Recipe - Butternut & Kabocha Squash Soup

So I'm gonna be honest. I've had some realllllly bad versions of this soup.
I had one that had cream in it (unbeknownst to me - me a lactose intolerant gal).  I also had a boxed kind that had chicken stock in it which was just *meh*.  Since I love winter squash so much I really wanted to like this soup. I figured it couldn't be hard to make and I was right.

Butternut & Kabocha Squash Soup

Things you need:

1 Medium sized Butternut Squash
1 Medium sized Kabocha Squash (apparently if you let it hang out and age in your kitchen for 2 weeks it sweetens the squash.)
A Splash of Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
2-4 Tablespoons of Butter
Water (Just how much we'll get to that...)

First things first- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Prepare your squash by cutting them in half, remove the seeds and set onto a cookie sheet. (I did line my cookie sheet with aluminum foil to save clean up time.) Drizzle with a tiny splash of olive oil and roast until tender. I left mine in for an hour.

Once they are fork tender pop them out and let them cool a bit.
Grab your blender or food processor if you're feeling fancy.
Once the squash is cool enough to touch grab a spoon (I actually have a large spork-like utensil which works great!) and scoop out the "meat" and place it into your blender.

After you've got all the squash meat into your blender you'll want to add  the water which is basically double the volume of the squash meat. Puree for a minute or a few seconds if you've got a great blender.

Add the puree/soup to a pot, cook over medium heat for 10-20 minutes so it reduces just a smidgen.

Add salt & pepper to taste and butter if you like it silky smooth.
NO sugar necessary! It will be sweet enough but not overly.

So delicious! I almost ate the entire batch myself.

So simple & easy!

Enjoy!

xo-Thea

More recipes are available here:

http://theas_soapbox.blogspot.com/p/recipes.html

This post was originally posted here. 

Last minute gift guide for locals (Western WA edition)

Hi all! Sorry for the lack of posts on this blog. I have a ton of excuses like any mom on the planet so I won't bore you with any. I am going to pull a cross-posting move though for today and come back tomorrow with a super (SUPER!) easy soup recipe.

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This week and next tends to be a time where many head out to the stores to pick up any last minute gifts. Or if you're like my husband - you've just begun to shop.

Why not make it easy on yourself and shop local? Shipping would most likely be quick, you'd be avoiding long lines at the stores and you'd be supporting a small local business.

Let me give you some ideas.
A little something for everyone-
I discovered Pepperjack Home at Urban Craft Uprising. They were my neighbors at the show.

They're based out of Arlington (Northern Snohomish County) and they have a wide array of home products. Everything from reusable snack bags, cotton washcloths, laundry soaps, reusable dryer sheets and more.
I picked up some dryer balls. I've been wanting to try some out. I have to say I love mine!

Dryer Balls from Pepperjack Home

For someone who is making the change to a greener lifestyle definitely check out theirwebsite and or their Etsy store.
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Have a sweet tooth on your list? Well, definitely check out Sweet Coconut Bakery.

Sweet Coconut Bakery's table at EtsyRain's Handmade Holiday Show

Based in Seattle - Hazel's sweet treats are delicious! We were vendors at two shows together and I treated myself to her goods at both.  Cookies, Filipino sweets (polvorones are my favorite!) and so much more. Be sure to check out her Etsy shop. It's okay if you get yourself a "gift" too.
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For the wee ones in your life:
World of Whimm and NueToMe both amazing shops with one amazing Everett based designer at the helm. World of Whimm offers imaginative costumes, masks & capes for kids. NueToMe offers more costumes, clothes and play food created from recycled t shirts. I just adore everything she makes!

A snapshot of her display rack at the EtsyRain Handmade Holiday show.

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For the cook or host/hostess-
Annie Two Braids Designs is based out of Seattle and creates clean and sometimes silly etched glasses, jars and other containers for the home.

Photo By Annie Two Braids Designs

Wonderful reusable containers and a wonderful girl behind the products!
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Other honorable mentions:
For the shoe lover - Strut in the Greenwood/Phinney Ridge area. Shoes, socks, accessories & an attractive shop owner to boot. I adore her so I am biased.

