During their last visit, the kids brought us a Kabocha squash (Japanese pumpkin) from their veggie share.
Cutting it up was a challenge. I should have used my rotary cutter! However, I got it cut up, saved the seeds and roasted the squash. I have some put away in the freezer, but I made a nice soup out of two cups of it. I was happy with my recipe, which was improvised from several recipes I found online. I used the slow cooker. Here's the recipe:
Slow-cooked Curried Squash Soup
Ingredients
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper flakes
• 2 cups water
• 1 2-cup bouillon cube
• 2 cups roasted winter squash, diced
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 sliced zucchinis
• 1 (15 oz.) can coconut milk
• 1 Lime
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro
• Salt and pepper to taste.
Directions
Sauté onion and red bell pepper for 3-5 minutes or until onion begins to soften. Add the garlic and cook one more minute.Stir in the curry powder, cumin, coriander and pepper flakes. Sauté a few minutes more. Add to zucchini, winter squash, soy sauce, water and bouillon cube in slow cooker. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Add coconut milk for the last 30 minutes. Add salt (if needed)and pepper to taste. serve with lime quarters and sprigs of cilantro.
I also cleaned and roasted the seeds. You can eat the husks and all. They're nice sprinkled in the soup or over a salad.
I finally managed to get the fiber studio straightened out, although I still have some things to do to the loom before I can make the rag rugs for the house. It's nice having a comfortable chair for sewing and a chair mat, so I can roll the chair around. When I'm sewing, I like to keep a pressing mat on the table where you see the laptop in the photo.
I've had to move my Yelloware bowls to make more storage for large items needed as props for the stories. They now grace the upper cabinets in my kitchen.
The chair mat also makes it possible to close the sewing cabinet nicely, because the whole cabinet is resting on the mat instead of the carpet. I still need to get a wall lamp for over the cutting cabinet.
I used this Coca-Cola crate for storing little things in my old fiber studio, but I've discovered that it's perfect for storing little shoes by installing little floors in each of the upper three rows of compartments. I used heavy-duty interfacing left over from another project. The boots don't fit, so they are stored elsewhere. I still have more shoes coming, so it's going to take some thought to find a place for them.
Speaking of shoes, I managed to crochet this pair of shoes this past week. It was a challenge, because I'm not much of a crocheter, however, they are done and I may make another pair or two.
Tour de Fleece started on Saturday. By the end of the day, this is how much I had done. (If you read my blog post last week, you will perhaps remember that I started out with some on the spool already.)
I did some hand-quilting on my whole cloth quilt. I noticed an area where the pattern was fading, perhaps because of exposure to the light or humidity. I'm trying to finish that area before it disappears. You can see that instead of sewing in a straight line, I sew in a zig-zag line across the area. This provides some stretchability, which keeps the knots from popping through or the threads from breaking.
You can also see another trick of mine, leaving several threaded needles in my work where I left off quilting as I got close to the edge of the hoop.
Another surprise flower showed up in our front flower bed. These look like miniature carnations. (My card, normal business card size, is in the photo for scale.)
We had the soup on Saturday night at the beginning of a big meal that included salmon marinated and grilled on the BBQ we bought on sale at the beginning of winter, along with salad and sourdough bread. We didn't have dessert, and we couldn't exactly end the meal with nuts, as is customary, but Kabocha squash seeds are close.
After that big meal, I planned to walk the dogs during the afternoon on Sunday. The pups and I finally made it to 60 miles in 30 days, and here's the proof.
I feel a lot more fit than I did 30 days ago. I haven't missed a day of walks since June 7th. I'll keep it up as long as I can. Tuesday we're supposed to get rain. With luck, we can get out when it isn't raining.
What's on my needles: Still the Coastal Skies. A few more rows finished.
What's in The Doll's Storybook: The Philosophy of Sad Times. (Note: This story was not intended to be political. The stories are for children. Adults reading this one should not read anything political into it.)
