Sunday's Soup/Carrot-Ginger-Orange Soup

I have always loved flowers. I enjoy growing flowers, drawing flowers, as well as picking them and making arrangements...a bit of a flower child :)

Every year for Christmas, my nephew sends me an amaryllis plant. It arrives in a box just waiting to see the light of day. I immediately pull it out, give it a good watering, and wait for the magic to happen. This year's plant arrived quite close to Christmas, so the growth didn't really begin until about the middle of January. The blooms have been absolutely spectacular! At this point, it's a little past its peak, but still gorgeous. One bud has yet to open, so I should, fingers crossed, still have some blooms to enjoy into March.

On a trip to the grocery store a few weeks back, they had the loveliest hyacinths blooming in water. Not only were the blooms beautiful, the bulbs were a deep purple, a little like a purple onion. I thought that although they were forced to bloom, there might be a chance to save them. I would also like to save my amaryllis, so off to Google!

My search lead me to the loveliest website, Keven Lee Jacobs Delicious Living. The author is an award winning food, gardening, and lifestyle guru who lives in New York's Hudson Valley. As it turns out, since the hyacinths were forced in water, the bulbs are shot :(, but the good news is that my amaryllis can be saved, and he gives very detailed instructions on how to save the bulbs so that they'll bloom again next year. I'm so happy!!!   

While I was on Kevin's website, I just happened to stumble upon a picture that caught my attention. In a mug was a very vivid orange colored soup. The soup has some interesting ingredients. Along with the carrots, there's the zest and juice of a large orange and a good tablespoon of grated ginger. 

Once the carrots are tender, the soup is pureed, and then the orange zest, juice and ginger are added.

If you would like, 1/4 cup of cream is added at the very end. I thought it looked awfully pretty as it swirled into the carrot mixture.

Kevin serves the soup with a dollop of creme fraiche. I substituted a dollop of Greek yogurt. DELICIOUS!!!!!!!

A fabulous soup for lunch, or a light dinner. 

You can find a printable recipe HERE. This is one you will want to keep.

If you would like to take a look at Kevin's instructional video, I've added it below.



By all means, take a little time to look around on his website. Great info, inspiration, recipes, and beautiful pictures.

Have fun!

The Wednesday Showcase

It's been a fairly mild winter in Chicago. I have a feeling that the 

bottom is going to fall out of the weather bucket come February and we're going to be shocked! Gotta love Chicago :)

Regardless of the weather outside, thanks to my nephew, it's always springtime in my home. For a number of years, he has been giving me amaryllis bulbs for Christmas. They arrive potted. This year he chose a fun knitted pot with 3 big bulbs. When they arrive, I immediately unpack them, give them a good watering and wait for the magic to begin. This year's amaryllis arrived quite close to Christmas, so no growth before the holidays, but I think this is going to be my best blooming to date. One has just started to open and I'm beyond excited. Once it's in full bloom, I'll share the beauty. Nothing better than a blooming amaryllis in winter, at least in my book :)  

I thought I would share a picture that I received from a pilot that I tagged with on a rescue. Had no idea that the picture was taken. My sister-in-law sent a note and asked if I had gotten a new puppy. I responded, "I wish!!!" I still miss Little Bit terribly, but my heart is healing. A new puppy is in my future. When it will be, I have no idea. I wasn't looking for Little Bit, or Gracie when they came to me, so when it's right, a new little friend will make its way into my life :)

I failed to share a new recipe with you this past Sunday. Truth be told, I was lazy, so I'll share it next Sunday. But, I thought I would share a smoothie recipe that I tried...and loved! Makes for a great lunch or breakfast. I found it on the Fleet Feet website. The ingredients are simple, just a banana, carrot, a little peanut butter(or nut butter of your choice, I like sunflower butter), rice milk(I used unsweetened almond milk), and frozen chopped kale. For the frozen kale, the author says to just buy a bag of chopped kale, bring it home and throw it in the freezer. No food processor is needed for this smoothie, just put the sliced carrots, banana, and milk in a blender. Once it's smooth, add the nut butter and kale.   

You'll end up with a fabulous smoothie that will make you think you're cheating. The frozen kale gives it somewhat of an ice cream type of a feel. It's not sweet, so if you would like a sweeter taste, add a little stevia or honey.   

Okay, enough about me ;)

I had 2 bloggers to share with you today, but it seems that one is revamping her blog, so I'll keep a look out for when her site is up once again. Although we only have 1 new blogger to meet, she's fabulous and I know you are going to love meeting her if you haven't already.

Meet Eli Cat of Cat In A Wardrobe. EVERYTHING she makes is beautiful!!!

I absolutely fell in love with the jacket she made using Butterick 5958. The Butterick website says that the pattern is out of print, but it also looks like you might be able to still order it. It's a great pattern that also includes a vest. Love, love the vest that Eli Cat did!  

So inventive, she took the 2 Vogue patterns pictured below and created this sensational jumpsuit.

What a fun little dress. It all came about because she had leftover grommets from another project and wanted to use them up. 

The cape below is Vogue 8776. I couldn't find the pattern on the Vogue website, but it is similar to the Islander Cape Super Express. This cape features a hidden button placket, which I really like, and of course the lining is after my own heart :)

Eli Cat has been a Member In Focus on Pattern Review. You can see that article HERE. 

Besides beautiful pictures, and lovely garments, an aspect of her posts that I REALLY like is that she keeps account of how long it takes her to make a garment. Great resource. So, check out her blog, I know that you'll be so happy that you did!

Be sure to come back on Friday as a new Sewbussted's Material Witness episode will be up. I think it's a fun one :)

Have a wonderful day!
Rhonda