For your fashionable lady - The Frock Shop (Seek out the glam.spoon line - glam.spoonuses vintage fabrics and upcycles them into awesome creations!!!)

For your fashionable man - Momo - in the International District actually offers a bit of everything for him and her. But the men's section there is quite nice, Button up shirts, tees and hats.

For something that sparkles-
Elizabeth Space - Seattle local who makes wonderfully classy jewelry. I love the earrings I bought from her.
GlassElements - Another Seattle local who makes the most colorful jewelry with glass components. I drool every time I see her work - the colors are so vivid!

And bit of everything else:
Loran Scruggs - I believe is based out of Port Townsend makes the most creative whistles and toys from recycled bottlecaps and tins. Her work is amazing- please just go have a look.

All things Rockabilly, Vintage and Kitsch - my friend Sassy has a great eye and collection to share in her Etsy Shop. - She's local to Edmonds.

Know someone who likes to write? Sydney Designs based in South King County creates the most wonderful cards from vintage wall paper. What a great use for vintage wallpaper right? Each card is unique.

One of my personal favorites is Amanda Kindregan - is based "out in the sticks" of Seattle's Eastside near me. She creates the most whimsical art that reminds me of the art in books from my childhood. I love to just admire her work. One of her pieces hangs predominately in my family room.


I hope I've helped someone out with those last minute gifts yet to get.
Shop local & handmade!

xo-Thea

Around the House - Things to do this fall

Our resident "garden" guru Jessi fills us in on a few things you can do around the house & yard around this time of year. 
Read on - you'll happily think twice about bagging up those leaves before guests arrive this Thursday.

A few simple things to do in your garden this fall:

1) Drain and disconnect your garden hoses and store them on your shed or garage.  
If temperatures drop below 25 degrees where you live, it is a good idea to insulate your hose bib. 
I was unable to locate an exact picture of a hose bib insulation cup- but Thea saw a crate full of them at the entry way of a Home Depot for about a dollar.  They are really easy to "install".

2) Do your trees need work? 
If you have large trees in your landscape, it is a good idea to have them evaluated by a qualified professional before the storm season.  My recommendation is to contact a Certified ISA Arborist. http://bit.ly/slEOLz 
Be careful about getting advice from uncertified individuals or companies who are just out looking for work.  For smaller trees, pruning can wait until later in the winter.

3) Leave your leaves! 
For some reason it has been ingrained in us for decades now to clean up all the leaves in the fall then bag them up and ship them off, or even worse: burn them.  But no, please stop! Leaves are a great thing to keep in your garden - compost them, or shred them and use them as mulch in your garden beds. Just be sure to not bury your plants with them and don't allow them to accumulate near storm drains in the street.  The one exception about reusing leaves: any diseased plant leaves should be removed from your garden.


Just a couple things to think about before the really bad weather moves in. Small preventative maintenance things can save you headaches and cash in the long run.


Enjoy the season!

Thankful Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Menu List

Thanksgiving is ONE week away. How time just keeps flying by me.
I really love Thanksgiving. Its is my favorite holiday. No gifts to give, nothing much to decorate and we keep it casual attire wise. One year (or 3) my family just wore sweatpants all day. Why bother to get all dressed up if you have small kids and save your appetite for this special occasion. Stretchy pants are a must! Best thing of all is enjoying food with friends and family and give thanks to each other.

I also really enjoy cooking Thanksgiving dinner. We all have our gifts in life and I am pretty sure that one of mine is the ability of cooking a great turkey.  I suck very much at cooking some stuff but roasted turkey isn't one of them. Hey- when you know you're good at something might as well acknowledge it right? I dote over our bird for hours and I enjoy every second of it.

This year I'll be cooking for 16 people possibly. Maybe more or less.
Traditionally like many other families we each get an opportunity to say what we are thankful for at dinner. Its nice to listen to each other when those are said. Each age bracket has a different outlook on what they are thankful for. Toys, boyfriends, jobs, health etc...  The evolution of life is great like that.

