Yam and Carrot Soup

About a week ago I was researching yam soup. I've never made any and I wanted to take it to a Christmas potluck. Then I lost my nerve and ended up taking a recipe my boyfriend already had ready. I was afraid people would freak out when they saw yam soup. I'm glad I didn't take it because there was way too much food and it wouldn't have gotten a fair chance. But I have all the ingredients so I'm making it right now. I found the recipe on Pinterest. The only thing I changed was to use only one big yam, and add in 3 carrots in place of the other yam. I used 2 cans of vegetable broth as well. As soon as it's mixed with a hand blender I'll take my own photos to share. If the Pinterest photo doesn't show up, you can find the recipe here: http://toogoodtobetrue.typepad.com/blog/2010/03/easy-peasy-sunny-soup.html

Just finished the soup. Bit of an acquired taste, but after the first few bites, I was into it. Very satisfying.

The yams and carrots are soft and ready to be blended.

Adding curry powder.

Adding a can of light coconut milk.

Using an immersion blender right in the soup pot.

Turning a bright orange.

Yam and carrot soup garnished with cilantro and sour cream.

Dutch Apple Pie

Tonight I shall endeavor to make a Dutch Apple Pie using this RECIPE. The only thing that seems impossible to me is the 10 min. prep time. Even if you used a frozen pie crust, I don't see how you'd peel, core, and chop 5 1/2 Cups of apples in 10 minutes, and that doesn't include all the other steps.

Mincemeat Cookies For Autumn

Now that we live out in the boondocks, we really have to use our gas wisely. So instead of frequent trips to the store, we have to plan better. So instead of running to the store when we get the munchies  I've been making my own cookies.

Last year I discovered mincemeat at Winco. It's seasonal, so I was sad that I couldn't get any more. Now they have it again! So I got 2 cups of it and made mincemeat cookies. I thought there would be a mincemeat cookie recipe on their site but there wasn't. So I got a recipe on line, and they are so delicious. They aren't even half gone and my boyfriend is already saying I should make more. Mincemeat cookie recipe.

I also got chocolate chips, but he wants me to make chocolate chip raisin cookies. I'm not so sure about that but I'll give it a try.

And I want to make an apple pie, since our neighbor gave us a ton of apples.

This heart shaped mincemeat cookie was a bit of serendipity.

Fresh out of the oven.

Mincemeat cookies make good holiday gifts.

Is it mean to show yummy virtual mincemeat cookies if you can't eat them?

Apple pie coming soon.

Wild Pizza

This afternoon I thought it was high time we had pizza. So I made the dough in the bread machine, which takes about 2 hours. Then it was time to figure out what to put on it. We ended up using black olives, shallots, anchovies, spicy dried salami, cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, and roasted garlic. Yummy! And the recipe makes enough dough for 2 pizzas, so tomorrow night we'll have something different on top.

To make the sauce, I use one can of tomato paste, about 1/4 cup of water, and a teaspoon of olive oil all mixed together. I use half for the first pizza, and save the rest for tomorrow's pizza. Nom nom. It sure was good. Pizzas are a great way to use up leftover bits of this and that.

Pork in a Dutch Oven

When it's so hot out, I stay away from the oven.  My boyfriend isn't as much a wilting violet as I am and he gets right in there and cooks.  I took this photo of some pork he roasted in the dutch oven.  I can't even lift the dutch over when it's empty!  Much less when it's full and hot. So I appreciate it when he cooks.  Fantastic!

Fresh Salsa and Chili

What is the 4th of July without a crazy hat?

Another lady decorated this cake while we watched.

Guy's chili with fresh cilantro on top.

Flag cake.  Glad I got a picture of it because it vanished before I even saw it cut.

For our 4th of July potluck, my boyfriend made the most awesome chili (no beans) as well as fresh salsa.  I roasted the peppers for the salsa and peeled half of them.  He did everything else.  People were standing in line waiting for the chili to heat up at the pot luck. Many of them used it to make a chili dog. He got lots of compliments on the salsa as well.  Nothing beats fresh. And I never really think of salsa as a vegetarian food, but it kept the vegetarians happy too.

The flag cake is amazing too. I can't take credit for that one. 

Day 2 Strawberries For The Win

Good news to report on yesterday's smoothy. No acid reflux or any other nasty side effects.  So Yay.

For today I used a red pear, half a cucumber, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, red cabbage, 1/2 cup spring water, and a handful of cilantro. It was okay but it didn't rock my world.  I put some ice cubes in because I find they taste better cold. As I was putting the tray back, I spotted some frozen strawberries long ago forgotten in the freezer.  I defrosted them for 1 minute in the microwave and tossed them in.  Wowsa, what a difference.  This was like a treat I'd pay big bucks for at a street fair.

In the past when I've done fruit smoothies I used apple or orange juice. Then I got acid reflux.  Also, store bought juices are full of other crap like added corn syrup. Now that I'm using water as my liquid, and a balance of veggies and fruits, I'm hoping to avoid the acid reflux issues. I will say between this and my usual breakfast, I wasn't hungry for lunch until about 4 o'clock.

Adding the frozen strawberries gave me an idea.  I toss out tons of fruit that gets too ripe before I can eat it.  So I'm going to start freezing all my left over fruit (particularly bananas), so I always have a bit of frozen stuff to keep my smoothy cold enough. This is going to save me all kinds of money. And since I added the strawberries today I had almost 3/4 of the smoothy left over, so that goes in the freezer too as a base for tomorrow's smoothy. That will save time on chopping up things.

Tomorrow is the 4th of July so today I'll be roasting peppers for the chili my boyfriend is making for our  4th of July potluck. If you are in the U.S.A. then Happy 4th of July baby.