Easy Pumpkin Soup.

Did you notice the recipes are slowly making their way back? They are! Pumpkin recipes are everyone right now.  This excites me; pumpkin is one of the things I eat regularly.  And once again, I was inspired by a recipe from the Cowgirl Chef for potimarron soup.  Potimarron is basically a pretty little French pumpkin.  The soup she makes is a pretty little French soup.  And it's from scratch.  This soup is not, hence the word easy in the title, but it is pretty tasty.  And because it was inspired by a trip to Paris, I paired the soup with the Paris mugs that I bought for Husband, who will only eat soup out of oversized mugs.

Easy Pumpkin Soup

1 15 oz. can plain pumpkin
2 tbsp. butter
1 potato
1 shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup water
nutmeg

Wrap potato in plastic, microwave for 4 minutes.  melt 1 tbsp. butter in skillet, add chopped shallot and garlic.  After 4 minutes remove potato from microwave. Remove skin and add to skillet.  Add water.  Simmer until water reduces.  Add pumpkin and maple syrup.  Heat through.  Remove from skillet and puree in blender.  Melt 1 tbsp. butter in skillet, return puree to skillet.  Add milk.  Stir and heat through.  Sprinkle with nutmeg before serving. This soup is creamy and sweet.

There is something to be said for the crème.

Not many things are better than a cheesecake with a graham cracker crust. One of my family's staple desserts is cherry cheese cake, which I haven't had in a very long time. Recently, I've started making recipes using dairy rather than just eating whole chunks of cheese. What did I start with? Creams.  They're a classic really, but to me, they're new and exciting.  

This morning, I made an maple almond cream cheese spread and ate it with apple slices. It was pretty good for the first creamy spread I've made in a while. And very simple. I've also made a cream with goat cheese and agave nectar, which I think was even better.

Maple Almond Cream Cheese Spread

(2 servings)

1/2 cup Cream cheese

2 tbsp. Justin's Almond Maple Butter ( if you don't have this, you can probably use regular almond butter and maple syrup... it may be even better with maple syrup added.  hmm...)

1/2 tsp. Vanilla

1/4 cup Milk

2 tbsp. Truvia

Mix all ingredients. serve with sliced apples.

Goat Cheese and Agave Cream

3/4 or 1 cup goat cheese

1/4 cup agave nectar

1 tbsp truvia

Mix ingredients.  Serve with sliced strawberries, sweeten with truvia, and ground pistachios.

Wish List

I know the question on everyone's mind this holiday season must be what to get me for Christmas.  So here is a list of wonderful gift ideas, just in case you need some encouragement.  I am so tempted to put jeans and slacks at the top of this list.  I have both in a variety of sizes, but not many that really fit well right now.  Well, they fit for about five minutes in the morning, but then the bottoms get all saggy.  I can't stand that.  So I have the saggy butt size, and I have the size that just needs one more inch of material before the button MIGHT touch the button hole, but only one or two in between sizes.  I'm determined, however, to wait it out until the small sizes fit.  It's very frustrating to get new clothes and not be able to wear them.  SO, that being said, I'm going to start this list with...

A Pony

Really, did you expect something else to be first?

Image from http://syeiraxx.deviantart.com/art/Palomino-Horse-92679940

The Champion Juicer

These are awesome, wonderful and amazing.  This is the juicer that Banana Joe's uses to make banana smoothies in Kauai.  Any color but cream would be nice.

Socks

Husband always makes fun of me because socks are perpetually at the top of my list.  If I could fashion a jacket or a throw blanket from Thorlo socks, I would.  But I don't think anyone else would want to use it.

Wire bound planner from Franklin Covey

Garmin Watch Thingie

These are my requirements for said thingie: Watch style, so I can wear it on my wrist.  Small.  Shows my pace and distance while I am on the move.  Waterproof, so I can wear it in the pool.  That's all.  EDIT: It think this might be it!   

A feasible method of making home made donuts and apple fritters.
When I look at this picture, I feel like Homer Simpson.  "MMMM, Donuts."

