Winter Recipe | Creamy Mushroom & Wildrice Soup

I love the excitement that arrives with each new season and I have to say that Autumn and winter always come accompanied by and extra dose of comfort and sentimentality.  October in Ohio brought an early winter-like weather and I began dismissing my gourds, pumpkins, and fall scents, only to prematurely replace them with foraged evergreen garland, home made wreaths, and pine-berry candles. We barley made it to Thanksgiving before I began the transition from Fall to Winter. What is it that generates such overwhelming excitement with the intro of each new season? I think, for me, it is the "newness." It amazes me how God created all things with an ability to regenerate and it isn't just an ability, but a necessity.

With Old Man Winter just around the corner, my days are made much more enjoyable with space heaters, electric blankets, hot drinks, and warm slow-cooked meals. Today's recipe is | Creamy Mushroom & Wild Rice. It's hearty, comforting, filling, and best of all...super simple. I like to encourage making stews and soups in large batch and dividing it into ball jars to freeze for consumption throughout the winter. I love the idea of making life as easy and simple as possible. I hope you all enjoy this recipe.

If I were given a day to do whatever I wanted, with no agenda and with no constraints...I would create. I think that is my favorite aspect of cooking. “Until I discovered cooking, I was never really interested in anything.”
― Julia Child

Ingredients |

2 cartons Portobella Mushrooms

1 carton Shitake Mushrooms

3 stalks of Celery (chopped)

1/2 sweet Onion (chopped)

2 cloves Garlic (minced)

1/4 cup White Wine

1 cup Cream of Portobello Mushroom soup (can be purchased at Trader Joe's)

1 cup Milk

1 quart Chicken Stock (i used home made Turkey stock from Thanksgiving)

Olive Oil

1 stick Butter

1 box unseasoned instant Wild Rice

1 sprig of Thyme

Salt to taste

Directions |

Start by washing your veggies and prepping each ingredient accordingly (ex: chop celery, mince garlic, chop onion, slice mushrooms).

NOTE| DO NOT SATURATE MUSHROOMS. mushrooms must be dry wiped and CANNOT get wet. If they are saturated, they will not sauté correctly.

Heat about 2 tbsp. olive oil in skillet. Add chopped celery & onions to preheated skillet and sauté until golden brown. Once golden, add minced garlic and sauté for about 1 minute, then add salt to taste.

Next, add 1 stick of Butter and allow to melt. Add all mushrooms to melted butter and sauté until tender (cook time approx. 5 minutes). Remove leaves from Thyme sprig and add to veggie/mushroom mixture. Caramelize by adding wine and cooking for another 5 minutes.

Deglaze skillet by adding Chicken Stock to mushroom/veggie mixture. Add Cream of Portobello Soup, Milk, and salt to taste. Bring mixture to boil and reduce to simmer until soup begins to thicken (approx. 15 minutes). While soup is simmering, cook rice. Add Rice to soup and mix completely.

I love any soup served with a light salad and crusty bread. I hope you all enjoy this simple, hearty Winter recipe. I would love to hear your favorite cold  weather recipes.  As always, thanks for visiting and until next time...Cheers!

-Sarah

Create | Eucalyptus Wreath

The holidays are quickly approaching and it's time to start getting creative. This year, I have found a new love for wreath making. If you have been following me, you'll remember the segment I posted of my best friend Tara, as she created a beautiful floral wreath. This is what began my passionate love affair with florals and foliage. I have always, always loved the idea of having my own nursery/flower shop and creating beautiful things out of what I consider God's most lovely gift to nature, but honestly, the process was far to complicated for me until I began to photograph Tara as she constructed this beautiful, simple, and natural wreath. In lieu of  the approaching holidays, I want to share with you some of my personal wreath making from last week.

I will admit that I am not an avid lover of crafting. I am always so impressed by what I see on Pinterest and Etsy and how some people have been given such an impressive gift of generating profit out of there creations. I will say, however, that I am an avid lover of simple beauty and creating something natural and lovely out of what seems to be nothing. I also feel that the best gifts are home made. I have always thought that cooking, baking, and creating for others, spells "love." It is a way that I can express love for the people in my life that mean the most. So, this holiday season, say I love you in whatever way feels most natural to you. Perhaps it is making something for someone, or maybe it is helping someone in need. Whatever your language of love, I hope that your holidays are filled to the brim with it.

I hope you find some inspiration from today's post and as always, thank you for visiting! Don't forget about the Workshop coming up on the second Sunday of December, where all of you will learn how simple it really is to create our own beautiful wreath. Cheers!

