Butternut squash soup

I bought some fresh butternut squash at Costco on Saturday. It was already peeled, chopped into large pieces and came in a 2 pound plastic clamshell. Having always loved butternut squash soup, I did some research online and came up with my own recipe and the finished product was delicious. Sorry, no pictures.


Ingredients:

- 5-6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
- 1-2 tbsp fresh diced garlic (I used it from a jar)
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 3 cubes chicken bouillon (can sub veg or chicken stock for H20 & bouillon)
- 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp Louisiana Cajun Seasoning
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 2/3 to 1/2 package cream cheese
- garlic salt and pepper to taste

1. In a baking dish, add squash, diced garlic, olive oil, garlic salt & pepper to taste. Mix with a large spoon to coat all squash pieces. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, stirring at least once.

2. In a large saucepan, add water, bouillon, marjoram, pepper, cajun seasoning, nutmeg and squash. Bring to a boil and then simmer for approximately 15 minutes.

3. In a food processor, add the squash mixture and cream cheese in batches until smooth. (I used my Blend-tec blender on the soup setting so it was a no brainer for me).

4. If serving immediately and soup has cooled, add soup back to saucepan and heat throughout. Do not allow to boil.

Makes 5 servings.

Lucas

Meet Lucas, my new foster (hopefully soon to be permanent) dog. It was love at first sight!

Lucas is a hound mix weighing 60 pounds and estimated to be 1.5 to 2 years old. He is the sweetest boy I have ever met (next to Bailey) and I just can't imagine giving him up! I have a weakness for tall men and Lucas is all legs.

Zoe and Rusty like him, too, and all dogs are getting along very well. I'll be sure to post more pics after he's fully recovered from his neuter surgery.

Zoe dog

The famous Zoe-roll. She is the most famous of snugglers.

In loving memory

...of Eve Carson.

While surely a delayed response, I only just noticed this lovely Carolina blue butterfly "chair" nearby the Eve Carson Memorial Garden on Saturday, September 10th, 2011.

I didn't know Eve (unfortunately) but I was deeply affected by her death. I annually participate in the Eve Carson 5K and I eagerly follow the progression of bringing her killers to justice.

If ever there was a true Tar Heel - in spirit and as an example in a life led - it would be Eve. All that I read about her makes me mourn for a bright light lost. I will continue to remember and honor her as a fellow Tar Heel for years to come.

Below, my niece Abby perched on Eve's chair, followed by a poor attempt to photograph the dedication plaque. I was using a phone...

One Day. Twenty Years. Two People.

I'd been wanting to read this book since I read about it in Entertainment Weekly a couple of years ago, but I didn't get around to reserving it from my local library until a few weeks ago. Just in time for the movie right?

In my perpetual state of procrastination I found myself on Monday evening at page 60 with less than 48 hours to finish the book, and I'm glad that's how it turned out. I'm sure I would've loved the book all the same, but reading almost the entire thing in two sessions made it all the more enjoyable. Given that the story takes place on July 15th every year between 1988 and 2007, I think it might've been less emotionally profound had I spent days rather than minutes/seconds between the connected years.

From the back of the book, "It's 1988 and Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley have only just met. But after only one day together, they cannot stop thinking about one another. Over twenty years, snapshots of that relationship are revealed on the same day - July 15th - of each year. Dex and Em face squabbles and fights, hopes and missed opportunities, laughter and tears. And as the true meaning of this one crucial day is revealed, they must come to grips with the nature of love and life itself."

The book took turns I was fully not expecting, but that I very much welcomed. I laughed out loud (so much so that onlookers at the gym made me explain what I was reading); I was shocked and inspired; and I found myself reminiscing about friends and loves from my past.

Emma and Dexter seem quite real. As characters in a story they are deftly developed. I was completely absorbed.

One Day makes the heart leap with anticipation, vibrate with laughter and completely stop in heartbreak.

Here's to hoping the movie directors/producers didn't completely eff up a great story.

U.S. of Tara cancelled and maybe a sign

I started watching U.S. of Tara out of convenience. I had a temporary free subscription to Showtime so I watched. Not only did I find that I liked the show, but I grew jealous of the tight relationship between the teenaged brother and sister in the show. They genuinely loved - and LIKED- each other.

I was over half-way through the 3rd season before I realized there wouldn't be a 4th. My ridiculous affinity of Kate and Marshall's tight siblinghood was sealed by their recollection/singing of the following:

"Lemondade. Crunchy ice. Sip it once. Sip it twice.

Lemonade. Crunchy ice. Make it once. Make it twice.

