grace grits and gardening - ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Butternut Squash Apple Bisque

October 29, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

Butternut squash is as popular this time of year as pumpkin spice everything. Am I right? And if you love butternut squash bisque as much as I do, you are gonna be happyhappyhappy about the deliciousness I have for you today. The only thing better would be a real live taste, which sadly I can’t provide via my blog. WordPress needs a plug-in for taste samples.

Look at these perfect fall ingredients. Simple. Flavorful. Two kinds of onions and that’s a good thing.

The recipe, originally a Williams-Sonoma dish, is easy too. I tweaked it a bit.

Here’s a picture of fall literally simmering in my favorite copper pot. (Note to #Wordpress: a smell plugin would be ideal here.)

There is magic in the immersion blender. If you don’t have one, get one. It will turn chunky soft vegetables into creamy smoothness.

Butternut Squash Apple Bisque

Serves 8-10 main course servings, a crowd with smaller cup servings. Reheat on low heat.

Print Recipe

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large yellow onion finely chopped
4 green onions finely chopped (use the white parts only)
2 Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and cut into small chunks
1 butternut squash about 2 lb, peeled, seeded and cut into 2 inch chunks
6 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
1/2 cup half-and-half
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

In your favorite soup pot over medium heat, melt the butter and sauté the onions until softened. Add the apples and squash and cook until coated with the oniony goodness, about three minutes.
Add chicken stock and rosemary and bring to a simmer.
Add thyme.
Reduce heat to medium and simmer covered about 30 minutes. Vegetables should be very tender.
Remove from heat and puree soup until smooth.
Stir in half-and-half and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle rosemary and thyme on top for garnish if desired.

I consider this recipe a keeper. It will cure what ails you. For real.

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]Oh the magic of butternut squash apple bisque. You are welcome. #FallRecipes #Soup #Yummo[/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:

Killing the Blues, Alison Krauss & Robert Plant

The Fault in Our Stars Pumpkin

October 28, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

I have an announcement. Sunday night, I finally watched The Fault in Our Stars. Am I the last (girl) person to see it? Probably so… Although I read the book months ago, the movie is haunting me. I’ve been thinking about the Shakespearean quote that inspired the title.

Since it’s pumpkin carving time at my house, I decided to do something a bit non-traditional. Instead of carving the typical bright orange pumpkin, I carved one of my gray-green pumpkins. I adore these peculiar pumpkins. They seem moody and broody, and if they could talk I’m certain they would say things like “whatever” while rolling their hollowed out eyes.

These are the teenagers of pumpkins, obnoxious yet with personality plus.

When I saw this star design pumpkin from Reader’s Digest, I knew exactly what I wanted to do—carve the night sky into my green pumpkin. I’d call it The Fault in Our Stars Pumpkin.

I gathered up all my pumpkin carving tools including a few nails, screws and screwdrivers. These would be used to make the star pinpoints.

First step of course was to clean it out. I wasn’t expecting this pale pumpkin to have such a rich, fragrant interior. It smelled more like a watermelon or cantaloupe than pumpkin.

This was truly an experiment in pumpkin carving. I made different sized holes to give the impression of star distances. And I avoided spacing the stars evenly because nature is random.

I extended rays from a few of the larger stars using a knife.

There was a hammer involved too.

The Fault in Our Stars pumpkin isn’t perfect. Like the quote infers, it isn’t meant to be.

can you find the little dipper?

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Musical Pairing:

Ed Sheeren – All Of The Stars

Simple Pleasures #4

October 27, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

This quote by author Joan Marques says it all—Simple things bring infinite pleasure. Yet, it takes us a while to realize that. Once simple is in, complex it out – forever.

It is common to get tangled in the constant activity and busyness of life, but living in Northwest Arkansas makes it easy for me to slow down and appreciate each day. The pace is much less hectic than Dallas. I marvel daily at the surrounding natural beauty just beyond my kitchen window. Sunrise over Mount Sequoyah. Brilliant autumn floating to the sidewalk. Here’s a recap of the simple things I’ve enjoyed recently.

1. In a word, bacon. I made these yummy bacon-wrapped apricot appetizers for friends using local Petit Jean bacon and White River Creamery goat cheese. (The recipe is similar to THIS one, but I used apricots instead of dates.)

2. Allergy Medicine. Along with the beautiful fall leaves and cooler temperatures comes allergies. Thank goodness for meds. Can I get an Amen?

3. Planting Iris. These irises came from my late mother-in-law’s yard in Fort Smith. I transplanted them into our Fayetteville garden, and I know she is smiling down on them.