sooooo thankful for my studly bud :)

i love fall.

and i love my husband.

so enjoy some lovely autumn romance, today, courtesy of moi. ...i saw these pictures and just couldn't help but smile, reminisce, and have my little heart be overwhelmed with thankfulness for this dear man. <3

Suzi Takes The Wheel

"why the weird title?" you ask. 

it could be the name of a new book i just finished and adored.

it could be a song title that i'm currently obsessed with. 

it could even be a blog title that i've recently started stalking/reading. 

but no------------ none of the above!  in fact, it's the name of a nail polish. ;) 

OPI's Fall 2011 collection includes an "American Touring" line up that has such hip, trendy, fun, absolutely yummy new colors.  slate grays, cameoflagey-greens, cheery salmons, and deep diva-ish purples are only some of the colors in this au courant color cornucopia.

i just got my hair cut (only 3 inches.. but still a big change for me)! :) and just like any brilliant marketing scheme: the OPI dazzling collection was featured right by the cashier. 

i couldn't resist!  after much deliberation, i decided on "suzi takes the wheel" - a gray with a hint of green-- and almost a tiny hint of blue in there, too!  isn't art (even nail art) fun?  it boggles me mind how a neutral color like gray can be infused with green and blue--- to the point where it's noticeable!  amazing.

check it out!  i'm in loooooove.

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p.s. again, my dig. camera is still broken... those so aren't my acrylics above.  but my little natural nails are totes cute though, if i do say so myself. ;)

p.s.s. OMGOODNESS do you hear those jams pumping?  i try to update my playlist regularly. playlists are one of the thousands of things in this world that bring me joy. know what else tickles my fancy? dance parties.  so go.  let rihanna's beats pump through your veins.  get off your booty. and shake & bake it!!!!!!!! :)

Homemade Pumpkin Purée

finally: it's officially fall.

**sigh** :)

'Tis the season of butternut squash soup, apple crisp, chili & cornbread, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin cake, pumpkin cookies, oh wait, I see a theme.... PUMPKIN.  Mmmm. :)  One of my FAVE fall flavors.

I've been desperately trying to find cans of good old "Libby's Pure Pumpkin" in the stores now for some time, and to no avail, there.. just... isn't any. :(  (I've checked Meijer, Kroger, you name it!)

from Meijer's website. Look: it even says "out of stock"!!!

So instead of just giving up... I just figured I could do it myself.  We made homemade pumpkin purée in Rome, where there is like... NO canned pumpkin whatsoever (except *very expensive* cans imported from the States!)--- and we used to make something like 16 pumpkin pies for a massive Thanksgiving outreach party for all our Italian friends!  So why not turn around and use the knowledge I gleaned in Italy right here in the U.S.? :)

I started with purchasing 2 "Pie Pumpkins" from local Michigan farms at Meijer... (again, my dig. camera is *still broken* --- wah wah! --- so I'm having to borrow other people's lovely pictures). 

The pie pumpkins looked like this:

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Notice how pie pumpkins aren't as small as the cutesy ones people use to decorate... but at the same time, they aren't as big as the "jack-o-lantern" type pumpkins that people carve!

After researching several recipes, I decided upon the roasting method (rather than steaming or boiling them on the stove top).  One probably isn't better than the other, I just didn't have a lot of time/energy to stand by the pot and babysit the boiling pumpkins, so sticking them in the oven felt more freeing for me.

Here are my 10 Easy Steps for Pumpkin Purée:

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F... and get out a baking sheet and your carton of aluminum foil.

2) Wash dirt off outside of pumpkin.

3) Carefully cut stem/top off, discard.

4) Cut pumpkin in half, from top to bottom.

5) Everyone has their own preferred "de-pulping" method, but my favorite is to first, take out all the seeds (using my fingers)... Then use a combo of a serrated knife and big serving spoon to cut/scrape out every last string I can get to.  In my opinion, it is so worth it to spend a lot of time getting the strings out.  Who wants stringy purée?  Not this girl. And probs not you, either.

6) When you're done, you'll have 4 pumpkin halves, de-seeded and de-stringed.  Cover each pumpkin half with a piece of foil.

7) Bake in oven till tender (check on them like you would a baked potato)... Let them go for at least an hour, mine probably were in there 1 1/2 hours.

8) Let cool for 15 or so minutes.

9) Scrape out pumpkin flesh from the skin.

10) Time to purée: I **tried** first to put my pumpkin chunks into our blender (the awesome KitchenAid one I wrote about a few posts ago), but something just wasn't meshing between the blender and pumpkin... it just didn't work.  SO I changed direction and put the pumpkin in a plastic container that came with our immersion blender, and puréed the chunks until smooth.  This worked out PERFECTLY and if I ever roast pumpkins again, I will skip the big blender altogether and just stick with my immersion/hand/stick blender.

OR, if you have a food processor, obviously that would be a great kitchen tool for processing your pumpkin.

Voila'!  10 Easy Steps to taking a whole pumpkin and ending up with perfect purée!

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Happy Fall to All--- the season of pumpkiny goodness! :)

Today I am grateful for...

