Meet the Family: Louise

After Katrina, Joe went to New Orleans to help out with the Red Cross. During his work there he rescued a little cat whom he named Reno. He brought Reno with him to Los Angeles, and not so long ago, Reno and an unknown lady cat in Highland Park became parents to this little baby scrapper. We decided to take her from the streets of LA and bring her to our piece of heaven in the Pacific Northwest.

The entire drive up (it took us 2 days) we tried out different names for this little kitty who would not stop crying. "Mew, Mew, Mew. Mew, Mew, Mew." Chinese water torture, I kid you not. Then it hit me - SING OUT LOUISE!!! (I'm a sucker for show tunes and anyways, Louise... Louisiana - it worked.)
Once we made it up here, she disappeared for a week. Upon resurfacing, Louise no longer mewed.She now spends her days snuggling inside, or curling up by the strawberry plants to watch the chickens. She likes catching and beheading field mice and she loves being pet and cuddled as long as you don't pick her up.

Mushroom Pumpkin Soup

My favorite season of the year is Fall, and all that comes with it. Pumpkins, warm spices, pumpkins, hot drinks, pumpkins and lots of cozy layers.

To celebrate the beginning of this gorgeous season @ Maple Creek, I had to make a pumpkin soup.

I started out by taking a farm fresh pumpkin, slicing it up, and baking it into little squares.

Next I took a handful of dried chanterelles that we had picked from the mountain, and soaked them in a small bowl with hot water for about 15 minutes.

I added a pint of freshly picked chanterelles to the mixture. Soak, strain, then chop.

Next I heated a tablespoon of Earth Balance and a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet with medium heat. I threw in a half cup of minced shallots, and all of the mushrooms and then seasoned with himayalan salt and thyme.

When this was done cooking, I took this mixture and poured it into the blender along with 4 cups of free range organic chicken broth. Puree till smooth. When this is nice and creamy, pour into a soup pot and add the baked pumpkins. Boil, then simmer at a low heat. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Pour into bowls, add a little flax seed on top, and serve. This got me rave reviews last night.

"It was AWESOME." - Joseph

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