Butternut Squash Soup

This soup is sort of like eating pumpkin pie...it's yummy (if you like squash...if you don't you probably won't be too excited)

Butternut Squash Soup

2 lb. cubed butternut squash (I bought some at Costco)
2 T butter
2 leeks (or you could just use more onions)
2 brown onions
2-3 cloves minced garlic
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 apple, peeled and cubed (I used a Honey Crisp)
32 oz chicken broth (I used Kitchen Basics from Safeway)
1 C apple juice (I used Barsotti's fresh pressed)
3 cinnamon sticks

I used my big red cast iron pot, but any soup pot will work. Saute the onions and garlic a bit in the butter about 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover and simmer about 40 minutes until everything's tender. Remove the cinnamon sticks and puree in blender (I used the Vitamix). Salt and pepper to taste...serve with sour cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg.
This was very reminiscent of pumpkin pie...next time I think I'll use curry.

Food Rules

I happened to hear Oprah the other day..and the author was on...he also wrote The Omnivore's Dilemma... (Food Rules is on sale on Amazon for $5)

Some of the rules:
#1 Eat Food (not edible foodlike substances)
#2 Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouln't recognize as food
#13 Eat only foods that will eventually rot.
#19 If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't.
#24 Eating what stands on one leg (mushrooms and plant foods)is better than eating what stands on two feet (fowl), which is better than eating what stands on four feet(cows, pigs and other mammels).
#36 Don't eat breakfast foods that change the color of the milk.

Recently Read

January...this past month's reading (and listening)

The Heretic's Daughter (audio)by Kathleen Kent
The author is a descendent of one of the women hanged as a witch in Salem, MA in 1692. She combines the historical records with family stories that have been passed down for a very insightful telling of this strange and fascinating episode of colonial history...if you love historical fiction you'l love this...it is told from the point of view of Martha Carrier's (the supposed witch) 10 year old daughter who was also arrested and held in prison several months.




The Lovely Bones....Alice Sebold
I resisted reading this until recently when Aunt Val said it was good...and it was, despite the subject matter...I haven't seen the movie...usually the movie isn't as good as the book.




Laura Lippmann(audio)...No Good Deeds
Just a mystery...fairly good.


Steve Martini(audio)...Guardian of Lies





David Baldacci(audio)....First Family





Tanya Gibson...How to Buy a Love of Reading
I got this because the title was intriguing ...but I just couldn't get into it! It was really annoying...and I had checked it out of the library (since I'm trying to cut back on excessive book buying) and had to return it.




Lise Eliot...Pink Brain, Blue Brain
Another "brain book" on gender differences...but this one says the initial differences are quite small and may have been exaggerated by recent popular books...always fascinating reading about the brain!

Ambrosia

Every winter after Christmas our orange trees ripen up and produce some amazing fruit...so this is a great way to use some oranges...it's great even if you have to buy them....it's also fun to use your handy pineapple corer, slicer(thank you Kristi!)...just "screw" the corer down into the pineapple...



And pull out perfectly cored and sliced pineapple...





Then cut into small chunks and mix with about 4 oranges, peeled and cut up...
(Of course, you can just cut up a pineapple any way you want...)




and about 1 C coconut....Voila! It keeps well refrigerated for several days...

Onion Soup

French Onion Soup

6 medium brown onions
2 T butter
2 t sugar
1/2 t salt
1/2 C red wine (optional...I usually don't have any)
6-8 C beef broth (I use that beef paste you mix with water)
1/2 t thyme (again,optional)
Swiss cheese, grated
French Bread

Peel and slice the onions; cook with the butter, sugar and salt until slightly browned...either about 1/2 hour on the stove, or this time I left them in my crock pot for a couple of hours since I was going to be gone...add the wine, broth and thyme and simmer for another 1/2 hour (or keep cooking in the crock pot)
To serve, toast the french bread slices...you can leave them whole, but I usually cut them into chunks (like big croutons) to float on top of the bowls of soup. Cover with the grated cheese and broil until melted (or heat each bowl in the microwave about 40 seconds)


This picture is kind of skimpy on the cheese because I forget to take a picture until we had eaten almost all of it!

Dave's Favorite Cookies

Pineapple Cookies
(This is a double recipe...it makes a bunch!)

2 C shortening(Crisco)
2 C white sugar
2 C brown sugar
4 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple(including juice)
8 C flour
4 t baking pwder
1 t salt
2 C chopped walnuts

Cream shortening, sugars, eggs, vanilla; add pineapple and dry ingredients, nuts. Drop with "cookie scoop" on pans sprayed with Pam; bake at 350 about 12-15 minutes (we don't like them very brown)...let cool on pans 5 minutes and remove to finish cooling on paper towels. Glaze when cool with 3 C powdered sugar thinned with milk and a little flavoring if desired...orange or pineapple juice or almond flavoring.

Happy Birthday, Dustin!

And our final (I think) January birthday is DUSTIN! Happy birthday, Dustin...thanks for being a great son-in-law, and (along with Kendra) giving us beautiful grandsons, (even a red headed one!) We love your energy and your excitement for life!