Oh Give Thanks!

I love the fall. I love the richness of the colors, the rich tastes of the food, the crispness of the air. Even though I've never experienced the changing of leaves anywhere that I have ever lived, I have seen the beauty of trees changing from green to golden yellows, oranges and reds that make them appear as though on fire. I love the way that even in the good ol' no season changing south, fall brings amazing vegetables, cooler weather and wonderful family gatherings.
This year for Thanksgiving I drove 4 hours south to Corpus Christi where my friends Tim and Susan live with there three very adorable children. It's the first Thanksgiving I've spent with a family with young kids in a long time, and I loved it. And what's not to love when you get to play Pirate, read stories, watch Diego and decorate the Christmas tree! Besides playing with the kids - Paul (4), James (3) and Berea (1) Susan and I were lean, mean baking and cooking machines. I think I might have gained some serious weight. The amazing thing was most of the desserts (minus the apple pie) and was all made out of one pumpkin!  

 First we roasted pumpkin seeds

 Next came 2 Dozen Pumpkin Eaters

 Then I baked the most delicious Apple Pie any of us had ever eaten (maybe because there was 2 1/2 sticks of butter in the crust!

  Then came the Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies (which turned out with more of a fruit cake type texture than cookie because Susan substituted peanut oil for the olive oil that we thought we ran out of only to find it later!) They're yummy despite the interesting texture : )

and yes, there are a lot of these cookies..140 0f them to be exact. That one pumpkin went a loooonnnggg way!

 And don't forget about the 3 loaves of Pumpkin Walnut Bread

 James (3) helping decorate the Christmas tree

Paul (4) and James (3) decided to be silly and put the plastic tubes that held the ornaments on their heads...hilariously cute! 

 So, by the end of the tree decorating you could totally tell that two little boys were helping. As you can see some interesting creatures ended up in the tree as well!

 Paul and James are just too adorable!

 I loved getting to decorate the tree with them.

 Introducing Berea Anna...her shirt said "I'm a Princess" and she certainly is : )

 It was so funny to watch all the ornaments get clumped together at the bottom of the tree...

 Our Thanksgiving Dinner was DELICIOUS...notice the pumpkin soup (and p.s. not sure why the pic ended up in the middle of the christmas decorating photos but I can't figure out how to move it!)

 see, I told you random creatures were getting put on the tree!

The finished product. The piece of paper reads "HAPPY BIRTHD JESUS"!

Soup de Jour

Lloyd: "What's the Soup de Jour?"

Waitress: "It's the Soup of the Day"

Lloyd: "Mmmm...that  sounds good. I'll have that."

Dumb and Dumber - one of my classic favorites

There is something so comforting about soup. When the weather outside turns cooler there is nothing like a hot bowl of soup (and maybe a grilled cheese sandwich) to make you feel all warm inside. 

I got to have a lot of soup in Vancouver, all of it was amazing. Not only did a friend of mine make it at home, but the church I was going to would sometimes have soup after service.

I joked around up there about starting a "Soup de Jour" airstream trailer (which are a huge hit in Austin). I think it could work. Everyday there would be a massive amount of the same soup. When we ran out, we ran out, the next day, a different soup.

Monday: Curried Butternut Squash Bisque, Tuesday: Tomato Basil soup, Wednesday: Chicken Noodle (or Monica's chicken and rice soup...I need to get that recipe!), Thursday: Sweet Potato soup, Friday: Minestrone soup, Saturday: Baked Potato, Sunday: Split Pea soup...oh the possibilities are endless...

I know that your mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Anyway, it's just a dream that will probably never materialize for real so instead I am just making soup for myself to enjoy (and yes, probably my roommates). 

Today I finished making Curried Butternut Squash. I first had this amazingly delicious soup at my friend's Drew and Sarah's place for a posh little dinner party that they threw. Ever since then I've been waiting for the day for Butternut squash to come back in season AND for it to be cool enough to enjoy hot soup while not sweating. There are only a few times a year in Texas where that is remotely possible so I jumped at the opportunity. 

I can't wait till dinner to have a big pipping hot bowl...

I will share the recipe with you, it's too good to keep to myself. 

Ingredients:

• 2 2-pound butternut squash, halved lengthwise, seeded
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped peeled apple
• 2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste*
• 2 14-ounce cans low-salt chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons honey

• 6 tablespoons sour cream, stirred to loosen
• Chopped fresh cilantro

Preparations:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Brush cut side of squash with oil; place squash, cut side down, on large rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tender, about 1 hour. Cool slightly. Scoop squash out into large bowl. Measure 3 cups squash (reserve any remaining squash for another use).

Melt butter in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots, and apple; sauté 5 minutes. Add curry paste; stir 2 minutes. Add chicken broth, bay leaves, and 3 cups squash. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered 1 hour. Discard bay leaves. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return to same pot. Stir in cream and honey. Season with salt and pepper. Rewarm over medium-high heat.

Divide soup among bowls. Drizzle with sour cream; sprinkle with cilantro.

In the Everyday

In the everyday there are moments of contentment, moments of hope. There are moments of panic, moments of tears, moments of laughter, moments of spontaneous singing and dancing in the kitchen. 

There are moments you hope to always celebrate and moments you hope to forget. 

In the everyday there is a desire to live in the moment, the desire to live life each day at a time. There are moments where that seems easy, but most times it's easier said then done.

In the everyday there is joy interwoven with pain, beauty interwoven with disgust, hope interwoven with disappointment.

In the everyday there is clarity mingled with cloudiness, comfort mingled with dis-ease. In the everyday there is God's voice whispering competing with the enemies voice taunting. There is spirit battling flesh, good battling evil, justice battling injustice. 

In the everyday there are moments that are for you and moments that are seemingly against you. There are moments that last forever and moments that pass you by.

In the everyday there are choices - what to eat, wear, go, do,say,not say,obey, not obey, speak up, remain silent, play, rest.

 

In the everyday there is a chance to slow down, stop and enjoy what's around you, breath deeply, daydream briefly, love fully.

In the everyday we can care, rest, meet, work, play, go, stay.

In the everyday I want to live in a way that is 0-60mph suddenly with out knowing what got me there, but to be aware of the moment by moment. 

I've lost too much living in the someday or yesterday when what I need to embrace is today. I just want to drink deep in the moment of the everyday.