SMASHED POTATO SOUP

Since some of you were asking... (ok only Mar was ;)

ingredients

3-1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup chopped yellow and/or red sweet pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons bottled roasted garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4-1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup whipping cream, half-and-half, or light cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
Sliced green onions on top (optional)

directions

1. In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine potatoes, sweet pepper, garlic, and black pepper. Pour broth over all.
2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.
3. Mash potatoes slightly with a potato masher. Stir in whipping cream, cheddar cheese, and the 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions. If desired, top individual servings with additional sliced green onions. Makes 8 servings.

I found the soup a tad bland so I added a little bit more garlic, you could even add some onion or onion powder according to preference. The green onions on top made it delicious. Perfect for a fall or winter day - enjoy Mar!

To give credit where it's due, I found this recipe at http://www.bhg.com/recipe/soups/smashed-potato-soup/.

and the award goes to...

First place for the pumpkin carving contest baby. Thank you Chewy!

(That was for you Steve).

I guess I should mention that only 6 pumpkins were entered and two of them were mine...

golfing anyone??

I have a gift certificate for two people for 18 holes of golf at either the Zermatt resort or The Homestead in Midway and Dave and I can't use it! It needs to be used before October 31st.

Anyone interested? You can come by my house and pick it up.

(Payment will be a batch of cookies or some other deliciousness ;)

random happenings for the week (mostly involving food)

What a beautiful place that we live in! I snapped this at one of my favorite places, Sugarhouse Park. I love all the fall leaves, absolutely gorgeous.

I made Dave some delicious bbq chicken burritos (surprised myself actually) and Sophie wanted to eat them so badly. Do you see the determination in her face? This is exactly how she is at every meal. Does anyone have any advise on how to make a dog stop begging? She's adorable but I also want to kick her at the same time...

We did go to the last day of the farmer's market and we found a cute little shop where they make homemade fresh fruit pies - I couldn't resist.

I don't really like honey but I got these multi flavored honey sticks anyway, not bad fyi. I also got some delicious whipped raspberry honey that I sampled and now can't wait to eat.

This whole summer I've had a list of things to do but I never seem to get around to them. One of the items on my list (which has been there for several years) is to plant my own herbs to cook with; I have even bought seeds and the pots but... for some reason or other I just never got it all together.

So I finally broke down and just bought a pot of basil at the farmer's market, and I got a great price since it was the last day! Maybe some day I'll actually cook with them... keep your fingers crossed.

After the farmer's market my friend Hayley and I headed over to the Gateway mall. We found ourselves at the Z Gallery and happened upon some delightful items...

I bought a mug with this on it, Dave says he knows why ;D

Just the time of year for a pipping hot bowl of smashed potato soup with sourdough wheat bread... yummy.

a little slice of heaven

So I'm starting to get into the 'fall spirit' (it takes me longer than most). Probably the hardest part of me accepting fall is because it means that cold is coming... I HATE being cold. When Dave and I were going to get married I told him that one of the things that he would have to make sure to do as my spouse was keep me warm... and I don't mean that in a 'wink, wink' kind of way (which I think he thought it was), no; I meant he really has to make a conscious effort to keep my body at a reasonable temperature.

I've found that one of my favorite things when it's nippy outside is warm drinks, in particular Starbucks' steamed milk with hazelnut.... ahhhh. Love the hazelnut. That's my little slice of heaven for one warm minute in time. I'm not a coffee or tea drinker but props to Starbucks on their steamed milk and, I might add, their amazing caramel apple cider. If you haven't had one of these before do yourself a favor and stop on by. A sip of that deliciousness means 'fall/winter' to me and makes it somewhat bearable. I've never made steamed milk myself before (other than just heating it on the stove) and I think you need an espresso machine, which I have no need for other than steamed milk so... I guess Starbucks will be my friend this winter.

On another note, since I'm getting excited for fall which culminates on the 31st, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

zuma beach

We spent some time at Zuma beach, near Malibu, which was gorgeous so I had to snap a few shots.


Dave's classic "what's-taking-so-long-Kirst?" look.

It was too cold to actually get in, unless you're totally nutty (which there were a few yahoos playing around in wet suits thinking they were cool).

I heart the beach house in this one and the surfers next to it (the yahoos).

i'm kind of a disneyland nut...

This weekend we went to one of my favorite places on earth (Disneyland if course). I appealed to Dave to take me there and we finally were able to pull it together on a shoestring budget.

