Tuesday, October 26, 2010

What is more perfect on a dark and windy evening?




Ingredients

* 3 pounds butternut squash, halved and seeded
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1 medium onion, sliced
* 1 leek, sliced
* 2 cloves garlic, sliced
* 2 (49.5 fluid ounce) cans chicken broth
* 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
* 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1/2 cup sherry wine
* 1 cup half-and-half cream
* 1/2 cup sour cream (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Pour a thin layer of water in a baking dish, or a cookie sheet with sides. Place the squash halves cut side down on the dish. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a fork can easily pierce the flesh. Cool slightly, then remove the peel. Set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, leek and garlic, and saute for a few minutes, until tender. Pour the chicken broth into the pot. Add the potatoes, and bring to a boil. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until soft. Add the squash, and mash with the potatoes until chunks are small. Use an immersible hand blender to puree the soup, or transfer to a blender or food processor in batches, and puree until smooth. Return to the pot.
3. Season the soup with cayenne pepper, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, salt and pepper, then stir in the sherry and half-and-half cream. Heat through, but do not boil. Ladle into bowls, and top with a dollop of sour cream.



Oh it was very tasty. We crumbled some crispy turkey bacon on top and ate it with a small salad. Perfect!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Somewhere in the dark...






Thank you to everyone who came last night. We enjoyed having our house filled with warm laughter and smiles.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Oh painting... I don't think I will be missing you.


A little over a week ago, I decided that it the kitchen and dining room needed a face lift. (Funny since we have only lived here for about two weeks) I thought that the dark tan and black in the kitchen was too dark, so I went for a color palate that I thought would compliment the time period of the house, something light and bright. I think the neutral colors will let the colors of our things stand out.


I also found this great rag rug in a store in Rock Valley. It reminds me of the colors in my small globe collection, which is also featured in our fresh kitchen.



(The second and third pictures have a kind of greenish tint to them because I took them with my phone. If you want to see the colors for real, you will just have to stop by on Saturday during our little get together mentioned on the previous post.)

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Sure you can come see our new house!



Saturday, October 23 at 6:30pm, Rob and I are opening up our home for people to come and hang out. We want to invite you to our Housewarming/Open House! Rob ordered a small keg of Fat Tire and I will have some snacks around. We might even try out the fire pit, if you stay long enough! We have some pumpkins, gourds, and squash from our summer garden you can take home as well. It is sure to be a fun time. It is really informal, come and go are you please. But please come!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Something new to try...

This past Saturday was the Fall Party out on the farm. I needed to bring along some sort of squash dish to show off the produce from the garden... this is what I came up with.

1 butternut squash cut into chunks
1/2-3/4 c brown sugar
1 TBSP cinnamon
1/2 c water
2 TBSP margarine or butter

Combine and put into crock pot for until squash is tender.
Enjoy!

(the brown sugar and cinnamon may vary depending on how much squash you use or how sweet you want it.)



Started painting the kitchen and dinning room this weekend; therefore, I haven't been blogging much. I will post pics when I am finished. Rob doesn't like to help paint, so I said I would do it all if I got to choose the colors. And I did. So... much work to do!

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

And we made it...

It has been five days since we closed on our house and moved in. I am happy to say that we made it. We have collected most of our things, found a place for them, and mowed the lawn (well actually that was a collaborative effort between a handful of family members). But we are here and for the most part we will be seeing this for a while...



And these out our front window...



But I am ok with that.

If you want to see for yourself, you are more than welcome to check out our roost.

Friday, October 01, 2010