Southern Autumn Butternut Squash Soup

Funny thing - it only just began to feel at all like fall, here in northern Mississippi. Until a couple weeks ago, it was just Summer 2.0 - still some heat and humidity, but not as much heat. Springtime weather.

Two weeks ago, I was recovering from a long week and declared, on the way home from church, that I absolutely was not cooking for the rest of the day. But then...the rain and drizzle got to me, and all I could think about was butternut squash soup and chocolate chip cookies. So we stopped at the grocery store on the way home from church, and I zipped through the store for butter and brown sugar (for the cookies) and a squash and apples for the soup. In the end, I wound up spending the afternoon and early evening in the kitchen - but we had good food to enjoy because of it!

Restorative Chicken Soup

Most of the recipes that show up here are ones I've developed and tweaked, and this one is not different. But if you've got the current issue of Real Simple on your sofa, this'll look familiar. I was flipping through and found it the day Danny's parents arrived from Oregon, and thought, "we should eat that."

Updates

A few things...

1. )You can read the first chapter of Plain Jayne here.

2.) Amazon has PJ back in stock, so order away without the 2-3 week wait.

3.) Borders (with luck) will stock this Friday.

4.) Wal-Mart (as far as I can tell) is either stocking nationally or only in Oregon and Florida (those are the only ones that have been reported to me). I'm guessing it's the former.

5.) If you've read the book, or if you'll read it soon, and you like it, please post a review on Amazon, CBD, or wherever (hint: you can post the same review on each site. Just sayin'). And no, you don't have to have ordered the book from that source to post a review and rate the book. Positive reviews are very, very helpful when it comes to sales - I really appreciate the help!

In other news...

1.) I watched the "Sectionals" episode of Glee on hulu again. Happiness. There are people who say they just can't get into Glee. My theory is that these are the same people who make unkind remarks about the Twilight books (which is mean, you know, because picking on the writing is like shooting fish in a barrel, and obviously she did something right to get thousands of teens reading books), and claim to have gotten through H1N1 by drinking ginger tea. We must pray for such people.

Anyway, here's a bit of Glee joy to help you live 'till April.

2.) My new method for getting through the winter with a smile on my face is: soup.

3.) And oatmeal cookies.

4.) Watched Alexis Bledel in Post Grad. Not earth shattering, but cute.

5.) Will watch Hurt Locker soon.

Well, I've procrastinated writing my actually book for too long. On to the next writing project!

Twelfth Day

Happy Epiphany! Sorry I've been AWOL. The holidays have that effect on me...

So. The big news around here is that Plain Jayne has released! In fact, it was found in Wal-Marts throughout the Eugene-Springfield area. I say "was," because (by all accounts) they've been kind of cleaned out. I haven't poked around much to see who else has it in stock yet, and I'm admittedly unmotivated because I have a box of copies taking up floor space in the study. Also, I'm kind of holding out for Borders, and they're not stocking for a couple weeks.

But it is out there, and now when people (inevitably) ask me when the book is out, I can (finally) say "Oh, it is out." Like that.

In other news...

-If you're in Eugene and near campus, there should be a bit of something or other about me in Thursday's Oregon Daily Emerald.

-Mark your calendar! Not only is February 14th Valentine's Day, it's also the day I'll be signing books at the Beaverton Powell's. Will get back to you on the time...I think it's 2-ish.

-If you received your CBD Catalog, disregard the bit about Jayne going to "Harrisburg, Oregon's Amish Community." Because Harrisburg is never mentioned in Plain Jayne. Because that's not where she goes. However, two Harrisburg residents (one former, one current) are listed in the acknowledgements, so maybe that's it...

Today is Epiphany, and I had this whole grand plan about making a special dinner or something. Never came up with specifics. I'm thinking of the Butternut Squash soup from Molly Wizenberg's "A Homemade Life" book. Or this recipe, which I'm made before and I think will be much improved by the addition of sour cream (I was underwhelmed last time). And cheese. And maybe a bit o' guacamole for garnish.

Anyway, this all depends on me having day where I'm not completely wiped, which hasn't happened yet this week. We had a BUSY weekend involving a LOT of driving, as well as the dismantling of our tree.

I don't know about you, but with the holidays ending, I'm ready for spring. Like, now.

Lastly, if you received a digital photo frame for Christmas, beware the alarm. I was home, minding my own business, when I started hearing (and not softly, mind you) the sounds of a rooster. Crowing. Yes, my frame was crowing at me, because at 2:43 in the afternoon it thought it was 9am, and therefore time, I guess, to crow.

Hoping to get moving today. We'll see how goes...