31.1.10

Butternut Apple Soup

So, apples may be a bit of a theme for a while.

1. Because I love them.
2. Because we just bought a huge box of them from the Asheville farmers market.

This soup is the perfect end to a snowy winters day.















Butternut Apple Soup

Split 1 large butternut squash in half and scrape out seeds.
Set cut-side down on a baking pan and pour some water (about 1/4 inch full) in the pan and bake until very soft (about 45 minutes?).

Sautee 3 onions in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Add 4 cut and peeled apples, a handful of raisins, and cinnamon (a lot if you're like me).
Add some stock or water to cover and simmer until very soft.

Scoop out the squash into a food processor and discard skins. Puree the squash and apple mixture until silky smooth.

Add more stock or water to desired thickness and adjust salt to taste.

This soup is great served with a dollop of creme fraiche or yogurt.













This is our house last spring. I'm posting this photo as a reminder of sunnier days. I am also hoping this blog will inspire me to take more photos this semester. I am generally really bad about documenting my life, yet when I look back on the few photos I did manage to capture, I am so grateful I have them. This one makes me want spring, bad.

Morning Coffee

In a caffeine induced state I have decided to give today a little more direction than yesterday. I guess that's the nature of Sundays, to get everything done that you said you would start on Saturday. So today I will stop moving my philosophy reading about the house, but actually sit down and read the damn thing. I will also not start silly cooking projects periodically throughout the day for distraction purposes. Though, I may make some apple butternut squash soup because there's still tons of snow on the ground and warm soup sounds delightful.

30.1.10

Huevos and Friends



























Heather just loves eggs. Today we tried to blacken fish and smoked out the house. I think this technique should only be done outside.

Snow Day














Winter wonderland city.















And apple crisp.

Vanilla Brown Butter Apple Crisp

Preheat oven to 350

Mix together in a large bowl and spread out in a 8 or 9 in baking pan:
4 apples, cut
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
pinch of salt

In another bowl mix:
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup coconut, unsweetened
1/4 cup dark brown sugar

Then add:
1/2 cup butter browned with 1 vanilla bean

Sprinkle the crisp topping over the apples and bake for 35-40 minutes.

This is for real














I have decided to become a committed blogger. It is a very snowy Saturday and all this puttering about the house has prompted me to create some kind of entertaining/fulfilling distraction for myself. It seems to be working so far.

So, I plan to use this blog as a spot to share recipes, things I find pretty, and who knows what else.