I'm just very thankful in general. My ages states that I haven't lived very long on Earth but my soul would argue otherwise. Time is fleeting and you have to enjoy things and be thankful for them while you can.

xo-Thea

(x-post from Thea's main blog)

The First Accident

Yesterday afternoon my daughter was in her first car accident.
She wasn't driving but she was in the front seat in her boyfriend's car on the way home from school.

A lady rear ended the car in front of her which propelled that car into "my" kids car. *My daughter & boyfriend  have been dating for 2 years so he's like my kid at this point.*

The cars were at a complete stop when she hit them. They called me immediately after the accident and asked me to come there. My daughter's boyfriend's parents were both at work and I work from home so I able to get there quickly.

They had been waiting there for about 15 minutes when I arrived. I made sure that they were all okay. They said that the lady didn't even get out of her car at all or even talk to them. She got out when I got there and I had a little chat with her.  To make a long story short from the looks of things, she totaled her car, the kid's car whom she hit directly and my daughter's boyfriend's car needs a new bumper, back quarter panel at the very least.  The kid who's car who was directly hit said when he looked back after he was hit said he was pretty sure that he saw that lady on the phone.

To protect the privacy of the cars involved I'm only showing a little tiny bit of the damage.

Although the situation was a little intense for a couple minutes, I was very proud of my daughter (who was slightly hurt - face into dashboard) and her boyfriend. They did everything that they were supposed to do even if that lady wasn't being corporative at first.  All of the teenagers involved showed maturity and patience. The kids all "looked" like the stereotypical "punk" kids which I think they are often misjudged for.  I was very proud of all 3 of them - and I just met that other kid right then.

Thankfully it wasn't worse than it was and now they all unfortunately know what it is like to be in an accident. As mom I will never bitch and moan about the high cost of driver's ed. It paid off yesterday.
Teenagers +3 Old lady on cell phone -3.

Do you remember your first car accident? Did it change you as a driver/passenger for life?

xo-Thea

Money is money

Right?

There have been times in my life where I've scrounged for change in my car, couch & purse because I needed money to pay for diapers or other important kid items.

I would be a blend of horrified, angry & sad if I made it up to the cash register with a handful of change to pay for my items only to be told they only accept a certain amount of change as payment.

Read how this Portland, Oregon had to deal with this situation.

Sure it might be annoying for the cashier. I was a cashier just outside of Flint, Michigan briefly once upon a time and I remember counting out a lot of change from elderly couples. Hey I understood. Money is money and like the woman in that story linked above. "If the government issues you the money they "stores" should take it." As a small handmade artist even at craft shows I accept change as payment.

Hard times falls upon the best of us why not do what we can and help someone out?

Recipe - Crockpot Yogurt

Apologies for the quietness around these parts. I have a few posts lined up that I need to gather pictures for. Because blog posts are more fun with pictures. So stay tuned for that.

So this week my kids had a 3 day school week so I had to cram a lot of stuff in before we started a 4 day weekend. But for long weekends like this I like do something small but special as a treat, so I made some delicious home made yogurt.
I decided to make a little video about it:

I know there are other methods and recipes for this. I know if you add powdered milk it will help thicken the yogurt if you are using 2% milk. I have never tried that so I didn't mention it. 

You can use any type of milk but we (who can drink milk in my house) only get organic milk. 

Again with all of my recipes and tutorials if I didn't use it or try it myself I won't include it. 

This yogurt is delicious and its a fun a thing to teach your kids about. 

I'm not exactly sure how long the yogurt will keep because so far we've eaten it up with out any spoiling. Remember there are 6 people who live in my house so keep that into consideration if you make it for yourself.

If you want to make half of this just cut the ingredient measurements by half.

Things I used:

1 crock pot
1/2 gallon of whole organic milk
1 cup of yogurt (from the previous batch)
1/2 cup of local honey
2 tablespoons of vanilla extract
1 large junky towel
and patience.

Let me know if you have any questions & have fun making your own. 

-Thea