-Sarah

Create | Floral Wreath

I spent the afternoon today photographing and learning from my dearest friend, Tara. As she wove together a masterpiece of florals and foliage, our long overdue conversation filled my heart with joy. I don't get to see my sweet friend nearly as often as I would hope, and there is so much I gain and learn from her every time we visit.

I forgot to mention this to Tara, but I remember when I was a child, I would sit in the warm, sun enveloped grass, weaving together clover flowers and dandelions, creating the perfect exhibit of beauty. As I'm certain every other little girl has done, I would create necklaces, crowns, bracelets, and rings out of these simple, but exquisite little wild flowers. Immediately upon finishing, I would frantically rush to my mother, bearing what I thought was the most magnificent gift imaginable. My mom would always, always, always accept these gifts with such excited gratitude that it fed my desire to continue creating gifts for her. I suppose that is what continues my inspiration today--who does;y value a beautiful, handmade gift.

There is something special about the simplicity and elegance of florals. They encompass all things peaceful and serene. It doesn't matter if I have had e a day filled with negative, stressful, out of my control events, if my husband brings flowers home for me, I almost instantly forget about my day. That's because flowers are lovely and they were created to express love and loveliness.

I hope you enjoy this montage of my day with Tara and her lovely floral crown. Please let me know if I can offer any tips or tricks for making the construction of your own crown easier.

CHEER!

-Sarah

Recipe | Roasted Butternut Squash & Raisin Bisque

As the brisk, shower ridden Autumn days pour over this area of Lancaster, Ohio, I must say that there is a warmth like no other within the walls of my home. While I love the rejuvenating beauty that accompanies the Fall season, I do not–I will say it again, do not like to be outside in the cold. One thing I do is cook. I experiment and give my best effort to develop recipes; sometimes failures and sometimes successes. I want to share with you my take on a comforting, fall favorite. I call it Roasted Butternut Squash & Raisin Bisque.

Ingredients:
1 lage butternut squash
1 large sweet onion
6 stalks of celery (I always use the center, leafy stalks for cooking. they add a beautiful detention to a dish)
3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1 cup raisins (soak them for approx. 1 hour)
fresh sage leaves (reserve extra for garnishing each bowl. you will need 2/bowl)
1 bottle of your favorite Pumpkin Pale Ale
32 oz. chicken stock
16 oz. beef stock
8 oz. heavy whipping cream
Olive Oil
Butter
Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat ove to 425 degrees
Cut butternut squash  in half, length wise and remove seeds. Coat flesh side of squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Cover baking sheet with wax paper and place squash flesh side down onto baking sheet. (When you place the squash flesh side down, it allows the skin of the squash to work as a steamer, trapping in the heat and cooking the flesh). Bake for 25-30 minutes or until mostly tender.

While your squash is cooking, begin chopping your onion, celery, and garlic. Place about 2 tbsp olive oil into a medium-high heat skillet and when hot, add onions and celery (you can place the handle of a wooden spoon into oil and when you see bubbles around it, the oil is hot). Cook until tender and slightly golden. Add strained raisins and garlic to the celery and onion mixture and salt to taste. Let sauté for about 3-5 minutes, stirring so that your mixture does not burn. Next, add your favorite Pumpkin Pale Ale and sage leaves and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Once mixture has become slightly thick, remove from heat and set aside.

Once squash has cooled enough to handle, remove skin and chop into 1 inch cubes. Place 4-5 tbsp of butter into med-high heat stock pot or dutch oven and melt. Add squash to melted butter and salt to taste. Once squash is fully coated with the butter, add chicken stock and beef stock. Bring to boil. Once boiling, lower heat to simmer and add the raisin, onion, celery and ale mixture. Allow mixture to simmer for about 15 minutes (all the while, stirring and mashing the squash).

Now to create the perfect texture. I find the cuisinart electric hand mixer  to be perfect for pureeing soups because you don’t have to divide the batch, but if you do not have one of these, a regular blender will work as well. Once your entire batch is fully pureed and on low heat in pot, add your heavy cream. When fully mixed and heated through, your bisque is complete. I don’t eve use measurements for salt, but rather I like to salt each step as I go. Take a final taste before serving and…bon appetite!

-Sarah

*garnish each bowl with two fresh sage leaves and roasted pine nuts. You can roast you own pine nuts or purchase them at your local market. Serve with you favorite crusty bread.