How do you spell relief?

Today felt so long, and ended with a thunderstorm, and for some home I came home in kind of a funk. So, I did what I usually do: turned on the music and cooked everything in the kitchen. I listened to The Magnetic Fields station on Pandora, and by the time "(Don't Know Why) You Stay" by The Essex Green came on, I was in a good mood again. Hands in the hair for the power for music! Um, yeah, nerd moment.

Previously: I had a Nutri-Grain bar before my Pilates class (really hard today).



I went to Whole Foods to pick up a couple things, which they didn't end up having so I got some other things that I realized I needed. Somehow I left having only spent $21! I limited myself to buying only one bar, which saved a lot of money. I FINALLY found Chobani! I only got to have this once in New York, and while it doesn't taste much different than Fage, it has 20 g of protein per cup and is 30 cents cheaper! I only bought two though. I had two cheese cube samples and a little gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free cookie (which actually tasted good). I also came home with 3 huge sample cookies!!! Did I mention I like samples?




I've had the ingredients for this soup for over a week now, and I'm glad I finally got around to making it. I adapted it from a recipe in the September 2008 Gourmet. I had a nice bowl of this, wild rice, and some of Gliding Calm's baked tofu. Basically, coat sliced (pressed) tofu in toasted sesame oil, honey, ginger powder, and fresh pepper, and cook at 400 for half an hour, flipping after 15 minutes. Make this in a glass dish- the last time I tried, I burned it and spent half an hour scraping a metal pan.

This was the perfect meal for the second day of fall (something about orange soups). I am sooooo full though! I'm baking bread, which will take a little longer, so maybe when I'm up late tonight (which is inevitable) I'll have a slice. Off to study...


Spicy Butternut Squash Soup

Makes about 6 appetizer-size servings.

4 shallots, chopped

1 big carrot, peeled and diced

1 can of diced tomatoes with green chili (if you can't find this, you can add fresh chili pepper to your own liking)

3 shakes dried thyme

1 bay leaf

2 long pours of olive oil

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped

5 cups of water

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

12 bottled or canned cooked chestnuts, chopped

1 teaspoon salt


Garnish (optional): nonfat plain yogurt, sweet red peppers (fresh or roasted), grated coconut


Combine shallots, carrot, thyme, tomatoes and bay leaf in a boil. Pour oil in a large pot and add ingredients, cooking over medium (stirring occasionally) until carrots and shallots are softened (about 10 minutes). Add squash, water, nutmeg, and salt and simmer, cover, until squash is very tender, 20-25 minutes. Throw out bay leaf.



Purée soup in batches in a blender until smooth. Ladle into bowls, over additional chestnuts if any remain. Add desired garnish, and enjoy!