Image from www.sheknows.com

Running shoes

Yes, it's probably going to be that time of year again when I need those brand new running shoes.  What kind to get, what kind to get... I overpronate, so that cuts down the choices a bit.  However, Zappos.com has lots of choices.  Should I buy and return until I find the perfect fit?  Sounds so time consuming... I may just need the same ol' Asics.    EDIT: No, I didn't realized this paragraph rhymed. :)

Brown eye shadow and Eye liner and Mascara

One of my students recently gave me a makeover.  I rarely wear makeup, but the only thing we did differently from my normal routine was eye liner and mascara.  I need some of that!

My husband not to grow a beard ever.

Even this guy is less pretty with a beard. Well, maybe.

Should we cut the cheese?

Photo from www.american.com

Can you believe I've eaten cheese twice now?  In fact, the second time I bought cheese at the grocery store, I purchased five different types before realizing that I would never be able to eat five different types of cheese before they spoiled.  

So I had a party.  A wine and cheese party.  Or rather, a wine and cheese dash beer and basketball party because the Mavs were on and Preston likes beer rather than wine.  I bought havarti, sharp cheddar and smoked gouda.  My favorite was the harvarti, although the smoked gouda grew on me.  It kind of tasted like salami; I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.  

Another plus, foodwise?  I drank lots of wine, some that I had checked and others that had not been checked for corn or sugarcane, and no attacks.  That may mean they just didn't happen to have corn or added sugar in them, but I like to think it's a positive allergy sign.  I also ate cottage cheese... which had dextrose in it... which I have associated with corn but just recently found out that it can be a few different things.  No attacks there either.  My body and me, we're making progress.

In other news... We have new neighbors!  Now, let me explain why this is exciting.  While we love our neighborhood, the majority of the people that live in it are twice our age.  Our new neighbors are the same age as us and they are right next door!  It's an exciting prospect.  They came to our wine and cheese dash beer and basketball party, at which, I might add, we sat outside on our patio furniture amongst a multitude of lights.  It was a big hit.  We've had both for a while now, but never really had a party that showed them off.

While it was a fun night, I regret to write that I forgot to take pictures for you.  Sorry.  Blame it on the wine.  Speaking of which, I think it's time to make a trip to the Dry Comal Creek Winery.  My wine rack is dry!  

Hello Beets! (oh, and pssst... I ate cheese.)

I bought beets the other day.  Okay, I bought beets two weeks ago and they've been in my fridge.  I've been looking at them every so often, wondering what to make of them.  At the Lake Austin Spa, they served little yellow slices of beets with a layer of goat cheese in between and I gobbled them up, telling the server to make sure she brought more for dessert after the meal.  Well, dessert for me.  Mom ate something wonderful; I think it was a poached pear.

So I picked up a magazine, hoping to pick up a few ideas as well, and I came across two recipes involving beets.  One was hummus, the other was simple roasted vegetables.  I went for the simple roasted veggies this time, using beets, onions, sweet potato, apple and garlic in what Husband calls "Everything in the fridge" fashion.

I realize that beets, alone, are probably up there on the gross scale with brussel sprouts.  Okay, brussel sprouts may be in a class all their own unless they are soaked in bacon grease, but still.  I was originally planning to eat these beets with goat cheese, but alas, it is not goat cheese day.  

HOWEVER.  In other news:  I ate cheese today.  That's right, real cheese.  Two months after testing positive for dairy, wheat and corn allergies, I can try to add them back in to my diet, as long as I rotate them.  So I bought some beautiful havarti cheese and ate little samples of it throughout the day.  I know, this should be my headline, right?  I guess I'm... more excited... about the beets? 

So tonight, husband and I are going to dine alfresco on grilled beef tenderloin with roasted vegetables (a rule of the rotation diet is that cheese day must coincide with beef day), watch the Mavs game on our little outside TV and enjoy the nice weather (and the cheese).

The only thing that would make it better would be a glass of wine... but it's not wine day.