Butternut Squash Soup!!

Ingredients: NEED BLENDER

5 Tbsp butter (I didn't use that much)

6 cups of butternut squash cubed

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 Granny smith apples (peeled, and chopped)

5 cups of water

1 cup of apple cider

1 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp dried sage leaves

1/2 tsp ground cloves

2/3 cup heavy cream (I didn't have any, so I used milk. still came out great!)

sour cream and nutmeg for garnish

[1] Melt the butter in a large saucepan, saute squash and brown sugar until slightly softened

[2] Add apples, water, cider, salt, cinnamon, sage and cloves

[3] Bring to a boil

[4] Simmer until apples are tender

[5] Let it cool slightly. - working in small batches, puree soup in Blender.

[6] After soup is pureed, stir in heavy cream (or milk)

[7] Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a dash of nutmeg!!

Thanksgiving Feast!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! I am still full from last Thursday!! I'm thankful for my wonderful family & friends, and delicious food!! This year my mom and I teamed up to make a yummy feast!! We made Bruschetta and salad for appetizers. For main course we cooked Turkey (of course) with cranberry sauce and butternut squash soup!!. Sides included mashed potatoes and yams. And Tiramisu for dessert!!

:) This is our 20lb Turkey!!

Believe it or not, it's smaller than what we usually get since we didn't have as many people over.

Anyways, I will include a recipe for the butternut squash soup!! I already put a recipe of the bruschetta and tiramisu in previous posts. :)

Enjoy!

Tiramisu

On Friday I made Tiramisu for my friend's early Thanksgiving Potluck. It came out great. Definitely well received!!

Ingredients:

2 eggs

4 Tbls butter

4 Tbls sugar (x2) separate

2 pkgs of Marscapone Cheese

2 pkgs of cream cheese

1 Pint of whipping cream

1/2 cup of Kahlua

1 Cup of coffee/espresso

Lady Fingers

Chocolate shavings and/or cocoa

Recipe:

Beat eggs, butter and 4Tbls of sugar. In a separate bowl combine cream cheese and Marscapone cheese. Combine egg mixture and cheese mixture. Beat whipping cream and 4Tbls sugar. Fold whip cream into cheese mixture.

In a separate bowl, combine coffee and kahlua. Dip Lady fingers in mixture.

In a deep dish, layer as follows:

Lady fingers dipped in coffee/kahlua, cheese mixture, cocoa, chocolate shavings. REPEAT

***Special thanks to Lex :)

Providence, RI's Little Gem!!

Yayyy for having Veteran's Day off!!! (sorry for those of you who had to work). Since I had the day off, I thought I'd visit one of my best friends Erin. She lives in Providence, and is known as the tea goddess of Teavana. Go in and get yourself/friends/family some tea today!

Erin and her roomie Cyndie took me to the most amazing little restaurant better known as a "Snuggery" (a cosy and comfortable place). It's called Duck & Bunny.

I can honestly say that was the most delicious wonderful 2 hour lunch I've had in a who knows how long.

In addition to great food, the decor is quite lovely. It's small (a house turned into a restaurant), but it's definitely cozy. Fully equiped with beautiful chandalers, comfy chairs, marble tables and funky artwork.

Nothing like a nice pot of tea on a cold day.

Polenta Fries - Lightly seasoned


Tea Sandwiches - Cucumber with herb butter, turkey with dried cranberry, tuna with apple, sundried tomato cream, smoked salmon with dill cream

Thomas Henry Crêpe - Bacon, scrambled egg & fontina cheese

Mandarin Almond Salad - Romaine lettuce, succulent baby mandarins, toasted almond slivers, scallion, mandarin vinaigrette

The Tiny Evans - Egg Cup / mushrooms, shallots, tarragon, topped with baked egg, gruyère and cream



Mini Cupcakes - They make them fresh daily, so their menu changes. Today they had brownie mint, cppacino, Banana nutell, and red velvet cupcakes.

The Chubby Ella - The most delicious Banana Nutella Crêpe ever

Next time you're in Providence, visit the Duck & Bunny. You won't be disappointed!

312 Wickenden St Providence, RI 02903-4469
(401) 270-3300

Open Tuesday Through Sunday
10:00 am until late

Life Alive

Ahhh, I've been terrible with updating this!! So sorry!! Anyways, as some of you may know, I'm always looking for a good vegetarian restaurant around the Boston area. My grandma along with some of my family are vegetarians. I always feel bad when they can only order a boring wedge as their meal.

This restaurant is called Life Alive (<-- click to check out their website, I highly suggest it!) They have so many options to choose from. I haven't tried them all, but I'm working on it! Although I'm not a vegetarian, I don't mind it every now and then. I went tonight with my friend Elissa (she introduced me to it). Life Alive has two locations, one in Lowell and one in Central Sq. Not only is the food delicious and organic, but the restaurant has a great vibe: fully equiped with great artwork, comfy seating, and an awesome staff. Here's an excerpt from their Mission Statementon on their site:

"We are here to renew your energy and connection to life by soulfully serving you the most fantastic, vibrant, organic, therapeutic, whole food you could ever imagine in an inspiring environment that honors local artisans, the community, and our global ecology."

If you're looking for great food that will make your tastebuds jump and make you feel energized, then Life Alive is the place to go.



Elissa with her organic decafinated tea: they've got a lot so go and check it out


1st pic: Elissa got The Mystic Mountain: it was so delicious!!
2nd pic: I got The Emperor: it was so flavorful, I think I'm addicted to it.

If you want to know what the ingredients are just check out their online menu

I can't wait to go back!!!