We went to my favorite restaurant in Downtown Disney. Delicious chimichanga appetizers fyi (which I ate for dinner).
I regret NOT eating one of these, it must have been like the only thing I didn't eat there. If you haven't noticed I kind of live my life being excited for the next thing I'm going to eat.
Ummm... exactly (this one was delicious though, it had like an almond flavoring).
Dave had one of these when he was in fourth grade and said he never took it off, we had to relive it (he still hasn't taken it off... ;D)

I had to take a picture of this kid in the front (click on it to blow it up, you'll be glad you did).
Ahhh, Disneyland, need I say more??

california and the san diego zoo

We had to giggle at this sign, we're too immature for the zoo I think...

Never been there before but we had a great time, as you can see...
These had to be my favorite, so cute and cuddly! I heard they're totally mean critters if you get on their bad side though. I just want to hug the lil guy and let him hang on my arm!

Dave and I, erm, I mean two camels enjoying their day at the zoo.

the reason i do plays...

So some people ask why I do plays... the real reason? I just love to dress up :) My costumes for Evita are so 1940s chic-fun! This picture is me and my lil sis messing around before the show.
Do I belong in the film Pearl Habor? I'm hoping yes.
Another one of my favorite hats, a beret with feathers on it. Can I wear this in real life?


So two weekends ago my sister and I went to the Salt Lake City Farmer's Market (which I absolutely love, and this Saturday is it's last for the summer so you all should go - I will be there as well). We parked by the Rio Grande and since I'm in the 40's mood from Evita I fell in love with this sign. Would never stay in this hotel because I think we almost got accosted by a gang... but I love the sign.

My favorite shop at the Farmer's Market was this one, and I couldn't even tell you the name of the shop, but I'm on the email list now so if I get one I'll let you know. It's this lady who makes these light covers, and there are TONS of them. Above were some of my favorites. Below is something else this lady does, she takes old vintage books and puts blank pages in them for journals. They're so adorable, but not adorably cheap...

And the Farmer's Market isn't complete for me unless I have some delicious delectibles. Bre ate a tasty pesto sandwich (below),

while I ate buckwheat pancakes with nutella, almonds, bananas and home-made apple cider syrup!! It was seriously amazing... and I may or may not have drank the remaining apple cider syrup...

When the sign says "made with love," how could I resist?

Words of advice from Kirst: go to the farmer's market and go with an empty stomach :D

5 years ago this weekend...

Dave slipped this on my finger after a marvelous day of adventure at the happiest place on earth (Disneyland my friends!) And coincidentally, because it really was a coincidence, we planned to go to Disneyland this year, on the same weekend, five years later. What are the odds?! We didn't realize this until a few weeks ago but we'll actually be there on the same day! After five years I better retell the story so I never forget exactly what happened:

While Dave and I were dating I had invited him to come to Disneyland with my family to which he said yes. Several months went by and it was getting closer to the time of departure and one night, while we were talking in his car after he picked me up from class (and we really we just talking people ;), he asked me if he could show me this beautiful beach that he'd been to before. The only problem was he wanted me to leave my precious Disneyland early! The sacrifice! I kept telling him 'no,' and trying to convince him to go a different time, the more insistent he got the more I clued in - he wanted to propose to me on the beach. But I, being the brat I am, kept telling him 'no' and then eventually it turned to 'maybe,' all the way up until dusk inside the Disneyland park. Dave wasn't eating that entire day, a sure sign of stress for Dave, and he had a headache, another sure sign. I kept telling him 'no' while secretly smiling inside. Oh how I love to tease Dave!

Finally I said we could leave and we headed out to Laguna Nigel, which I have to say was quite a drive, at least an hour. And... I fell asleep on the way... much to Dave's chagrin. (We had to get up super early that day, like 4 AM, to catch our flight and then we spent the day at Disneyland, and the knowledge/excitement of knowing Dave was going to propose to me wore me out - so of course I was tired Dave!)

We pulled over to the side of the road in a residential area and it was totally dark. Dave gently woke me up and made me follow him down this little path which lead to some stairs winding down the side of a cliff. So it wasn't the Laguna Nigel that the crowds all go to, it was actually a private beach right next to it that I think we trespassed into... Dave pulled out a blanket, a candle, and an old looking book. He said that he had made me something and started to read to me from this book (which was an old book that he had hunted down in several used book stores and scrapbooked his own story on the pages). It was the story of how we met. All of it was leading up to a trip in which 'Kirsten' invited 'Dave' to go to Disneyland. Afterward he took her to a beach and kneeled down and.... (at which point Dave actually made me stand up, he kneeled down and...) and then some kids who I'm pretty sure were coming to do pot on the beach walked by. Dave patiently waited for them to leave and then proceeded to turn the last page which held the beauty in the picture above. And you all know the rest :D

What a sweet, thoughtful husband I have! Thanks for the wonderful proposal my dear Mr. Smith. I can't believe how time flies....sigh. It's been a good five years.