Butternut Cream Soup

It is officially cozy season, and I love to make soup! A soup I make every autumn is butternut bisque. This is a simpler version of this soup that I found, and it was just as popular as the bisque.

Butternut Cream Soup

Serves:6

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

6 cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 cup heavy cream

Method:

In a large sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the butternut squash, onion powder, and cinnamon and cook 10 minutes. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil, reduce the heat and cook until squash fork tender, about 20 minutes.

Place all in a blender and puree. Pour puree back into sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in cream and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat once heated through and serve hot.

My bread here is a cranberry-cinnamon skillet biscuit with orange butter. 

Cranberry-Cinnamon Skillet Biscuit

Yield 8

Ingredients:

2 cups self-rising flour

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 cup heavy cream

Method:

Preheat oven to 500°F. Prepare a well seasoned cast iron skillet, or line baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. 

Mix the flour, cinnamon, cranberries, and sugar till well incorporated. Stir in heavy cream until the dough just comes together, it will be a sticky dough. 

Knead dough gently and roll out onto a floured surface with a rolling pin until 1/2-inch thickness. Right at this stage I shape the dough to the size of my cast iron skillet and place the dough in it and score it with a dough cutter before baking. If cutting into rounds, use a 2-inch biscuit cutter and place on your baking sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes. 

Serve hot with orange butter.

Orange Butter

Yield: approximately 1/4 cup 

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter, softened or room temperature

2 1/2 teaspoon orange marmalade

2 teaspoons honey

Mix all and chill in refrigerator one hour. Serve on hot biscuits.

Butternut cream soup adapted from The Unofficial Poldark Cookbook.

Enjoy! 

In Victory,

Sherry

A Calm Day

Some days, a quietness falls over the house, and it is calm. That is when I take a rest and plan whatever I need to get busy with.

Peter and I think about the important tasks and the not-so-important tasks all the same. 

Sometimes you have to have your pleasures. You can't go forever without something you find joy in. 

Here at the cottage I have been planning much about the garden. Getting outside is a really enjoyable activity for me. So I am taking tea with Peter Rabbit and planning how I can add to the garden with things I already have in the shed. One of my newest creations was to take old garden fencing and turn it into a cloche to keep the animals off the plants. 

I have made three of these, and they are quite useful. A nice way to use up something I wasn't finding any other use for. Do you have things you reuse in your home instead of buying new?

In Victory,

Sherry

Peter Rabbit Mantel

There is enormous comfort in removing the chaos from your life and surrounding your self with things you love.

I believe Beatrix Potter might have know a thing or two about this when she moved to Hilltop Farm and created her endearing watercolors and wrote her charming books.

I have found some Peter Rabbit dishes and I have relished having them out on the mantel to enjoy.

I have long been a fan of Miss Potter. Here is my set of her storybooks from when I was young. The cottage style has my heart and no one exemplifies this more than Beatrix Potter's in the Peter Rabbit book series.

In Victory,

Sherry

Small Batch Caramel Pecan Scones

I found this recipe and I thought it sounded really good. As I was making it I realized it was a "stuffed" scone, and that was all the better! 

You halve the dough and roll out the bottom, layer it with the pecan filling ,and then place the top layer of dough on. Here it is ready to go in the oven.

This is a small batch recipe, so it is for 2-4 people. No need for a large recipe anymore in my house. 

They are baked to a golden brown and then served. See the pecan filling. I like recipes like this it makes me feel like I am offering my family a coffee shop experience here at home.

This is the scone when you slice into it flaky, gooey, and sweet goodness throughout. Do you like to "coffee shop" your house?

Small Batch Caramel Pecan Scones

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

Scones

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup cold butter

1 egg

1/3 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Filling

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

3/4 cups pecans

Icing

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons brown sugar 

2 teaspoons milk

3 tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon maple syrup (could use vanilla extract)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°F. 

Filling: In medium pan, melt the butter over med heat. Add the brown sugar and pecans, cook and stir constantly until the pecans are toasted and the filling is bubbly. Remove from heat. 

Scones: In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Cut in the cold butter to the dry ingredients with a pastry blender. In a small bowl combine the sour cream, egg, and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, fold gently to combine. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead a few times, until the dough comes together. I knead it right in the bowl. Divide the dough in half. Press one half into a 6-inch disk. Form the scones on a piece of parchment paper already on your baking sheet.  Cover the dough with 2/3 of the pecan filling. Press the other half of the dough onto the disk and place over the filling, sealing the edges completely. Top the scones with the reserve pecan filling. Cut the scones into four pieces. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown, and center looks cooked through between the cut scones.

Icing: 

Melt the butter, brown sugar, and milk stirring frequently. When mixture bubbles, remove from heat and whisk in the maple syrup or vanilla and sifted powdered sugar to create a smooth icing. 

