Thursday: Happy in Snow, with Soup and Bread

First off: British language culinary question.

So what are Muffins in the UK? 

Here they are like a cake but denser and in a

cupcake wrapper but are muffins, not cupcakes.

The last of that tea has been enjoyed.  The tin is now in the dishwasher.

"A dusting of white" I said, referring to the snow I saw on the roof top past our star shaped light and silver-plated tea set.  "Really?", my Husband said, "there was nothing when I got up."  It was white and coming down.  My Husband looked out the window, commenting that yes, now it is coming "at a good clip" 40 minutes after he first looked. 

This morning I pierced a butternut squash with the tip of our smallest carving Cutco knife (my Husband sold them in his college years and got them then).  I microwaved the squash whole at a 7 and 6 power level for 4 minutes each.  It was warm and easy to cut, until I got to the middle where the knife stuck.  If the squash had not been so very warm, I would have completed the job then.  However, I love reading and so went to do that, if memory serves, for a bit.  

The snow turned to sleet with possible hail, pinging against our windows by 10 or so AM.  So much for the beautiful soft fluffy snow my Husband was so excited about, thinking that shoveling at 4 PM today would not be hard.  Well, now I am telling him he must not break his leg slipping when shoveling.  He often thinks I am 'Mothering' him 'too much' when I say this.  I merely remind him of the time that he did not realize, years ago, how sick he was; he's even said I saved his life by calling that nurse.  So that is how that is. 

The dutch oven with all the squash (a good bit of an earlier one was waiting in the fridge but already cut and sadly, some of it moulded, which did not fully surprise me, as the that squash was soft and the outside skin had deep pock marks that had mould.  So parts of that one went straight to the trash bin. 

I put my friend Juliana's novel on my public Instagram account with a short review.   I hope to post the review on my blog as well, but as a separate post.  Meanwhile, you can read it HERE. 

We had a nice family zoom meeting tonight.  Afterwards my Husband commented on my '16 blankets' I had on and I failed at remembering the song and said ' 99 bottles of rum on the wall' and my Husband corrected me and began singing '99 bottles of beer on the wall' and mercifully stopped after singing through to 97. 

My Husband and a neighbour shoveled outside, a lot of work, the snow was wet and heavy. 

I had the New Basics Cookbook out as I made my soup mainly from their cookbook.  My Husband started looking through it, as I have things with bookmarks or tabs.  "Oh, are you going to make a Cherry Tart soon?" he asks, leafing through and then commenting that their pantry list had various ones listed; he wondered why they listed two different orange liqueurs.  About the cherry tart, I was quick to say 'no!'as it is nearing Lent and I am trying to use up some baked goods already in our freezer.  (We still have Christmas cookies and part of a cake that is more than 2 years old, that I had forgotten about).  I got out a pumpkin bread from my Grandma but forgot to eat any.  I did, finally, get a hold of my Grandma though.  

My Grandma told me an interesting story.  35-40 years ago, she and my Grandma went in the winter to Texas (of course we talked about the current situation which we are all concerned about and that's how this story came up).  They flew to Texas and went to South Padre Island for vacation.  She told me it was nice at first but then they ended up having an ice storm.  They did not lose power, but the causeway off of the island was unusable and plane tickets back home had doubled in price so they just stayed there, in on South Padre Island during the ice storm.  She said they were thinking of just flying back home and having the other week of vacation later but they could not afford the higher plane ticket.  The last day or so was nice again but it was not a very fun vacation.  Later, she said, they could laugh about it but at the time it would have been pretty disappointing.  Of course, my Grandma said that they were glad they did not lose power, as that would have been quite difficult.  They had not anticipated such an event, going to Texas of all places, right by the Gulf.  If they went 40 years ago, that would have been 1981 way before social media and I think it would have been less known that Texas could have such weather events. My Grandmother is 90 now but back then, she would have been just 50, younger than my Husband is at present.  Just 6 years older than I am now.

Time, it's such a mystery. 

The butternut squash soup, I want to write how I did it. 

