bullet points

A little busy today... so bullet points it is.

• I'm sadder then I thought I would be about Steve Jobs death. He was a pioneer, he was inspirational, and he was way too young.

I watched his Commencement Speech to Stanford this morning on my train ride into the city, and it was wonderful all over again. He really loved what he did, and that above all is something to strive for.

• Acorn Squash Soup:

I made some amazing Acorn Squash soup on Tuesday to freeze for dinner another night. I can't wait to eat it! Recipe after break.

• What we actually ate on Tuesday... my first ever homemade (from scratch) french onion soup:

(This recipe after break too.)

It turned out so well! I was pretty pleased with myself! Lol.

• Cheeky...

Gwen wanted me to snap her picture when I was taking the pictures of my soup.... my silly monkey.

• This makes me teary, and the last one makes me want to scoop Daisy up and rub her ears for hours. (Click to embiggen.)

• And of course, can't go a minute without getting all up on my soapbox:

Acorn Squash Soup

The recipe is super easy, though I'll admit that I wasn't working from a recipe, so some of these amounts will be guessimates... but just follow the tried and true rule of taste, adjust, taste, adjust!

Halve 2 acorn squash, scoop out the seeds, then drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast at 350 for about 40 minutes (or until fork tender). Remove from skin and mash up.

Dice up 1 peeled apple, 1 peeled carrot, ~ 1c onion. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a large pot with a good drizzle of olive oil. Add apple, carrot, and onion and saute until onions are translucent. Add 2c chicken or veggie broth and mashed squash, plus two shakes ground allspice, 1/4 tsp or so of ground ginger, two healthy shakes of cayenne, a few shakes of salt, and a healthy grinding of pepper, stir and bring to a boil. Turn down and simmer for 15ish minutes, until everything is soft and bubbly. Remove from head and blend in a food processor or blender (or use an immersion blender) until smooth. (Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary!)

Makes about 4 dinner-sized portions. 


French Onion Soup

This is two different recipes smashed together. But it works.

Dice about 3.5 cups of onions. In a large pot melt a 1/3 cup butter, add onions and saute over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once onions are starting to soften up add 3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped), 2 bay leaves, 2 sprigs of thyme, a sprinkle of salt, and pepper according to your taste. Keep cooking and stirring, cooking and stirring until onions are translucent (about 25 minutes). Remove bay leaves and thyme stems, add 1/4 c dry sherry and 1/2 cup red wine. Cook down until most of the liquid is cooked away. Add 1/4 c flour, mix well, and cook lightly for a few minutes (just to get the raw flour taste out). Add 4 cups (and an extra glug) of beef broth and bring to boil. Simmer, stirring frequently for ~10 - 15 minutes.

While soup is simmering, preheat broiler and toast 4 thick pieces of crusty bread.

Ladle soup into 4 soup crocks, laid out on a baking tray. Put one piece of toasted bread on top of soup in each crock, and cover bread with grated or sliced cheese (they recommend Gruyere, I used provolone because that's what I had!). Broil for a few minutes until cheese is bubbly.

Enjoy!