Butternut squash - not a British game

Image via WikipediaTonight I created a delicious pot of homemade butternut squash soup, since it's Ash Wednesday and a no-meat-in-meals day for Catholics, which I happen to be. Luckily, I had planned in advance for such a day and had a massive container of peeled, washed, and diced chunks of butternut squash available and at my disposal from which to create my masterpiece - soup.

Let's back up a week or so to the last time I made butternut squash soup. I used a slow cooker (one of my all time favorite kitchen inventions - ever) and simmered it the entire day. I then used my immersion blender (second favorite kitchen invention - scratch that, third - fridge must be second.. or should it be first?) to puree the cooked chunks into a gorgeous deep orange soup. THEN I added (per a recommendation I found online) a, ah, entire container of 1/3 less fat cream cheese. And pureed again.

Delicious? Yes. Diet-friendly? No.

So tonight, I created a similar soup, but this time I didn't use a slow cooker (I had to cook that sucker FAST!), and also left out the cream cheese.

And here's the kicker, kids! It was JUST as good - if not better! Mmm, I can still taste the pure buttery taste of the squash, married with cayenne pepper and fresh ginger. It was refreshing yet satisfying.

You want to make it, don't you? Ok, I'll share. I used this recipe  and just made some simple modifications - I used 4 cups of water instead of 6, added ginger, nixed the butter (used olive oil instead, but not as much). bouillon instead of broth (pretty much the same thing anyway), and added cayenne, pumpkin pie spice, and just a dash (or two. or three.) of brown sugar.

Seriously, this soup was so simple and delicious, and I bet we'll get 3 more meals out of it. Saving money? Check. Eating right? Check.


What's your favorite soup recipe?

The journey has just begun...

Ah, wedded bliss.

Some of you may remember me from my earlier blog about my journey to fitness before marriage. I had a lot of fun writing it, and really enjoyed the virtual support it gave me in my fitness efforts. I wanted to continue writing, but decided to update my blogger account with my new name and address... so voila!

But first, an update...

For those of you that weren't able to attend the wedding, it was lovely - better than I could have ever imagined, and perfectly 'ours' in every way. Oh, there were small issues here and there - rain pouring down in buckets, small issues with base clearances for guests (that were quickly resolved thanks to one of my quick thinking family members), and rapidly-melting frosting - but none of those things even mattered at the time - they were fleeting thoughts and snafus that were instantly taken care of.  One of my favorite parts of the wedding was seeing the hands of so many people that I care deeply about involved - the centerpieces, which were lovingly assembled, delivered, and placed by good friends, the bouquets, which were not designed and made by a traditional florist, but by a wonderfully talented artist friend of Tyler and myself, even the emcee role, which was played by "Dr. Love" (he's an actual doctor, which made it even funnier). It was everything a wedding should be, filled with love, laughter, and life.

After the reception, Tyler and I were chauffeured in style by one of Tyler's groomsmen to the Ihilani, where we spent the next 6 days relaxing, eating, sleeping, eating, swimming, lounging, eating, laughing, and reading. Did I mention eating?

Note that I did not mention working out. I knew that was too ambitious. But it was perfect - a treasured time that I will forever cherish and remember with joy.

We arrived back home to a beautifully decorated home, thanks to our dear friends Jennie and Joey who apartment-sat while we were gone, and I begrudgingly stepped on the scale to discover... that I had gained every ounce that I had lost over the prior 52 days back - in 6 days.

Wowsers!

So alas, I am back - but this time to not just share my daily or weekly accomplishments and shortfalls regarding fitness, but to share tidbits of the journey that my husband and I are on. I'll fill my blogs with adventures, recipes, silly stories, and yes, fitness accounts. I'd love for you to be a part of it, as the journey has just begun!