Food and Fall

Anyone who knows Jason and I knows we love food!! Homemade, restaurant, slow food, fast food, we love it all. On Friday we tried a new restaurant in Phoenix, The Cornish Pasty Company. A pasty is a savory pastry, traditionally filled with meat and potatoes and comes from Cornwell, England. I ate pasties on our trips to England growing up, so it was a great treat for me. I ordered a Cheese and Onion pasty (my favorite) -- here's a picture:


They also had "mushy peas" and oven fries -- yummmmm.


Jason left from Phoenix for Valencia, Spain on Saturday. He had a very long day of travel, but made it safely. He is there for a conference this week; I will see him Friday in Fort Myers, Florida. We are having a mini-Bailey / Hemmer beach vacation while Tim competes in a soccer tournament.

With Jason gone and the house to myself I tried some new recipes and put out my fall decorations. The house smells like spiced pumpkin candles, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and tomato basil soup.

Here are the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. A healthier version of a traditional cookie with whole wheat flour, oats and natural peanut butter. The result was delicious, I totally recommend.


Maybe I'll put the recipe up on the blog sometime soon.

I also made Roasted Tomato Basil Bisque that I've wanted to try for ages. I LOVE grilled cheese and tomato soup, which I ate Sunday night:


Here's the soup simmering away...


It made enough for me to have 2 bowls and I froze enough for 4 more bowls. If you like soup definitely try this recipe!
3 lbs plum tomatoes, cut lengthwise
1 28oz. can of plum tomatoes, with juice
2 yellow onions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 TB. olive oil
2 TB. butter
1 quart of vegetable stock
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
3 cups fresh basil leaves
1 tsp. thyme

Put plum tomatoes on a baking sheet, toss with olive oil and some salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. When you have about 20 minutes left on this, prep and begin cooking other ingredients. In a large soup pot saute onions, garlic, butter, olive oil and red pepper flakes -- about 10 minutes. Add roasted tomatoes (with all their juice), can of tomatoes, stock, basil, thyme. Bring to a boil and then simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Take the pot off heat, hit it with the immersion blender until blended smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, Get one! Seriously it has made making soup so much easier. But, if that isn't an option you can (in batches) pour the mixture into a blender. Once blended, stir in about 1/4 cup of heavy cream. Put the lid on the soup pot and simmer on low until heated through.

Now for the "fall" part of the blog post. Here is my mantle:


And the kitchen table. I have TONS of pine cones and random candles, this my fall creation...


I LOVE fall - pumpkin spice, warm coffee, falling leaves on a chilly evening, football -- it has always been my favorite season.

I'm off to finally pack for Florida...I'll post pictures of the trip when I return.
xoxo