This Week's Moment

{this moment} - "A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see." Inspired by SouleMama.

AL's Butternut Squash Soup

My dear friend Ann Lee is an amazing cook, and New Year’s was no exception. She is also the most generous person I know. She opened her home to celebrate the New Year with friends and made many delicious dishes. Among them was her butternut squash soup and it is the best I have ever had. I cannot think of a better way to bring in the New Year then with friends, food, and fun. Thank you Ann Lee for being such an amazing person and friend. I am looking forward to many adventures with you this year, both outside and in the kitchen!

Ingredients:

EVOO

1small onion chopped

1 piece (2inches) peeled fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves chopped

2 3/4lbs small butternut squash peeled, seeds removed, cut 3/4" cubes

1/4c fresh orange juice

S/P

Directions:

Sauté onion in EVOO until fragrant (2 min). Add ginger, garlic, squash. Cook, stir occasionally 6-8 min. Stir in 4c veggie broth, bring to boil, reduce heat. Simmer 20 min.

Purée soup on 2 batches. Stir in oj and salt.

Helpful Hit:

Pealing and cubing a butternut squash can be a very labor intensive task. To save your self great time and frustration roast the squash first and the skin will come right off. Place your squash on a baking sheet in the oven at 420 degrees for 20+min (depending on how big the squash is). When it is ready the skin will get a toasted feel to it and when you poke it the squash will be very soft. You will be able to cut it in half and scoop the meat right out.

This Week's Moment

{this moment} - "A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see." Inspired by SouleMama.

Maude's Fresh Apple Cake

This is most delicious apple cake I have ever had and it's completely dairy free! This is a great dessert and a fantastic breakfast the next morning. A good friend and amazing cook shared this with us all at our New Year's celebration, huge hit. She says it is easy to make so I will have to get her to share some baking tips with us.

This Week's Moment

{this moment} - "A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see." Inspired by SouleMama.

New Year Star Sugar Cookies

New Year Star Sugar Cookies

No better way to kick off the new year then with good friends and good food. So for this New Year celebration I have made some sugar cookies with butter cream frosting, delicious. I am still working on the resolutions but for now just fun.


Ingredients For the Cookies
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Baking Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
Roll out dough on floured surface 1/2 inch thick. When they are rolled a little thick it will give you a softer cookie. It you prefer a crispier sugar cookie roll them about 1/4in. Cut into shapes with the cookie cutter of your choice. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets or baking stone if you have one.
Bake about 7 minutes. Cool completely.

Tips:
*When they are done cooking then the center of the cookie will not look greasy like melted butter.
*If you want soft cookies do not let them brown at all in the oven.
*Cookies keep baking a little when you pull them out of the oven.
* Key to having sugar cookies keep their shape while baking and not melting / flattening out is to keep the dough cold. As you are rolling them if it taking a while pull half the dough out of the fridge and work with that while leaving the other half in to stay cold then when you are ready pull the second half out.

Butter Cream Frosting Ingredients

• One stick soft butter
• 3 3/4C powder sugar
• 5 Tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• about 4 Tbsp cream cheese (optional but gives a really nice texture and less buttery flavor)
  

Directions
Blend until smooth, eat a few spoon fulls just, wait to ice cookies until they are completely cool and enjoy!

Yosemite!

I am so far behind that I don't know where to begin.... so for now just a few pics of my most recent adventure to Yosemite. A few days of running and a few days of learning and meeting some amazing people. More on Honduras soon.