***

Spicy Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash, squash whole at a 7 and 6 power level for 4 minutes each and then sliced in half, seeds removed 

4 cups filtered water with a spoon full of vegan chicken better than bullion

3 big carrots peeled, sliced in quarters

2 smaller parsnips, peeled and sliced 

1 onion sliced into sixths or so 

Put squash in without peeling. Put vegetables in on top.  Pour 4 cups of liquid over that.  Had about an extra 1/3 cup of water because I cleaned out the bullion jar with hot water.  

Cover with dutch oven.  Cook in oven at 350F for 2 hours.  Let cool.  Take out squash with peel and separate and discard peel.  

I then put it in a big metal pot and used my handheld immersion blender to puree it into a thick soup.  Added nutmeg, ginger, hot pepper flakes and a dusting of cayenne pepper.  It was nice and spicy.

****

I made the bread shown in pictures above as well.  It nearly finished 1 glass beer bottle.  Next time, I will put the whole bottle in as I think it would be OK.  I had it in a wider bread pan and so it was not as tall.  It also baked in about HALF of the time (50 minutes) recommended!  I was talking on the phone with a friend, but could smell the bread.  And that bread smelled done and sure enough, it was.   It had a cup of shredded mild cheddar cheese but we really could not taste either the cheese the beer as a singular distinctive taste.  But it was nice with the soup, a mild soft bread with a spicy warm soup.  Perfection for a nice cold winter evening.  Our home smelt so nice with the soup cooking and then the bread baking.  A real blessing. 

I read a lot more of the bookseller book.  I was tired today; got up before 7:30, which was nice but I had got to bed after 12 AM, so not as much sleep as I really need.  Which showed because about 14 hours of being awake, I was falling asleep...

My parents-in-law used to take care of children who were at the hospital for a time and a few of them joined us for the family zoom and it was so neat to hear stories of when my Husband and his siblings were still growing up.  Now two nieces and nephews join our family zooms, looking so lovely and grown up.  It really happens suddenly.  It's really beautiful.  I love seeing it. 

Thank you for your comments - Granny Marigold, I am LOVING Victoria Cottage by DE Stevenson.  Surely she is one of my favourite cherished authors!  I don't know if I ever finished the Fairacre series by Miss Read; I need to check back on that, I love Miss Read!  

Gretchen Joanna, your comment was so kind and beautifully written, thank you. 

I don't always have time to respond to comments as I am often writing late at night and my days are full.  I don't know if I will ever manage to publish any sort of essays as I work on them for a bit, but, as I was telling a friend on the phone, I can never sustain the writing of them.  I find something new I want to cook or I read a book.  Or I am plain tired out.   

It's funny though.  I would like a rest.  A vacation.  To me that would either mean 1. I am at my Mom's house or 2. Canada or 3. Europe.  One of my friends, at this very moment, is on a tropical island; she sent me pictures; the amazing blue turquoise water, palm trees, beach.  I know it would be very peaceful and in a lot of ways, very good.  But I was actually quite happy being here today, with the snow, my books, soup and bread.  Though a rest would be good.  Especially if it involved seeing family and not having to worry about food and keeping up with dishes, and other house tasks.  

I don't know if I will ever make these, but my Mom made salmon patties today and I asked her how.  This is what she told me. 

My Mom's Salmon Patties 

Small Bread crumbs (bread torn very small)

1 egg but recommended 2 for future as it fell apart a bit 

Liquid in can used

Salmon in can used, of course

Mrs Dash instead of using salt. 

My Dad suggested that next time that she start at lower temp to cook out liquid.  That plus the additional egg will help it not fall apart.

My Mom also makes a lot of 'hearty soup' that she gets when they visit Shipshewana, where many Mennonites and Amish live, work and have great markets.  I know to this soup mix she adds cabbage and hamburg.  

It's not just midnight now, it's 12:30 AM. I started this post at 7:41 AM.  As usual I am time stamping it for Thursday so the reality of the time won't show on the publish date.   I will try to sleep in a bit tomorrow.  It was really good to record all of this though, and to remember things my Grandma told me and my Mom.  I love how my parents can make things almost out of 'nothing' like taking a can of salmon and having a great meal come of it.  

Good night dear ones, readers of my blog known and unknown to me.  I pray you are well and that no matter what struggle you are facing, that you know that you don't have to face it alone, that God is with us and is full of mercy.