Sweet Potato Soup

The forecast for our area this morning was for snow showers. We didn’t see a single flake! But – the cold did get me in the mood to make soup. I had cooked the last haul of sweet potatoes from the CSA a few days ago so I opted to start with the sweet potato puree for the primary ingredient. Things evolved from there.

I put some powered chicken bouillon with water in a pan…added a few cubes of frozen beets (also from the CSA) to increase the potential color of the soup. The beets cooked and softened while I got the other ingredients prepared. The seasonings were garlic (from the CSA too), fresh finger, onion powder, and curry. They were added while the beets were cooking.

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I thawed 2 turkey sausage patties and cut them up. I decided a small handful of frozen cranberries would add to the flavor complexity.

After the beets were soft enough, I used the potato masher in the pan…then added the pureed sweet potato, sausage, and cranberries. I cooked everything until the cranberries began to split open.

When I poured it into the bowl, I realized the color had turned out to be similar to cream of tomato soup. The cranberries and sausage cubes floated on top.

Then for the topping of Chinese noodles (I like them better than crackers).

A fabulous winter-time lunch! One of my favorite things about soups is the combination of ingredients…the grand experiment. I just add ingredients that I want to taste together…because that’s what happens in soup. My experiments have become dependable enough that I am confident it will be edible….even tasty! This time it was also a success for the color – a seasonal shade between Thanksgiving and Christmas!

CSA Bounty – August 2020

We are certainly in the thick of summer bounty from our Community Supported Agriculture. This past week there were three kinds of tomatoes (cherry, heirloom, slicers) and two kinds of peppers (bell and hot…and there were 3 different kinds of hot ones to choose from).  I liked the choices for onions and cabbage too – I always get the more colorful ones. There is just enough leafy green for a salad or two. The zucchini squashes are still coming…and the carrots are large and wonderful. I got some huge beets as my choice from the ‘extra’ crates. I was glad that the bins of watermelons were near the parking since they were 30-35 pounds!

I got some snippets of basil from the cutting garden

Along with some flowers. One of the vases I am using for flowers this week is a glass bottle from store-bought kombucha. The label peeled off easily enough and it is a great size for 1-3 flowers. I’m going to save the bottles from now on…line them up on windowsills or group then together on a table…filled with flowers.

Filling a Day of Social Distance – 4/18/2020

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

Here are the unique activities for yesterday – wet in the morning then sunny by the end of the day:

Cheering the male red-bellied woodpecker getting breakfast in the rain. The male is in full breeding colors…and getting plenty of peanuts for from feeder!

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Taking a quick look at the close view of our front porch. On the other side of the house from the birdfeeder, the front porch was wet as well. It didn’t reduce the beauty of the azalea blooms piling over the concrete or the lush leaves of day lilies (not recently munched by deer) on the other side of the front walk. I’ll put the glass birdbath out soon on the stand; it doesn’t go out until there is no danger of frost!

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Enjoying beet root powder in my smoothie. I like the flavor of beet powder…and the color. This morning I combined it with almond milk, banana, walnuts, and a whole orange (the peeling too). Nothing was frozen so it wasn’t too chilling for a cold morning.

Finishing the Lifecycle module of the Fashion as Design Coursera course. It has been the most thought-provoking module so far. I went through my clothes and discovered that ALL my jean/slacks have at least some synthetic fiber in them (even the ‘cotton’ leggings) – which makes them difficult (near impossible) to recycle. I have more tops that are 100% cotton…but at least half are synthetic…or partly synthetic. I am experimenting with wearing clothes a bit longer between washings….and realizing that I should refrain from buying anything new for the foreseeable future!

Catching up on Cincinnati Zoo’s Home Safari videos:

• River Otter (Otter pups swim lesson from Columbus Zoo)

• Bald Eagle

• Armadillo Lizard

• Pigs

Abundance of squirrel food in the maple. After the sun came out, I noticed a squirrel eating samaras. That’s a sign that thee are ripening…will fly away soon. The squirrel was gorging on the delicacy of the seeds.

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts  here.

Filling a Day of Social Distance – 3/24/2020

Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

Here are the unique activities for yesterday:

Receiving a flowering plant – virtually. My daughter sent a picture of her Persian violet in bloom. She was excited since it is a plant that requires a lot of sun….lots of grow lamps in her office in Missouri. She has it at home now since the university buildings are closed. And in all the turmoil….it’s blooming! She is getting ready to begin teaching her classes virtually next week.

Beginning the experiments with Dutch Chocolate protein powder. We ordered it at my daughter’s suggestion - protein with a longer shelf-life and doesn’t require refrigeration. Chocolate for me; vanilla for my husband. My first experiment was a red smoothie: 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1/2 scoop protein powder, 1 heaping teaspoon beet root powder, banana, 1/4 cup walnuts – yummy and pretty too.

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Making a list and checking it twice. My daughter encouraged me to stop going into the grocery store beginning this week. I made an online list for curb side pickup with my usual grocery store…reviewed it carefully with my husband to make sure it would be everything he wanted for the next week. And then – just before bedtime – I tried to submit it. I quickly discovered that there were no available times for curbside pickup! I went to bed extremely frustrated deciding to wait until the morning to look at other options. The saga continues tomorrow….

Previous “filling a day of social distance” posts: 3/15, 3/16, 3/17, 3/18, 3/19, 3/20, 3/21, 3/22, 3/23

Soups for Winter

Homemade soups are my winter lunch favorites. I like Root Soup: easy to make with fresh beet, potato, and carrot…seasoned with onion, garlic and basil. I let it cook long enough for the vegetables to become soft enough to mash a little. The pumpkin seeds on top provide just enough crunch (and protein too).

I’ve already had a cold (and ear infection) this year and Homemade Chicken Noodle soup tasted so good. I made it several different ways. This one started with chicken bouillon with orange peel, dried onions and garlic, soba noodles and canned chicken. The soba noodles only take about 5 minutes to cook. While the soup bubbled on the stove, I use the scissors to cut up some arugula into the bowl. At the end of the 5 minutes, I poured the hot liquid over the greens – gave a stir. The arugula was part of the soup but not overcooked! So good… and just what I needed to get better.

Red Soup

I have become a fan of beets. I love the color and flavor they add to soups and salads. Beets were a major ingredient in a soup I made on one of the first cool mornings of our fall.

The ingredients were:

Bullion

Beet

Tomato

Rosemary, thyme, parsley…whatever seasons you like

Mushrooms

Sunflower seeds

I started by letting the fresh beet cook in the bullion while I got all the other ingredients ready. I added the tomato and seasonings after the beet began to soften then used the masher while the soup continued to bubble. I added the mushrooms and continued cooking until the mushrooms reduced in size.

The sunflower seeds were sprinkled on top after it was in the bowl.

Yummy!