Always a pleaser!

When the weather turns cooler and things start to slow down on the farm having a jar of some kind of filling and comforting soup on hand is a must.  Some of my best memories consist of a warm mug, a cozy quilt and being curled up in a chair on the porch.  Watching the men chop corn while enjoying the rich texture and flavor of squash or sweet potato soup go hand in hand with fall. The fact that this is made with a pressure cooker makes it fast and convenient.

Sage-Scented Butternut Squash Soup (or sweet potatoes)

1 tablespoon butter or oil
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped onions
2 cups chicken broth
1 c water
3 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/4-1/2 tsp dried sage

Heat the butter in a 4-quart or larger cooker. Add the onions and cook over medium-high heat for a minute or two.  Add the broth, water, a pinch of salt, and squash.

Lock the lid in place. Over high heat bring to high pressure. Reduce the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Quick-release the pressure or allow the pressure to come down naturally. Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to allow steam to escape.

Stir i the sage. If the squash is not very soft, cover and simmer for a few minutes. Let cool slightly. Pass the soup through a food mill or puree using a standard or immersion blender. Reheat and adjust seasonings.

Fall cooking and good eating.

I am a soup person.  That's not to say that I am soupy (I don't cry remember) or that it is all I eat, I like everything.  I am a soup person because making and consuming soups of all kinds is to me the most loving and comforting thing I can do to feed my family.  When the kids were little my son, Adam, (who is not a soup person) once asked me, "When can we have a normal meal?" Adam is definitely a meat and potatoes man.

Last week a friend shared a recipe that she had found online.  When I saw it I knew that both Doug and I would be adding it to our list of favorites.

Unfortunately I printed the recipe without the name but here it is.

Ingredients:
1 (19oz) bag of frozen cheese tortellini
1 small bag of fresh spinach
2 (14.5 oz) cans of Italian style diced tomatoes, drained
1 block (8oz) of cream cheese (softened)
1 lb of ground sausage (I used some leftover cooked chicken)
3-4 cups of chicken broth (start with 3, add 1 more if it looks like it needs it)

Brown the sausage and put all ingredients in crockpot, chunking up the cream cheese.
Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Serves 4-6
Keep an eye on your tortellini, it may get done sooner.
If still soupy, leave lid off for the last half hour or so of cooking.
For a Friday version omit the sausage and use vegetable broth.

Hints, tidbits, and a little look inside

Outside my window...it is still dark and a cool 45 degrees. Finally the days are fall-like which is a balm to the spirit. Temperatures sink into the 40's at night and though it has been getting into the 80's on some days they are dry days.  The brilliant yellows, oranges, and reds of a northern autumn are lacking but without the sweltering heat and humidity I could almost start to like being here.

I am thinking...about the rhythm of life and connections between myself and the seasons.  Yesterday we went to a nearby orchard and picked apples.  Though I am really not an apple lover the taste and smell of them at this time of year is an absolute must.  The same thing is true of pumpkin.  The beautiful color of the orange rind and the mixture of pumpkin and nutmeg seems to be a fitting punctuation to the cooler temperatures and shorter days.

I am thankful...for the new car my brother bought for me. 

From the kitchen...there will be more apple and pumpkin smells coming forth.  I have a couple of large bags of apples to turn into sauce to be canned and a very large pumpkin to be cooked down and packaged for the freezer.  

I am reading...the authorized biography of Mother Theresa.  

I am hearing...silence.  Cocooned in the house with all the doors and windows closed it is blessedly quiet.  For a change the neighbor's dog is not barking, the increasing traffic noises on the highway are shut out, and my charge is still asleep.

A few plans for the rest of the week...I hope to get the sewing job that is on my table done by Friday and shipped out on the weekend.  God only knows if that will happen.  Today though I need to take time to put up the apples and pumpkin that we bought.  Although floors, bathrooms, and mountains of laundry call out to me too I find that they are more easily put off when it is cool and sunny outside. Perhaps an afternoon spent rocking on the swing with my knitting while chatting with my daughter is in order as well.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you...

Yesterday in our travels we came upon this fellow standing in his pasture.  When I got out and lifted my camera to take his picture it almost seemed as if he struck this pose just for me.

Another place that I happened upon in my travels.  There is something about water that draws me to it.  The silence in this place combined with the ruins of some old building whispered a story of times gone by.