Still Winter

Mother Nature has given us a little break from the snow and wind but the hummingbird feeders are still frozen every morning so let’s get started on some warming soup. Remember the butternut squash from last summer? This is the last one and the top half is cut off and skinned.

 

The bottom half will be used later and cooked whole. Slice the peeled section into 1 inch rounds and cubes.

Cut up half an onion to fry first until soft.

Assemble the spices…Bragg Organic Spice and herb mix, ginger paste and bullion concentrate or real chicken broth.

Once the onions are soft, add the squash and the ginger paste, add the bullion paste,

Toss in the spice mix and cover with water or real chicken broth.

Additional ingredients can include garlic and nutmeg.

Cover and simmer for 2 hours until everything is really mushy.

Then like with all blender soups…pour into blender jug and whizz until smooth. Pour back into the pot and add 1 tablespoon or more of sugar free pancake syrup.

Enjoy immediately or freeze. Like with others, you can add cream or half and half before serving.

Another way to keep warm is by wearing a new robe. Last week, I shared Nancy’s new robe made from thick gray sweatshirt material but we also bought some other thick fabric on our buying trip to Portland last year. As the Mill End Store does not always have the fabric content listed on the end of the bolt, we really did not know what was in this material but when I was pressing it, I could smell SHEEP. So there is a touch of wool for sure in it.

We used the same pattern but instead of hemming under the sleeves and pockets, I flipped an inch to the right side and used the fuzzy wrong side as decoration.

The two-way zipper was 36 inches long in medium gray. Here are the sleeve cuffs hand basted.

Here is the underarm seam topstitched on either side of the seam.

The back neckline is stabilized with narrow twill tape along with the shoulder seams.

The front neckline is also stabilized.

Unlike the previous robe, this did not need a collar for warmth so I basted the front facings down and then trimmed all the seam allowances very narrow and wrapped them with a strip of the knit fabric fuzzy side inside. The inside edge was just serged and stitched down twice.

Here is a small indication that Spring is coming…can you see the two tiny yellow blossoms on the crocus emerging from the bark chips?

We can still get snow as late as the end of March but these buds will be long gone by then.

Last week Elin mentioned that all she can make is pillowcases but the lowly pillowcase can be a wonderful thing if you are homeless. Our local ASG makes 100 drawstring pillowcases each year filled with essentials like soaps, shampoo, deodorant, razors and shave gel, gloves, socks, mittens, hats. If you would like the directions and pattern dimensions, just email me: surroundedbywhite@gmail.com  Wishing you all a stress free week as we break into February!