Preview -- One of My Favorite and Easiest Soup Recipes

Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup Puree -- low cal and fat, super high in amazing flavor, healthiness and sheer beauty. 

Ginormous carrots at the Old Town Farmers Market (Lopez Farms, of course). 

Main ingredients.

Glamour shot -- veggies hanging out on the back porch under the pretty changing leaves of the pear tree.  All the cool trees on the block have already changed.  Our little straggler is just catching up, we're so proud.

 Editing (aka, shrinking) the soup photos and will post the whole thing with recipe shortly.  I brought this soup to Thanksgiving last year at Mary and Stilly's (our friends/DC parents) house.  Big hit.  Can even serve in shot glasses.  I just put it in the fridge and bring to work every day and throw in feta or goat cheese, and sometimes rotisserie chicken for a full meal.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Yours, in gratefulness for the sunshine in December,

Julia

Meeting Cinderella and Elvis at a Virginia Farmers' Market

When I met her in Disneyland (world?  I so get the two mixed up, even though my brother actually worked at the California one, as Aladdin -- no joke -- he looks like Aladdin...and then he dated Jasmine, the Little Mermaid, Cinderella and Snow White, at least two of whom were the same person, it was a confusing time for all of us), Cinderella did not look like a giant orange squash.  But I guess they couldn't call this thing a pumpkin, right? (Btw, bravo to Blogger's spell check for knowing the correct spelling of Cinderella)

The princess with her hand on the Cinderella above is my friend Meghan.  It makes sense she felt a connection because a month ago she was dressed like this, Prince Charming and all!:

*sigh* Back to exotic looking squash. Delicatas.

Spelled Kabocha, I'm going to experiment with these gorgeous babies over Thanksgiving. I plan to use
Tiny Urban Kitchen's wonderful and simple recipe.  Someday, I also plan to take pictures as gorgeous as hers!
For now I'll start with a successful kabocha squash bake.
Look at those little kabochas, you know they so want to be Cinderella when they grow up. Cinderella squash, that is.