Showing posts with label squash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label squash. Show all posts

11.05.2014

Simple, Four Ingredient, Buttercup Squash Soup Recipe

Finally the days are cooling off and sweaters, boots and winter gear are slowly finding their way out of storage and onto us.  Chilly nights call for warm, hearty soups and fresh baked bread.  You will not believe how easy and fast this delicious squash soup is to make.  Using 4 simple ingredients and then pureeing the mixture in the blender results in the most rich, velvety, tasty soup.  


Simply halve a buttercup squash (not to be confused with a butternut squash, although that would certainly work, too) and roast face-down in a 350 degree oven for about an hour or until very soft.  At the same time, roast a pan of orange, red and yellow peppers for about an hour or until slightly charred.  When peppers are done, throw them into a paper bag, close bag and let sit for at least 10 minutes.  This will make removing the skin very easy.  After removing the skin and seeds/innards, throw the squash and peppers into a blender and add 4 tablespoons of butter.  Stir butter until it melts.  Lastly, add 2 cups of milk or cream and puree until you reach a soup consistency.  Add more liquid as needed.  Soup is now ready to eat.  If the soup has cooled too much from the cool milk, warm soup on the stove.  You could also make this soup vegan by omitting the butter and adding vegetable stock instead of milk/cream.  Add croutons, chopped nuts, seeds or Crème fraîche to soup. Enjoy!

11.10.2011

An Artistic sort of week


My husband has been away (boo!) for work all week in rural western Kansas.  We're new here in town so I don't have many friends, but I did have a lot of free time to create & also to cook for one, me.  Today, I was inspired to make a collage, something I have been doing in my art studio lately.  What fun!  I had gone antiquing last week in Topeka at this fun shop: http://www.brickhouseantiqueshop.com/  & picked up some old postcards (from 1908!!!) & buttons along the way that I hoped to use in my work.  I love to explore thrift stores, flea markets & rummage sales with my art-making in mind.  I intentionally keep an eye out for random items I might be able to use. . .eventually!  I like to carry a bag of art/sewing supplies with me where ever I go so that I can work in random places when I have free time.  You never know where or when inspiration might strike. Here is my artistic process of my vintage finds implimented into a collage.  Enjoy!





First, I gathered some paper I enjoy & a flower I drew a long time ago with a watercolor scrap as the center.  Notice the picture postcard in the background- it is from the antique store.  If you look closely you can see the hand-written date; May 14, '08  & yes, that's 1908.  This is the collage in it's bare form.






Over the collage, quite accidentally, I laid this mesh fabric with the sewn antique buttons on it that make for some cute little tree flowers.  I found a mat I had laying around and cropped the image to my liking. 





It really turned out well & is a new favorite of mine.  I must go post this gem to my etsy site. xo




Here the framed finished product in my art studio!!  YAY!






SQUASH & SWEET POTATO SOUP






This was SO easy to make I wanted to share (and dogs love it, too!).  The soup literally took less than 10 minutes, no joke! 


Ingredients:

Sweet potato
Squash
Butter
Cream
Milk
S & P


Microwave a large sweet potato (after poking it with a fork to prevent exploding) for about 5 minutes or until soft.  Use leftover squash if you have it in your fridge (or cook one if you feel ambitious).  Scoop the sweet potato directly into a blender.  Add butter, cream & milk (or vegetable stock for a healthy version, if you prefer or are vegan).  Puree until smooth (adding more milk & cream if needed).  Warm on stove if need be & salt/pepper to taste.  I also added a smidge of fresh organic honey.  YUM!