Soup of the Day

Andrew and I have been sick this week. I am almost 100% now but Andrew is still feeling poorly. I decided to tackle home made soups this week. Soups somehow make me feel just a tiny bit better when I am sick and I hoped they would do the same for Andrew.

On Thursday I made: Curried Pumpkin-Apple Soup
YUM (a little like tomato soup)

Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 large apple, peeled, cored, and chopped (or substitute with 1 c. chunky apple sauce)
- 2 teaspoons mild curry powder
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups solidly packed pumpkin mash or canned pumpkin
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1 whole bay leaf
- 1/3 cup milk
- 2 to 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- Sour cream and chives, for garnish (optional)

1. Melt the butter in a medium-size soup pot. Stir in the onion, celery, and apple. Partially cover the pot and sauté the ingredients over medium-high heat until the onion is clear, about 8 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and sauté the mixture for another minute. Stir in 1 cup of chicken broth and cook it for 1 minute more.

2. Pour the contents of the pan into a blender or food processor, add the pumpkin, and puree the soup until it's smooth. (or use your hand blender)

3. Pour it all back into the pot, then stir in the remaining chicken broth, the salt, and the bay leaf. Set the soup over medium-high heat and bring it to a simmer, stirring occasionally.

4. After 5 minutes, stir in the milk and 2 tablespoons of honey. Taste the soup, adding more salt or honey if necessary to get the desired balance of sweet and savory. Simmer it for 2 minutes more, remove the soup from the heat, and serve it hot. Makes 6 servings.

On Friday I made: Indian Almond Soup (I already shared this recipe. At the bottom of the page just click "recipe" link and scroll down till you find it.)

Today was my pride and joy: a soup that I came up with all by myself.
I call it: Savory Butternut Squash Soup

- 1 Butternut squash, peeled and de-seeded
- 1 c. plain or vanilla yogurt
- 4 c. chicken or vegetable broth (or 4 c. water & 4 bouillon cubes)
- 1 med. onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced (or use 1 tsp. garlic powder)
- 1 Tbsp. butter (opt.)
- 2 tsp. brown sugar
- 1 tsp. mild curry powder
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1 Bay leaf
- Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and cook in crockpot on high for 3 hours. Remove Bay leaf. Blend soup with hand blender or regular blender. Serve with cottage cheese if desired. (Being a Crandall tradition, I would assume you would :)

I am proud of this soup because it tastes really flavorful, it looks pretty, it was made with locally grown squash, and it is easy to make. I wanted to call it "Autumn-in-my-mouth" because it really does capture this time of year for me. Hope you try it some time and enjoy!

Ukranian Artist

I stumbled across this Youtube video of Kseniya Simonova, an artist who just won Ukraine’s version of “America’s Got Talent.” She uses a giant light box, dramatic music, imagination and sand painting to interpret Germany’s invasion and occupation of Ukraine during World War II. I just thought you history and art buffs in the family would appreciate this.

S.D. State Fair Part 1

We spent all day Saturday at the state fair (which just so happens to be in our home town). We were exhausted by the end of the day but it was fun. This is the sign that makes us smile. Huronites are just sure they are Midwesterners but the cowboy boots, bolo ties, cowboy hats, ranches and SIGNS tell us differently.
We went on a wine tasting date at the fair. We got to taste SD wines and lots of tasty cheeses and meat cuts. There was pumpkin wine, raspberry honeywine, blueberry wine, and many more. The Horticulture building was one of my favorite places to visit.These interesting flowers are called Red Velvet Cockscomb.I really liked the colors in these flowers:Check out this blue ribbon red cabbage.This fair entry was listed under the category "Unusual shape vegetable". I should say so. We went back to the fair on Sunday evening as volunteers with First Pres. We ushered at a concert featuring The Grassroots and The Guess Who. We were among the youngest attenders. It was mostly people in their 40's and beyond rocking out to their old favorites. More pictures to come.

Big News

This is the house we bid on and the bid has been accepted! We are so excited. Sorry it isn't a bigger picture but this is the biggest picture I could find of it left on the internet. (It is low resolution, the house doesn't really have those black lines!) The Realtor took off most of the photos as soon as the bid was accepted. We are waiting for the inspection now. We are very excited. It is 3 bedroom and 3 bath (1 full, 1 half, 1 3/4). It is more than we need at the moment but we are excited we can have people over from church and the community and our families! And hopefully we will have our own family eventually as well! The basement is finished. It is about half the length of the house. It comes with all the appliances. As long as the inspection goes well this will be our place. God has really blessed us with houseing over the last year and 3 months.