Check it.

The Taste of the Holidays

I love seasonal flavors.  I love trying out new things when cooking.  I also love Thanksgiving for many reasons including the previous two.  This year for Thanksgiving I had a new toy to use in the kitchen, the immersion blender!  Being the big nerd that I am, I’ve always wanted an immersion blender at my disposal for quick sauces and soups.  We received one from our wedding registry recently and put it to use almost right away on a delicious Butternut Squash Soup.

 

Sorry for the blurriness, modern cameras aren’t yet able to capture the soup in all of its grandeur.  Anyway, this soup was really easy to make.  It was very hearty with some sweet notes coming from the cinnamon.  It’s adaptable so that if you are a fan of creamier soup you can add more cream, or if you like sweeter soup you can add more cinnamon or even some sugar.  It was great heated up the next day too.  If you make a surplus you can freeze it and it’ll keep for at least 2 months.

Butternut Squash Soup

2 medium Butternut Squash

1 large onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 tbsp. fresh grated ginger

1 tbsp. fresh ground nutmeg

1 1/2 tbsp. ground cinnamon

3 tbsp. olive oil

3 cups chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and pulp.  Brush the squash with 2 tbsp olive oil and arrange on a roasting pan.   Roast in oven for 45-60 minutes at 400° or until the meat of the squash is tender.  Remove the squash from the oven to cool.  Once cool scoop out the meat and discard the skins.  (This can be done in advance and stored in an air tight container in the fridge.)  In a large saucepan saute the onions, ginger, and celery with the remaining olive oil.  Add the broth and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the roasted squash into the simmering mixture and stir until the soup begins to come together.  Add the fresh nutmeg and cinnamon.  Using an immersion blender blend the soup to desired consistency.  I like a really smooth soup, but some like theirs a little chunky.  If you do not have an immersion blender you can still use a regular blender to make the soup.  Transfer the soup to a blender and blend in batches.  Be sure to burp the lip before blending to avoid a heat explosion (then you’d have to start over).  Once blended and back in the saucepan you can add the cream to attain your desired creaminess.  Season with salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste.  Enjoy.

It makes a delicious appetizer or cold day soup.  Enjoy. 

Let me know if you try it or have variations that work well.

Chuck Norris has nothing on this…

Nokia came out with a special addition phone in China to commemorate Bruce Lee.  They commercials associated with the phone shows Lee doing a couple demonstrations with his nun-chucks (playing ping-pong and lighting matches).  The videos are incredible and a good testament as to the level of training and concentration Lee had back in his day.  Watch for yourself, you won’t be sad you did.

[ht: jkyle]

Another example that not all people suck.

Here’s a good story about a 3-time Super Bowl champion who gets it.

So…many…pictures…

Lindsey and I returned home from Nashville on Monday after a fantastic weekend at National Youth Workers Convention.  We returned home to find that we had received a package of cds with the unedited wedding pictures in them.  Actually they were the pictures from the rehearsal dinner, getting ready for the wedding, the wedding, the reception, and the day after the wedding. 

We have a close family friend who loves to do photography and graciously did our wedding photography for free.  How amazing is that? 

The truly amazing part is going to be when we finally sort through the 1300+ photos that were taken in the 3 day span.  Once that is said and done I’ll be posting a select few here for all to see and “awww”.

Turkey Time!

Smell that?  It smells like leftovers galore!  Turkey Day is right around the corner and I’m especially excited about this year’s annual feast for a couple of reasons.

1) It’s the first Thanksgiving Lindsey and I will have as a married couple.

2) Being recently married means that we have a hoard of new kitchen appliances at our disposal to use for this special occasion.

3) The brother is traveling up from Mansfield to share in the festivities.

4) The Saturday after Thanksgiving is the 2nd annual Turkey Bowl.

I’m trying to step my turkey game up this year.  I’ll probably attempt to brine the bird.  I’ve read and watched up on how to properly carve the bird, and how to truss the bird.  I’m making a homemade stuffing and a butternut squash soup. 

If you’re new to the blog or don’t know me very well then I should tell you that my favorite hobby is cooking for people.  This is the perfect holiday for me.  That being said, if anyone is in the DFW area and is looking for some food on turkey day you are more than welcome.  I’ll be sure to post some pictures.

Amazing…

I get married in less than two weeks…how crazy is that?

Something to shoot for…

Blog Action Day: Poverty

A while before I had heard of the blog action day topic for this year I had come across the video below.  Initially there was no connection between the two in my mind.  I heard of poverty and instantly jumped to financial poverty.  It’s an easy jump to make and an important thing of which to raise awareness.  It is my assumption though that a great number of the blogs participating in blog action day are focusing on financial poverty.  I wanted to take it in a slightly different direction.

This video is from The Work of the People.  I have followed t.w.o.t.p. for some time and have always been a fan of the material that they make available.  In this particular video they are listening to a Brazilian pastor by the name of Claudio Oliver as he describes a new approach to the way we think when we think about mission trips and charity.

One of my favorite quotes in the video is towards the end when Oliver states:

“Next time you think about a mission trip, it’s not bad to go and build places, help people to have good meeting places.  Those places will eventually disappear.  They will be destroyed because of aging, because of time.  Go there and build something that can’t be shown to your church in a picture…some immaterial beauty you can build is the building of friendship…because friendship will last forever.”

I don’t write this to be defiant of helping the poor and impoverished.  That isn’t at all my point.  The thing that I would like to draw attention to and call for every to act on is not simply focusing on the material poverty.  See that many times people have spiritual and emotional poverty that far outweighs their financial poverty. 

So, as we find the action to take to stand up against poverty remember to focus not only on the material poverty.  We can build shelters and feed the hungry, but their stomachs will eventually be empty again.  Build shelters, fill stomachs, but also build relationships and fill hearts with genuine care and love.  Approach them as a human not as a project.  Greet them.  Learn their name.  Listen to their story.  Show them that they aren’t forgotten.

October 15