Grandpa and Mia's Visit

 My parents came down for a long weekend in October, and we had the most gorgeous weather!  On Friday (while Daniel was at work), we spent the morning walking around the Japanese Tea Garden and riding the choo-choo.

 I love this picture!  Elli loves her little sister so much.

Our train ride was just a little bit chilly this time.

On Saturday, we went pumpkin patching again and decided to try a new one.  Elli was out by the time we got there.  I mean out.  Thank goodness for the bouncy castle, because waking a sleeping bear toddler is always dangerous.  This bouncy castle was big enough to allow adults, and Elli was so excited to play ring around the rosy with all of us!  That smile says it all.

As we drove up to this patch, you can imagine my disappointment when the maze turned out to be a cheap wooden frame with black plastic trash bags for barriers.  Elli was not bothered in the least, however, and figured out pretty quickly that she had the advantage in hide and seek.  Don't get me started on the skinny jeans.  Love.

Our little family.

Monday was Halloween, but I'll post those pictures separately.  What you need to know is that Elli was a "moo-moo," as requested.  Her costume was simple: a white sweatshirt with spots painted on, black leggings, a headband with ears, and a tail. Well, she wore the tail and ears all Monday long.  All Monday until it was time to put her costume on, that is.  She most definitely did not want to wear them to our church's fall festival or trick-or-treating on our street.  

She did, however, want to wear the tail the next morning to the zoo.  :)  After playing with the lion statues, she pretended to be a lion herself, walking along on all fours.  I love this girl's imagination!

Then we actually got to hear the lion roar!  And Caroline was captivated by the ostrich... and her Mia.

The girls and their Grandpa and Mia.

First Pumpkin Patch

 We have already thrown away our jack-o-lantern, so I guess I better get to posting pumpkin pics!  While my niece and nephew were in town a few weeks ago, we spent an afternoon at the pumpkin patch.  We returned to the same patch we took Elli to last year, and it was even more fun with family!

Micah and Elli spent the majority of their time running around the little hay bale maze.  They loved chasing and being chased, hiding and being found.

A new (cuter) take on American Gothic?   

 You can't go to the patch without getting a pumpkin!

 It was hard to get them out of the corn, and let me just say, I'm still finding kernels in my car!

This was their reaction when I told them there was a monkey in my camera.  I was hoping they would laugh.

Autumn Recipe

The weather is absolutely gorgeous here! Sunny with a gentle nip in the air.  Perfect sweatshirt and sandals weather.  I am soaking up every glorious moment, seeking out time in our backyard; relishing the breeze through our open windows; drinking my coffee a little slower.

And of course making yummy food.  Lots of yummy food.  (Good thing it's also perfect running weather!)  I love to try new recipes, and this year there were some major winners in my book!  Roasted Butternut Squash and Cauliflower Pasta (in the September issue of Martha Stewart Living), Pumpkin Cornbread, and Baked Pumpkin Donut Holes.  All fabulous recipes that I will be pulling out of my recipe folder for many autumns to come.

I want to share with you one of my very favorite recipes of all time, and although good year round, fall is it's native country.  Warm and cozy, this is my ultimate comfort food, and the best part is, it's also really healthy!  Perfect to balance out the other decadent dishes of this season.  Also, this is one of the few dishes that Elli always asks for seconds of (sometimes thirds!), and even though Daniel is not usually a fan of sweet potatoes, he loves this one!  So, brew some tea (I'm drinking Harney & Sons Holiday), read on, and then add this to next week's menu plan. 

Roasted Sweet Potato and Apple Soup
The original recipe is from Real Simple, but it's one of those recipes that it's really hard to mess up.
 

You didn't really think I wouldn't have any pictures of littles, did you?

Make sure sweet potatoes are the star, but you could put pretty much any vegetable in this soup.  

I was running low on time yesterday, so I chopped up my sweet potatoes to help them roast more quickly.  You can totally roast them whole if you prefer.  The recipe tells you to scoop out the insides and leave the skin, but trust me, you'll never notice the difference.  Plus, all those vitamins and nutrients are concentrated in the peel; why would you want to miss out on that?

Roast in the oven at 400 degrees until tender.  Your kitchen will soon be filled with the most amazing aroma.

Let your olive oil heat up and then saute on med-high until soft (about 10-15 minutes)

Play around with whatever spices you choose.  Recently, I've been enjoying a curry powder (no, I'm not cool enough to make my own), ginger, and red pepper mix.  Go with your gut and start small.

Okay, not many picturess of this step because it takes too many hands.  Mix in your sweet potatoes to the sauteed veggie mix, add your spices, then pour in water.  If you've got a little leftover broth, feel free to throw that in there too, but water is all you need!  The recipe calls for 6 cups, but I usually think that is too much.  Put enough water so that it begins to look like a soup, but doesn't completely cover everything.

 Okay, the tricky part.  I make a little assembly line for this step, but be prepared... it's a little messy.  Scoop out some of the soup into your blender and puree until smooth and creamy.  You could also use a food processor if you like.  Then pour into an extra bowl.  Repeat until all your soup is pureed, then wash out any remaining bits from your pot before returning the pureed soup to the pot.

Eat it plain or top with cilantro and pumpkin seeds like we did yesterday, or toasted garlic and parsley, or a pretty swirl of cream... whatever sounds good!