pick each time (and it does great things for your blood pressure).

As a side note, you will never grow out of children’s books and you will marry a man you do not deserve.  You should visit your grandparents every chance you get.  Oh, and be nicer to your parents.  They’re on your side.

Love,

Me/You

P.S. A wise man (who you will eventually work for) once told me everyone should learn to play one musical instrument, learn to speak one foreign language, and visit one foreign country.  Then he said, once you’ve done that, do it again.  Help me out and start now, would you?

P.P.S. Please quit eating junk food now.  You will thank me later.

 

Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

 

Non-Fiction Kudos

I have never been a fan of non-fiction.  Let’s face it.  Even the fiction I read is pretty out there, so why would I read something non-fantastical, let alone based on truth?  Sounds like a snooze to me.

But then I go and get married.  And this guy reads non-fiction almost as exclusively as I avoid it.  We have the great debate of Fiction vs. Non-Fiction on a regular basis in our home (which usually ends with him giving up and saying “Whatever, fiction is lame!” to which I maturely respond “Your face is lame!”)

In spite of my obviously superior talents of debate, on occasion, he can convince me to brave the entirely normal, magic free, alternate universe lacking pages of a non-fiction book.  His most recent victory was Jon Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven, the harrowing story of two Fundamentalist Mormon brothers who commit a violent murder in the name of God.  The book becomes an account of the evolution of the Mormon religion, the growth of fundamentalist branches within the religion, and episodes of violence throughout, including the Mountain Meadows Massacre.  In addition to being an extremely well-told story that was entertaining (if not disturbing), I feel like….as if I possibly…..learned something (gasp!).  Unlike the time I learned all the territories of Westeros and the Free Cities in the Game of Thrones, or when I learned the proper pronunciation and use for the spells in Harry Potter, this time I think I learned something about myself and my own beliefs. 

In short:  Man is infinitely fallible.  Religion is man-made.  Therefore, religion is infinitely fallible.

God is infallible.  And that’s all I need.

 

Evenly “Yolked”

Mom always told my sister and I to find a man to marry with whom we were evenly yoked.  While in morals, goals, and spirituality I may have suceeded, I dismally failed when it comes to boiled eggs.  I love them.  He hates them.  Not “dislikes” or “doesn’t care for”, but hates them.  The smell, the texture, the taste; everything.  He’s tried to ban me from cooking them in “his kitchen” (statements which are immediately retracted after the death glare he receives).

I love boiled eggs, deviled eggs, egg salad, egg sandwiches, you name it.  I try to be a courteous egg eater.  When bringing any variety of boiled egg to work in my lunch, I try to loudly broadcast “I promise that’s my sandwich you’re smelling, not me!”  OK, so it may be a little self-serving, but I consider it a Public Service Announcement for my co-workers.

One of the best things about making boiled eggs at home (other than the wide variety of what you can do with them and the general deliciousness) is that the cat shares my love of eggs.  She can be passed smooth out in the other end of the house, but as soon as I tap an egg on the sink to begin peeling, she will be glued to my ankle, begging for a piece.  She will devour any bit I give her (whites, yolks, she doesn’t discriminate) and comes back for more.  And it drives him insane.

Mogli was thrilled when I found this “Hippie Egg Salad” recipe in Food&Wine magazine and gave it a shot.  Here’s my slightly altered version:

5 large hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1/4c light mayo
1T grated carrot
1/2T apple cider vinegar
1tsp Dijon mustard
1T minced celery
1tsp dried parsley
1tsp dried tarragon
1tsp chives
1T salted sunflower seeds
Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste

Mix everything together and spread over toasted bread.  You can make this ahead of time and it will keep for a few days, but you may want to add sunflower seeds just before serving to ensure a good crunch.  I mixed mine all together, including the seeds, and ate on it for 2 or 3 days and it was perfectly fine.  Just a matter of your texture preference.

Enjoy!  Mogli and I did!

 

Christmas Love

Christmas has landed!

 

The Books that Ruin Us

Last night, I finished the best book I’ve read in a while, The Name of the Wind.  And to be honest, I feel like it somewhat ruined me for other books.

Not to say I’ve been reading garbage up until now, it’s quite the opposite in fact.  I finally started the George R.R. Martin series and have finished A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings, both of which were fantastic.  I’ve also catered to my inner child and fell in love with what should become new classics, The Magician’s Elephant and Gossamer.  I most recently read the Wool series which was an excellent fix for a dystopian craving.  So it is not as if I have been in a dreaded literary dry spell.

But the reason Patrick Rothfuss ruined me with the first book in his Kingkiller Chronicle series is a combination factors.  The characters are brilliantly complex and endearingly human (even the ones who aren’t human).  The world he creates becomes tangible.  The magic system is awesomely unique.  But probably more than anything else, it’s extremely well written and flows effortlessly, making you forget you are reading quite the tome.  It ruins me because I will be intensely critical of every book I read in the near future, in comparison.  Every book lover knows the feeling, and while it doesn’t last long, I will be temporarily, and inconsolably, unimpressed with anything less.  Thank God there are two more books in this series.

I happened onto this book through my online book club, Read by Theme.  My sister-in-law, who is the biggest bibliophile I know (and blogs about it), introduced me to both Goodreads and this particular book club.  Club members vote on book themes, which have been suggested by members, at random for upcoming months.  Most themes are very broad and would work for any type of reader, but it is especially handy for those of us who stress over what to read next.  The themes since I have joined have been “Books with a Blue Cover”, “Books Set in England”, “Books with a Teenage Protagonist”, “Highest Rated Book” and “Most Recently Added Book”.  The Name of the Wind was my highest rated book when that theme came up, and as it turns out, 73,969 people averaging a 4.55 out of 5 star rating weren’t wrong.

So.  Do tell.  What books have ruined you?

 

Cupcakes!

My husband can bake.  I cannot.  He can tackle a completely from-scratch baking project, and it will not only taste great but look just as enticing.  I, on the other hand, can ruin a boxed cake mix (or as my husband calls them, blasphemy boxes).  So when recently asked to help make cupcakes for a work friend’s owl themed baby shower, I shuddered.  It’s one thing for me to bomb dessert for family, but coworkers?  Bosses?  Shudder.

But, as I tend to do, I said, “Sure!” 

I ended up finding a DIY yellow cake mix on Pinterest that saved my baking reputation (or at least I hope it did).  The mix was cheap, easy and, as much as I hate to admit it, kinda fun to make.  Because I live in an area with very limited grocery store options, all of which sell the most basic produce and baking ingredients, Pinterest saved me again with this DIY cake flour for the mix and this cream cheese buttercream frosting (otherwise known as, my new favorite frosting in the world).

Cupcakes: check.  Now, presentation.  Double shudder.  Luckily, I get by with a little help from my friends, and Jessica and I were able to make some semi-recognizable “owls”:

One week later, my sister decided to throw her husband a surprise 40th birthday party.  And guess who got asked to make the cupcakes.  And guess who, yet again, said, “Sure!”  My confidence unusually elevated from the baby shower non-disaster, I decided on an “Old As Dirt” theme for the cupcakes…mainly just so I could put crushed Oreo “dirt” in everything!

Using the same cake mix and frosting recipes from the shower, these turned out great!  I just mixed some crushed Oreos into the batch of frosting, then used more to decorate. 

So, even though my husband maintains the title “Best Baker” in our house, I think I’ve earned the title “Best Baker Faker”.