Update on Jenny Lane

Might as well start right there as it was a big week for our fixer upper. Monday the guys arrived and finished the closet that is in our room which in and of itself was amazing to have completed. John then had the opportunity to pick up a paint brush and paint the whole thing. He did a great job and now clothes have actually been put away. The really big deal was the team had decided that Monday was THE DAY to take out the dumb waiter. Sounds easy but it wasn’t. It required a great deal of strategy to get the dumb waiter which weighed a few hundred pounds, lowered to the laundry room. This meant they had to get it working again. Then they had to arrange brakes on the way down so that it didn’t come crashing down on someone stationed down below. The rope was put back on the giant wheel and using clamps and brute strength the dumb waiter was lowered, safely, to the ground floor. The rest of the mechanism was then removed and we had a giant whole in the floor of the kitchen as well as the ceiling of the laundry room, The cupboard that housed the dumb waiter was removed from the kitchen as well as the laundry room piece, While they were removing the cupboard I asked if they could please remove the wall between the kitchen and the dining room and open up the whole entryway. It was determined that this could be done and it was. Oh my what a difference. I decided to try a slideshow to display the photos that we took during this rather major event.

Baking Bread and Making Soup

I jumped right into the bread baking this week with two wonderful loaves completed. The first was a regular loaf of bread and the second was a loaf of sourdough bread. Much, much better than the first one I made. Tastes very much like sourdough is supposed to taste. It didn’t rise as much as I would have liked but I am sure that overtime I will figure this out and ultimately be happy with my bread. The reason I got into bread making was because in the winter I really love soup. All kinds of soup and nothing goes better with soup than a nice piece of bread or toast. I decided that if I was going to eat bread then I better make my own from scratch to keep with every effort of eating clean and using the best ingredients I can get. So far this week’s soups have included a tomato soup, Big Batch Adventist Vegetable Soup, Asparagus Soup and without a doubt the best Roasted Butternut Squash soup I have ever had. The asparagus didn’t taste as asparagusy as I had hoped but I think the asparagus was without much flavor. However, it was still very good.

Wonderful Dog Walks

We walked every day this week with a mix of folks and dogs. The dogs started playing the stick game one day and it was fascinating to watch them. One would have the stick and then the other two would chase the dog with the stick. Then the stick would be deliberately dropped and a different dog would pick it up and challenge the remaining two to chase him. This went on til all dogs had a turn carrying the stick. The following day, with one less dog, the game continued. At one point Wyke had the stick and Bean was hanging off the stick on two legs while Zeke watched. It was the very deliberate effort that the dogs put forth that made it so interesting. We humans found it a challenge to walk through the snow but were lucky to be able to enjoy truly decent weather for the middle of January. Our new extension has a sign and someone kindly plowed a passage through the snow bank. We are so lucky.

Recipe This Week

It was hard to decide which recipe to share from this week’s cooking. It has been a fun week in the kitchen experimenting with different soup recipes. Of all of the soups I made this week my favorite is the Roasted Butternut Squash soup so I will share it here. It isn’t hard to make at all. The longest part is roasting the squash but once that is done it is ready in minutes. It is from a new site called Fifteen Spatulas. Take a look.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter or olive oil (I used a mix)
• 1.5 cups chopped yellow onion
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 3 lb roasted butternut squash* I had bought the pre cut squash so just roasted it in the oven with a little olive oil salt and pepper. This made it really simple.
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 6 cups vegetable or chicken stock**
• drizzle of heavy cream optional, for garnish
• toasted pumpkin seeds optional, for garnish

Instructions

• Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium heat, then add the onion, salt, and pepper, and cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are soft.
• Add the roasted butternut squash cubes and cinnamon, and stir for 2 minutes, until the cinnamon smells fragrant.
• Add the stock, bring the liquid to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes at a simmer.
• Puree the soup, either using an immersion blender, or by cooling the soup slightly and blending in a blender (you will likely need to do this in batches). (Love my Vitamix – low speed, no splash)
• Taste the soup, and see if it needs more seasoning. (It didn’t)
• Serve as is, or with a drizzle of heavy cream and a few pumpkin seeds, if desired. Enjoy!