Happy 3rd Birthday to this Buttercup Squash Soup

Sometime in the past (I'm not exactly sure when, so it's safe to say that it's at least a year or more in the past), I received some frozen pureed pumpkin and squash from Steve and Rachel. Now, at last, it has become time to use them.

I found a bag of buttercup squash in my freezer and decided to make a soup with it. Now that it's feeling all fall-y outside, my mind turns to squash soups and roasted vegetables and crock pot pork shoulders, which, coincidentally, is what I happened to have for dinner the other night.

The soup is the only thing I took a picture of, though. And here it is in all it's glory, dressed up with some slivers of red bell pepper and a couple dollops of goat cheese.

I used the recipe here, and it was just about the simplest soup I've ever thrown together. Having a bag of pureed squash (instead of raw chunks) helped a lot.

So, thanks to Steve and Rachel for the squash, and thanks to the squash for a delicious soup.

Ever wished your coffee cake was a little more...caffeinated? If not, it's only because you were never lucky enough to think of it.

It's unclear whether the extra caffeine or the smooth coffee flavor won her over, but Hazel is a fan.

Also, here is a map. Of Sorth America. That is not a typo.

Coffee cake recipe credit goes to mom, who clipped it from a USA Today some time ago and has been keeping it in her purse for several months so she could pull it out and drool over it. 

Adventures in Smoking

Just a teaser - more to come.

Kimchi

Yes, you read the title correctly. We've ventured into Kimchi territory. Even though neither Andy or I have even eaten Kimchi, we thought it would be a good idea to make some. And by some I mean a lot.

Andy slaughters the Napa cabbage.

 

We ended up buying this on Amazon. Anyone interested in making Kimchi should definitely just borrow some of this from me. You can't tell from the photo, but this a really big bag, and we only used a little bit. 

Chile powder, ginger, onions, garlic, miso paste, fish sauce, and a little apple juice.

I took a long time to take this picture (alla mom) and when I finally finished, Andy admitted the onions had been making his eyes water the whole time but he'd been trying to smile nicely. Sorry Andy, hehe. 

For anyone interested, we used the Foodie with Family recipe for Mak Kimchi. 

Almond Butter

This is going to be a really boring post. Only a couple pictures (and not even of the final product) and a few sentences masquerading as a recipe. BUT, the end result is so good that I think you should read it anyway. And then go make some almond butter. (You do need a food processor to do this, so if you don't have one you should probably come visit me and use mine. While you watch the kids and I take a nap.)

So here's the "recipe" - pour some unsalted almonds (I used raw but next time plan to roast them for a bit to see which way I prefer) into the bowl of a food processor. Turn it on. Wait for longer than you think necessary (about 10 minutes maybe), scraping down the bowl every few minutes. Just when you think it's going to be too dry and clumpy and you must have used bad almonds or you may even need a new food processor, all the oils will release and you will have almond butter. If you like you can add a little brown sugar or honey once the nuts are ground (see second photo) but before it actually turns into butter, and last time I also added cinnamon which I've really enjoyed.

I've been eating it on bagels, apples, pretzels, spoons...I'm guessing roughly 10% of my current body weight is thanks to almond butter.

Thursday Night Snacking

Once in a while you just have to ask yourself, "How long has it been since I've had a good Thursday night snack?"  I mean, not just a good snack and not just a lot of snack food, and not just an any-night-of-the-week fridge raid, but a really quite good snack.  Well you can decide for yourself if the following qualifies in any way, but as one who just finished eating it with satisfaction I give it my Thursday night stamp of approval.

I submit a humble english muffin; half topped with jam, and half with some unrecognizable savory trimmings.  This is my second attempt at making english muffins with our sourdough starter and I have to report they are edible (even pretty good, toasted - but a lot of things are better toasted).  Extrapolating the improvement of the second batch of muffins over the first, I should be winning some culinary awards around batch five. 

On to the exciting part - the toppings, half number one.  Butter and our thimbleberry jam (that's the red one).  Did you know that some people recommend straining the thimbleberries to get the seeds out when you make jam?  I suppose that would be thimbleberry jelly, but what's the point?  It takes long enough to pick those berries and I wouldn't be surprised if the seeds are more than half of what's left after you cook it down.  They're small enough, after all.  And they lend a satisfying, miniscule crunch. 

Half number two was a little more risky in the topping.  I started with goat cheese.  Knowing that goat cheese sometimes reminds me of - ahh, goat - I thought it might be good to dress it up a little.  Enter Olive Grove's 18 yr Traditional Balsamic Vinegar and some sprigs of thyme that we've been keeping in the snack drawer of the fridge.  After all, if they're in the snack drawer, they're fair game for a snack!  It was a total risk mixing these flavors, and I was surprised to find that the flavors blended really well (and didn't make me think of goat).  I'd like clarify that I did not stack these like a sandwich - they were enjoyed sequentially. 

So now we've covered the snack itself and you might be asking, "What else would make a good Thursday night snack?"  For your convenience I've made a cheat sheet.

• Trying new combinations of ingredients = Good!  After all, it's not the weekend and you might have something creative to do on a Thursday night.  A new snack could inspire.
• Large quantities of food = Bad!  Unless you're going to call your dinner a snack you should keep it light.  You might need to do something that requires moving or thinking, which a heavy feeling in the gut could hinder.
• Balancing savory and sweet = Good!  But be aware of the ever lurking salty-sweets - a danger that nearly consumed more than one of my college friends.
• A snack that requires a trip to the store (freezer aisle - shudder!) = Bad!  By the time you get to the store you'll be so hungry that things will be jumping into your cart (you didn't really need a cart, did you?) and your only hope will be that you forgot your wallet.  Make something from random ingredients in your kitchen.  Check for mold first.
• Something tasty that you could turn into a blog post = Good!  In case you were trying to avoid whatever was on your to-do list for a Thursday night, that is.  Speaking of which, it's time for me to go.