• lovely rain outside
• a chance to make "Magic Soup" :), for my dear husband, who has been fighting a cold for the last few days. :(  [recipe here]
• John 19--- what we are studying in Bible study on Wednesday.  Jesus going to the Cross.  Heart-wrenching and intense.
• homemade whole-wheat [no knead!] bread... [recipe here]
• Pity Jane (our Kitty) who lives with us.
• Brach's "Autumn Mix" candy. Tastes like the beginning of fall, and my mom buying me some on sale at CVS (which she totally did again this year.) :)
• Income.  Thank You, Father, for providing for us... through Bud's job and through the occaisional substitute-teaching jobs that I get... that we can have some money to give back to Your Kingdom, as well as paying our bills & buying groceries so we can eat.
• Sweeeet weddings where the bride and groom just loooove Jesus and are joined together in the rich covenant of marriage!  --->We went to a beautiful one yesterday.  Congrats, Luke & Shari! <3
• The gas-burning stove & oven in our apartment--- blue flames of goodness totally make sense to me in the kitchen.
• this morning's bowl of Cocoa Puffs: breakfast of champions. :)
• The beautiful voice of singer/songwriter Adele.

 And finally... today, I am grateful for Journaling. I have been keeping journals now, for... a long time!.. and I am dearly thankful for how they allow me to look back on the story of my life, and what the Lord has done in and through me... how He's changed me... the tears I cried... the giggles I had with the Lord on our dates... in places, all over this world, that He's captivated my heart, romanced me, drawn me out of the wilderness, pulled me out of the pit...... and set my feet upon a broad place where He is there, and always with me, even until the end of the age.  Thank you, Jesus :) 

"Magic Soup"

Guaranteed to cure what ails ya.
Or at least give your whole heart a lift. :)

Cook time: 2 hours (more or less)... i'm bad at watching the clock. :(
Serves: well, in my house there are just 2 of us... so we eat it for a few days... but I'm sure it could easily serve 4-6.   ***AND I'm **really bad** about following recipes to the T... partly because half the time it's a huge waste of food if I do that (with only 2 people in the house)... so, where it works for me, to just fling stuff together in the pot and eyeball-it... i am realizing that this technique isn't the most conducive to sharing recipes with others... so please forgive me that my proportions below are kind of messed up....... i have made this soup so many times that I kind of 

Ingredients:

• extra-virgin olive oil (a couple swirls around your pot)
• 1 big onion (i'm loooving whatever i find at the farmer's market these days: big, sweet walla-wallas or candy onions or sweet spanish... whatever you can get)
• 1 lb. bag of carrots, peeled and chopped (depending on how much you want, you could even throw in another pound... perhaps I might, tonight) :)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped 
  
• 1 whole chicken (you can roast the bird yourself OR if you're short on time, grab a cheap-o $4.99 rotisserie chicken from the front of the grocery store). :)
• a bay leaf (if you have one)
  
• salt & pepper
• about 4 pieces of crisp, cooked bacon (omgoodness I have totally found a way to cheat the system on this... the last few times I've made this soup, I buy a small bag of Bacon Pieces from the salad aisle or produce aisle... NOT bacon bits but **real bacon**.  It's out there (in case you didn't know) and SOOO worth it; so legit; no one will be able to tell when you use it in a dish like this where it isn't on center-stage).
• 2-3 regular-sized cans of whole, peeled tomatoes. OR if you have fresh, you can use some peeled, whole, fresh if you like..... I'm totally doing that today because I just harvested a bunch from our garden.
• 1-2 cans of chicken broth
• 1 box of Gnocchi (find in pasta aisle or maybe international aisle) (little Italian, potato-dough dumplings)
• a big handful of basil leaves, gently washed and chiffed (cut in a chiffonade) :) 
• lots of yummy REAL Parmeggiano-Reggiano for serving on top (SO WORTH IT!)... OR you can get Grana Padano (it's cheaper, but also a hard-cheese from Italy with that nutty bite that is *perfect* for the magic soup) :)
• crusty bread for dunking & dipping (if you want!)

Directions:
If doing your own, roast your chicken (a good rule of thumb is 20 minutes per pound at 350*F)... and if you're using a store-bought rotisserie that's FINE; just set it in the fridge & let it rest in there. :)


Get a large soup pot or cast-iron Dutch oven and heat it over medium heat with the oil.  Add the carrots and onion... cook for about 5 minutes and throw your garlic in... Toss around with veggies and cook another couple minutes... until everything smells good.  Salt and pepper this well.  Add in the bacon (4 strips if you did it yourself... and just eyeball the equivalent if you bought the Bacon Pieces from the store).  Add the tomatoes (I crush each one by hand, as they fall out of the can)... and add the chicken broth.  (*And your bay leaf if you have one).  Let this whole pot-full come to a boil....... In the meantime, while you're waiting on the bubbles.... Tear the chicken meat off the chicken and discard the bones.  When the pot is bubblin', add the chicken and gnocchi.  The gnocchi will only probably need a few minutes to cook (since it's soft to begin with)... but just follow the package directions.  

If you're making this for a husband who frequently gets stuck in the O.R. with patients (this might be me...) :)...... please note: when you add in the gnocchi, it will be **ready to serve** when the gnocchi are done.  There are few things I hate more in this world like I abhor over-cooked pasta....... Gnocchi included....... Even though with the stewy-goodness of this dish, it's okay if they get a little mushy...  BUT all this to say: you can put **everything** in *except* the gnocchi and just stick that in when you're very close to wanting this to be on the table---- I prefer it this way. :)

I also don't like to add in the chicken until toward the end, too... because I find that it falls apart and gets unnecessarily mushy if it gets put in too soon.  (it's already been cooked once by roasting... why boil the heck out of it and try to cook it again?)

When everything is done with the Magic Soup------ Serve with the chiffed basil, crusty bread, & Parm (or Grana Padano).  But seriously, do this dish justice and go out and get some REAL Italian cheese (not the "parm" from Wisconsin)... it's sooooooo beyond WORTH it. :)