Odds & Ends

Well, that was weird. It was nice, having several days off in a row, but it balled up my routine and it's hard to stay oriented. Not that I'm complaining, mind you - whining is for pansies - but I'm actually looking forward to regular life. Weird, huh? ============================ The coolest thing happened the other day, as a result of my little copycat iPod meme thing. One of the members of Thermal And A Quarter saw it and wrote this (it was in the Blogger comments, invisible to the HaloScan world):

Beej said... Wow... nice to see Paper Puli showing up in the oddest ways! I must tell the band about this.

That was pretty flippin' sweet, in my book. I signed up for their newsletter forthwith, because I like a band that likes fans. Their Website. I recommend 'em, and judging by most of the music collections I've been snooping out in your profiles, you'll like them too. Especially if you like your music with intelligence and a sense of humor. I hope they make it to the US in 2007, because I'll be there. I don't get to freaking India very often to see a show. ============================ Since I am, as I said, a copycat, I'll post this recipe here for your recipe reading enjoyment. The last few years we've done a 'soup bar' at the big family shindig. Each of the 6 Mini-Family-Units (MFU's) brings a vat of stew or soup, and Grandma provides the bread, condiments, and salads. We try to outdo each other every year, and it turns out to be worthy of overstuffing. But it's soup, which has been proven to be good for you. It's easier to get bloated if you don't feel too guilty about it. This stuff was highly tasty and worth the effort, and went well with the white chili and beef goulash that were also present. Feel free to pare down the recipe - this makes 36 cups and will last you a while. Pureed Winter Squash Soup 4 Acorn squash (about 8# total) 2-3 Butternut squash (Not summer, I was wrong - about 8# total) 3/4 cup butter 1/4 cup brown sugar Salt Preheat oven to 350. Cut squash in half, discarding seeds. Place on baking sheets, skin side down. In the cavity of each squash half, place 1 TBSP butter and 1 TSP brown sugar. Season with salt. Roast until tender, approximately 1 hour. 1 Lb carrots, peeled and cut into thirds 2 large onions, sliced 1/2 cup olive oil Salt & pepper Place carrots and onion slices on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender and brown, approximately 45 minutes. 22 cups chicken stock or canned broth 2 TSP ground ginger 1 TSP cinnamon 1 TSP ground mace Salt & Pepper Scoop squash pulp from skins and place in large stockpot. Add roasted carrots and onions. Stir in chicken stock or canned broth, ginger, cinnamon, and mace. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper. Puree in batches. Transfer to large bowl and stir thoroughly to harmonize batches. Freeze in freezer bags, press out excess air. Defrost in refrigerator. Heat in saucepan or microwave safe dish.