Touch the ground, turn around,

Kick your boyfriend out of town...now freeze!"



It's television, and they were very cute together. Unfortunately real-life siblings don't always truly love each other.

Tar Heel Bears

Football season is upon us! Hurray!

I have Tar Heel bears for sale. If interested in purchase please email me at tglazener@nc.rr.com.
Bears are $9 each; $8 each without UNC patch; $6 each without pom poms or patch. Shipping included unless you order 3+ bears - then perhaps a $1 extra :)
GO HEELS!

Quality time

I spent some quality time with Sydney last night while her parents took her brother to see his new school. She asked me to bring Rusty along and the three of us played chase until we were all pretty worn out.

What a smile!

Music for Fences Benefit Concert

Join us this Saturday for good music and food in support of The Coalition to Unchain Dogs in Durham.

Something I can't wait to see

I think I've watched both of the trailers for Like Crazy at least a dozen times each, if not more. I'd heard about the film before reading about it in my latest Entertainment Weekly, and all the buzz is just working me up into a frenzy.

Here's the plot in a nutshell, compliments of IMDB, "A British college student falls for an American student, only to be separated from him when she's banned from the U.S. after overstaying her visa."


I love what I've seen and read about so far. Like Crazy is a tiny budget film starring actors whose performances are so organic - so real - that one wonders how they haven't been starring on screens world-wide for months or years.

Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin improvised much of the script - they were given an outline to go on. She wore her own clothes and did her own make-up. Yes, she is a very beautiful girl, even more so because of how naturally she appears on the screen.

I found the way that they incorporated both Jacob's LA life with Anna's London life artistically dead-on, by depicting subtle backdrops of each in the poster of them on the beach. The United Kingdom meets Los Angeles - or not.

The story is so simple and so heartbreaking at the same time. First Love. It is so exciting, mind-blowing and life-changing. Sometimes those changes don't prove to be positive right away, but I think everyone deserves to fall in love at least once. And when it happens for the first time it is truly astounding - weak in the knees, tummy butterflies fluttering, AMAZING.

Quote of the day

"I am never getting married...or having children..."

-Jane Rizzoli (Angie Harmon - Rizzoli & Isles)

That Jane/Angie is a woman after my own heart. Doggies will do as children for this woman.

Dead Reckoning

I was disappointed after reading Harris' last Sookie book, "Dead in the Family," but I was pleasantly surprised by "Dead Reckoning."

The previous book was so far removed from the core story that I grew tired of the "new" plot that I didn't give a crap about. "Reckoning" returned to the Sookie tales I love and felt far truer to the story at hand.

Readers will learn more about Sookie's Fae legacy, as well as her family history and also get some insight into Sookie's future - the not boring one - that may or may not include both Eric and Bill.

"Reckoning" is Harris' 11th Sookie book. If HBO's True Blood really follows the book trail then Anna Paquin has a SUPER long future playing a blonde back-country girl. I'll keep watching for as long as Alan Ball creates. After all, he is the mastermind behind my most favorite show of all time! (Six Feet Under).

And it goes without saying that after following for this long, I couldn't really abandon Harris either. I'm sure I'll read about Sookie until her story ends.

Back Into the Wild

I just got around to reading my July issue of Outside magazine tonight, and I was elated to see that it contained a follow-up to Christopher McCandless's epic story first published in 1996.

"Back to the Wild" was recently released via Amazon, and features the photographs and writings of Christopher McCandless during his last years (as Alexander Supertramp).


Outside reports that in March, those closest to McCandless visited the last place he lived - a derelict Fairbanks City Transit system bus - to pay their respects before releasing the last pieces of his life he left behind.

I read the original story and I saw the movie. I both identify with and disagree with McCandless's choices. I've never been able to come completely to terms with what he did - I can't argue against or in support of it. What I can admire is the courage of a boy who set himself on a course with more drive than most could imagine to summon in a lifetime.

I think Chris was on the brink of living an extraordinary life, but his ambition and narrow focus prevented him from surviving.

Sean Penn and Emile Hirsch told his story beautifully in Into the Wild - a movie I think everyone should see!

Vacation Foolery

The Glazener beach week 2011 just wasn't up to par. Todd's illness wasn't the only wrench in the plans. There were way too many deviations from the regular schedule. I'm sad to say that I feel robbed of a vacation. Boo.

I didn't take very many photos either - really - there were very few snapped. Hence this post - I think these of Abby and I are the only ones I took the entire week. Good shots though, as we were surely having a great time!

Beach puzzle

The Glazeners finished this one in a few days on Holden Beach. Dogs galore!