Cutting it up was a challenge. I should have used my rotary cutter! However, I got it cut up, saved the seeds and roasted the squash. I have some put away in the freezer, but I made a nice soup out of two cups of it. I was happy with my recipe, which was improvised from several recipes I found online. I used the slow cooker. Here's the recipe:
Slow-cooked Curried Squash Soup
Ingredients
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper flakes
• 2 cups water
• 1 2-cup bouillon cube
• 2 cups roasted winter squash, diced
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 sliced zucchinis
• 1 (15 oz.) can coconut milk
• 1 Lime
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro
• Salt and pepper to taste.
Directions
Sauté onion and red bell pepper for 3-5 minutes or until onion begins to soften. Add the garlic and cook one more minute.Stir in the curry powder, cumin, coriander and pepper flakes. Sauté a few minutes more. Add to zucchini, winter squash, soy sauce, water and bouillon cube in slow cooker. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Add coconut milk for the last 30 minutes. Add salt (if needed)and pepper to taste. serve with lime quarters and sprigs of cilantro.
I also cleaned and roasted the seeds. You can eat the husks and all. They're nice sprinkled in the soup or over a salad.
I finally managed to get the fiber studio straightened out, although I still have some things to do to the loom before I can make the rag rugs for the house. It's nice having a comfortable chair for sewing and a chair mat, so I can roll the chair around. When I'm sewing, I like to keep a pressing mat on the table where you see the laptop in the photo.
I've had to move my Yelloware bowls to make more storage for large items needed as props for the stories. They now grace the upper cabinets in my kitchen.
The chair mat also makes it possible to close the sewing cabinet nicely, because the whole cabinet is resting on the mat instead of the carpet. I still need to get a wall lamp for over the cutting cabinet.
I used this Coca-Cola crate for storing little things in my old fiber studio, but I've discovered that it's perfect for storing little shoes by installing little floors in each of the upper three rows of compartments. I used heavy-duty interfacing left over from another project. The boots don't fit, so they are stored elsewhere. I still have more shoes coming, so it's going to take some thought to find a place for them.
Speaking of shoes, I managed to crochet this pair of shoes this past week. It was a challenge, because I'm not much of a crocheter, however, they are done and I may make another pair or two.
Tour de Fleece started on Saturday. By the end of the day, this is how much I had done. (If you read my blog post last week, you will perhaps remember that I started out with some on the spool already.)
I did some hand-quilting on my whole cloth quilt. I noticed an area where the pattern was fading, perhaps because of exposure to the light or humidity. I'm trying to finish that area before it disappears. You can see that instead of sewing in a straight line, I sew in a zig-zag line across the area. This provides some stretchability, which keeps the knots from popping through or the threads from breaking.
You can also see another trick of mine, leaving several threaded needles in my work where I left off quilting as I got close to the edge of the hoop.
Another surprise flower showed up in our front flower bed. These look like miniature carnations. (My card, normal business card size, is in the photo for scale.)
We had the soup on Saturday night at the beginning of a big meal that included salmon marinated and grilled on the BBQ we bought on sale at the beginning of winter, along with salad and sourdough bread. We didn't have dessert, and we couldn't exactly end the meal with nuts, as is customary, but Kabocha squash seeds are close.
After that big meal, I planned to walk the dogs during the afternoon on Sunday. The pups and I finally made it to 60 miles in 30 days, and here's the proof.
I feel a lot more fit than I did 30 days ago. I haven't missed a day of walks since June 7th. I'll keep it up as long as I can. Tuesday we're supposed to get rain. With luck, we can get out when it isn't raining.
What's on my needles: Still the Coastal Skies. A few more rows finished.
What's in The Doll's Storybook: The Philosophy of Sad Times. (Note: This story was not intended to be political. The stories are for children. Adults reading this one should not read anything political into it.)
What's on my sewing machine: Currently undercover. (Resting.)
What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. Finally making progress!
What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished The Wicked Godmother by M. C. Beaton. Now reading The Flirt by M. C. Beaton.
What's in my wine glass: Kirkland (nothing but the best from Costco) Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage 2017. Surprisingly good.
What's my tip of the week: Don't throw out the liquid in that jar of pickled beets when all the beets are gone. It can be used to make a pretty and tasty egg treat. Just place a peeled boiled egg down in the liquid and leave it for a few days. The longer you leave it, the redder it gets––no food coloring needed. It's tasty as well as pretty. If you are using canned pickled beets, I recommend pouring the liquid into a glass or plastic container.
Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.
