Thursday, 3 November 2011

Winter Squash!

How did I go so long without appreciating winter squash?  Oh my gosh, my food has been so good this week.   I've been trying different squashes out.  Here's what I bought at the store:


That's festival, red kuri (I think), acorn, and delicata.  Today I bought a butternut.   The festival, which may also be called sweet dumpling or carnival (I think), was fantastic!   The delicata and red kuri were bland.  I read in wikipedia that red kuri gets real sweet when ripe so I think I'll let my second one sit around for a month and then try it.   Not sure I'll go for the delicata again.  The acorn was very good, definitely a repeat.  I've had butternut before, will have that tomorrow and I expect that will be good.  

Since I am the ultimate lazy cook, here's how I prepared them:   put them in the oven at 300 F for 1 hour and 45 minutes.  Head of to exercise class.  return, turn off oven, let cool, cut open, remove some of the seedy stuff, leaving the yummy stuff, mix that in with soup.  The soup I made last weekend and froze in daily containers.  This had beans, tomatoes, some grains, lots of garden/local veggies, and some spices.   Oh, I also add some grated ginger and pumpkin pie spice to the mixture.  Here's a picture of my daily meals this week.  At left is the soup/squash mixture.  

At right are "micro-salads."  This is a bunch of veggies and fruit chopped in a food processor.  This week it was usually romaine lettuce, cabbage, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, kale, apple, pomegranate seeds, orange juice and fruit infused vinegar.   Very yummy.   Today for a treat I had the same veggies, but mango, strawberries, raspberries, and banana for the fruit.  I had these fruits on hand for a fruit salad I made for housemate.   As usual, I ate carrots and kohlrabi while preparing.  

I might be boring and eat this way for a couple of weeks.  That's kind of what I do.  

Tuesday, 1 November 2011

corn maze, soup, and an apartment tour…

My latest fall adventure involved a trek through a corn maze with some friends; I now fully understand why people get lost in these things. In fact, I think it’d be absolutely terrifying to wander through at night.

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Unfortunately, it had been a very rainy morning, so the maze was pretty muddy. One of the kids in front of us completely wiped out. I bet that was one unhappy trip home. I hope his parents bought him a donut.

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The corn maze was conveniently housed on a farm, so I bought a butternut squash to make one of my fave cold weather soups (also a delicious way to use up some of the apples left over from last weekend). Topped with a smattering of local cheese, this soup is  packed with lots of vitamin A and C. Winter squash also contains fiber, potassium, omega 3 fatty acids, and B vitamins, perfect for helping the immune system as flu season sets in.

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And now a little apartment tour…if you’re totally not interested, I won’t be offended; you can skip right down the post. :) Most everything is vintage, thrifted, repurposed, or handmade.

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These lovely [slightly crooked, I know!] frames are courtesy of Happy Go Vintage, the ex-apartmentmate’s Etsy store.  She has lots of awesome vintage finds if you’re interested in unique housewares.

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Sadly, the fireplace is out of commission, but it’s a great spot for my collection of random candles. 

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I converted an old trunk my parents had into a coffee table and home for artsy poetry magazines. I made the magazine coasters a few years ago…oh, the magic of modge podge.

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I have two huge windows in my kitchen, which allows for a wealth of natural light. I appreciate this.

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And yes, that is an art piece made out of paper towel and toilet paper tubes.   

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Another busy week of fielding food allergy questions and TPN (IV nutrition) calculations. Hoping to blog about some test recipes I’m using for some kiddos with allergies soon.

So excited that it’s already Wednesday tomorrow…

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btdubs :: what things are you grateful for this week?