Drizzle icing over warm scones. Serve. Recipe adapted from: Be Happy and Do Good

Enjoy!

In Victory,

Sherry

Spring Dreaming Cottage Tea

Here at the cottage, it has been very busy starting seeds and planting a few things. It has been a little earlier spring than I was anticipating, and it is a welcome sight.  Sitting here at the cottage table, I look out my window and see the crocus blooming. The list of spring chores has begun.

But, for just a moment, I will pause, have tea, and contemplate the joy of the approaching season.

I was so happy to put a pansy on my table today. The colors of pansies always capture my eye.

So each day I am outside, doing just a few jobs here and there. No longer am I confined by the walls of the cottage. What joy to escape and immerse myself in the garden!

In Victory,

Sherry

Peter Rabbit Tea

It is a dark and stormy winter day here at the cottage. The promise of spring is right around the corner with a thunderstorm booming this morning. 

Garden ideas have reached a fever pitch here at the cottage, and I have sat down with this tea and I am planning.

Much inspiration comes from Beatrix Potter. I feel she is a kindred spirit with her little characters and their mischief. This sort of mischief goes on in my garden each year. I only whish I had more time to draw it, but most of my time is spent in the kitchen.

Mr. Pricklepin adorns the pages of March in The Beatrix Potter's Gardener's Yearbook. March is almost here, and the yard work will begin. This book is essentially a journal with an introduction to each month that describes what is happening from a gardening perspective. 

Peter Rabbit has always been a favorite of mine! We had a rabbit last week sitting up just like this in the front yard.

How adorable is Miss Potter's art on tea ware! 

Oh dear, it looks like Peter is yet again into mischief! 

My new favorite teapot! It  may be my favorite of all. The illustrations give me such inspiration and they are so delightful to look upon. Spring is really close and the outside planting can begin!! 

In Victory,

Sherry

Midwinter Tea

I am having a little midwinter tea. I needed a pretty picture. I have been starting seeds for herbs and flowers, and the weather has teased me with really nice temps this week, but it is way too early to get excited yet. 

It is bittersweet to not have roses but instead thorns and thistles. 

This is a really pretty teacup, though: Highland Thistle by Royal Albert. 

I made these Scandinavian almond bars. I searched and searched for a dessert for this week, and in my melancholy mood, I couldn't decide on one, and then I saw the reviews on this cookie. It was just as good as the comments said it was. My family said this cookie might be one of the best I ever made. I was sort of surprised because it is very humble. I embellished it with sprinkles and some fresh raspberry juice in the icing to make it pink.

Before we plant, we have to deal with the thorns and the thistles, but persevere, my friend. The Son is coming. 

In Victory,

Sherry

Mini Bouquet in Winter

 

Much to my surprise, there are still pansies in the garden. I don't know if I have ever seen flowers blooming in January here. They will be gone later this week; it is going to get really cold!

So I used a little creamer and made a bouquet of pansies this week for my cottage table. Time to plant any winter seeds you have to get started this week. I am going to start with parsley and maybe sweet peas. Are you growing anything?

In Victory,

Sherry

Fresh Peppermint Tea

Welcome back! I took a little break. I am getting my ideas in order, and one of the ideas I had was to use more of my herbs in cooking. I have this book I found at the thrift store that is perfect to get me started with this. It is called The Herbal Yearbook by Gillian Haslam. The book is laid out monthly with crafts or cullinary ways to use them. 

So for the month of January I am making peppermint tea. I have been surprised to see that you can still find peppermint around the doorstep. It hasn't frozen yet. Peppermint tea is excellent for headaches, clogged sinuses, and may ease digestive issues. (source)

Fresh Peppermint Tea

Add three teaspoons of crushed fresh leaves to a pot of boiling water. Let it infuse for three to four minutes. 

My tea is steeping with a tea cozy on. This lovely cozy was made for me by Roxy of Living From Glory to Glory. I had a post about the lovely cozies she sent me here.

Time for tea.

I sweetened it with honey. 

Look at that color! It is a little different than dried peppermint tea. So there you have it! Tea without going to the grocery store. I have a ton of practical ideas outlined for the blog this year and hope to give you more great ideas and ways to use herbs and pantry items to cook from scratch. And it is almost time to start planting again! 

In Victory,

Sherry

Winter Hutch and Mantel

Winter decorating at my house has become a very low-key affair. So, I opt for candles, not electricity, branches of pine, and not garlands. 

I displayed a new set of transferware in the hutch and pulled out some different pewter. 

I really like how it looks. Nothing too splashy, just a little more comfy since we are inside for a few months. 

On the mantel, I added some ferns to remind me of the ferns that will grow as soon as spring gets here.

Candles aglow are a wonderful sight. We are all lighting our candles so we can all shine together.

Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8:12

In Victory,

Sherry