Small Town Love | At the Corner of Cochrane & McDonald Streets

I just can't get enough of fall colors!

While running errands in a small town call Port Perry the other day, I passed by Cochrane street {where hubby and I love to brisk walk in the summer time} to check on the maple trees that adorn those gorgeous century houses in that part of town. True enough, the trees are in their full splendor!

Truly ...... "Autumn is the second spring where every leaf is a flower".

From Harvest to Table | Acorn Thai Soup

It is that time of year when all I see in my favorite Farmer's Market is quash! Yes all of them : pumpkins {with matching huge pumpkin patch!} butternut, spaghetti, delicata, buttercup, ambercup, name it and you see it! Over the years, I tried cooking each kind of squash to find out which I like best. I find that they differ in moisture content, texture and of course taste. My 3 favorite kinds are : ambercup, spaghetti squash and acorn. I find them buttery. flavorful and moist, One of their common denominator that I like the least.....  ALL of them are hard to peel! 

If I am cooking soup and want to serve it in the "squash bowl", I prefer cooking with acorn. Its size and shape are perfect as a serving bowl without compromising the flavour. For this soup recipe, I used roasted acorn. That way, I don't need to peel and was able to save the cup for serving.

Before baking, cut acorn squash crosswise in half. Remove seeds. With a sharp knife, carefully trim both ends of squash so that it can stand without being wobbly. Place squash on a cookie sheet {with trimmed ends at the bottom of the sheet}. Sprinkle each squash with salt and pepper and bake at a pre- heated 350 degrees F oven. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until tender. When done and cool enough to handle, scoop out meat and set aside for soup recipe below. 

Remember : if you are using the squash as a serving bowl, leave enough meat on the squash to make a sturdy bowl.

Acorn Squash Thai Soup

Ingredients

3 cups meat of roasted acorn squash {I previously roasted 2 big sized acorn squash. See procedures above}
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 small onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 big thumb-sized fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
1 can {400 ml} good quality coconut milk
2 and 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp green curry paste
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
salt and pepper

Procedure 

In a large cooking pot, heat cooking oil over medium heat,
Saute onion, garlic, ginger and bay leaf. When onion is cooked, add roasted acorn squash. Mix and cook for 2 minutes to incorporate the flavour.
Add coconut milk, vegetable broth, fish, sauce, curry paste and cilantro leaves. Stir. Simmer for 5-10 minutes while stirring regularly.
Turn off heat. Puree using am immersion blender {or puree by batches using regular blender}
Re-heat on the stove and season with salt and pepper.
At this point, you can add more broth to achieve desired soup consistency.
Serve on acorn "squash bowl".

Bon appetit! ทานให้อร่อยนะครับ/คะ 


Linking with : THE SCOOP  *  TWEAK IT TUESDAY  *  WORK IT WEDNESDAY  *  SHARE YOUR CUP THURSDAY  *  TREASURE HUNT THURSDAY

Fall Vignettes @ Home

From my vantage point in my veggie garden, I can see a small part of home looking as if the house is surrounded by the beautiful fall leaves. Unfortunately it is not. Instead, I tried to bring the outside in to create a warm fall atmosphere. Here are some fall vignette @ Birdsong. Welcome.

As the temperature continues to go down and the leaves are being blown by sweet autumn air, our home will be filled with warm hugs {for both human and feline}, pumpkin soup, warm apple cider, comfy blanket and most of all LOVE.

Linking with :  THE SCOOP

Change of Colors at Birdsong

The summer flowers have withered and the sudden drop in temperature magically turned the green leaves into fiery red, blazing orange and bright yellow! Fall makes everything beautiful and enchanting. Even at our home sweet home. Come and see for yourself....

Most of the farmers in the area were done harvesting heir crops. The golden field makes a great canvas for the beautiful fall colours. Our once vibrant green veggie garden and backyard turned into an enchanted fall yard.

Its that time of year when we pause and find time to watch the turning of the leaves, After all, Fall/Autumn is the year's last smile!

A Classic Thanksgiving Tablescape

It was Thanksgiving yesterday here in the great white north. Next to Christmas, Thanksgiving is another favorite holiday here at home. In my case, I get excited celebrating Thanksgiving because it combines the three things I love doing the most : decorating the house, tablescaping and cooking for family and friends. Classic and rustic harvest were my theme for this year's tablescape.

Thrift shops, HomeSense and my backyard are my go to places to source out my decorations. As in the past, all of these things were purchased right after Thanksgiving last year at more than 60% off it original price. And of course, bringing nature in will always be part of my decoration style.

Table runner from HomeSense, table cloth napkin from Pier 1, harvest dinnerware set from Value Village (a local thrift shop) and the wheat stalks were from the neighbor's farm.

To add Thanksgiving theme to my cocktail tray, I just attached a magazine cover with fall theme at the back of the glass tray and voila ....

So many things to be thankful for : family, friends, good health, abundant harvest, happy cat, chickens and ducks, surpassed trials and challenges and material blessings just enough to live comfortably and be able to share to those who need them. With grateful hearts, we gather and give thanks!

Linking with : THE SCOOP