– by Neil White (on my Kindle) – a really, really interesting book. It’s a memoir about the year the author spent in prison in Louisiana. About his sanctimonious attitude when he arrived there (he was convicted of kiting checks trying to keep his publishing business afloat) and what he learns during his year. But as much as it’s about his life as a prisoner, it’s more about the other residents of the prison – the last remaining lepers (Hansen’s Disease) who are provided for in the facility. Neil White is quite a character and I wondered more than once if he was ever going to “get it,” that he was greedy and egotistical. The book wasn’t published for about 10 years after his release, so at least he didn’t profit immediately by telling tales. The epilogue was so sad – listing the deaths of many of the leprosy patients and some of the inmates he came to call friends. One person at amazon commented that it was not worth reading because the author profited from his incarceration, and that he didn’t appear to have redeemed himself. I disagree – I think he did. If he didn’t, then he knows how to spin a good yarn. I choose to believe he learned a whole lot about himself and where his life took a (wrong) left turn, and that he’s trying to atone for his failings by publishing the book. You decide.
- by P.D. James (on my Kindle) – if I hadn’t read about this book in the Los Angeles Times a week or so ago I’d never have pursued this book. It’s nothing even close to her wealth of books of the mystery genre. But yes, it IS a mystery (not something I normally read) but it takes place about 5 years after Pride and Prejudice leaves off. That was the hook for me. An entertaining read and a way to keep in touch with all the lovable (and not-so) characters from Jane Austen’s classic. It’s not a page-turner in the true mystery-murder style, but it’s fun to read.
– by Judith Ryan Hendricks – I picked up this book at a lending library I use now and then. I have to laugh, though – the collection of books (probably numbering about 350 or so) is divided by paperback and hardback. And then by color. COLOR? I find that so ludicrous. But anyway, the title caught my eye. It’s definitely a novel, about a youngish woman who’s been a baker and a chef, but who is suddenly single. It’s about her struggle to find herself, to find a new rhythm of life. In the telling of the journey some recipes are included (baked goods, including bread-bread), which are available on the 
– by Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman) – most everyone who reads blogs knows about Ree – the Pioneer Woman, from Pawhuska, Oklahoma. She’s always entertaining, whimsical and enjoyable to read. A couple of years ago she wrote a memoir of her romance with Ladd, her now husband. I can’t count how many times, as I was reading this, that I was LOLing (Laughing Out Loud). She is such a witty writer and knows how to tell a story. Even though I know she married Ladd and has since had 4 children, I was caught up in her story from the first page. I wrote it up in more detail on
– (on my Kindle) Michael Tucker (from L.A. Law some years ago) and his wife, on a whim almost, buy a home in Umbria. An old, old, old house with two bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, I think, and a nice terrace (where a lot of living goes on in Italian homes and families). It’s the story of the purchase itself, the friends they meet, the neighbors, how Michael finds the best butcher(s), bakers and candlestick makers. It made me long for another trip to Italy, actually. They enlarge the home, although they’re not there for most of the construction. It’s a similar tale to Frances Mayes’ books and Peter Mayle’s books too, but it’s different. Tucker is a TV star; his wife’s a stage actress. They live on some higher plane than I do, for sure, with lots of friends with connections. But it’s a cute story and I enjoyed it clear to the end.
(Stacy Schiff); 
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Seems like there are just a hundred ways to make butternut squash soup. I’ve posted a few – my roasted butternut squash soup (the most complicated of all of my butternut soups, but probably the best tasting too) – and my next favorite, zippy butternut squash soup with jalapeno and ginger. Then there’s another one, roasted butternut squash soup with pancetta and sage too. All of those are made with oven roasting and/or on the stovetop. All the soups are do-able, but I thought hmmm, maybe I could use my new slow cooker and make the jalapeno and ginger one even easier than it already was.
I looked up the ingredients and piled them into the slow cooker. Which means this is one of those recipes when you can throw it in the pot and forget it. No pre-cooking of anything. I didn’t saute the onions, or garlic. All I did was set it on high for about 2 hours, then at low for another 3-4 hours. Then I put everything in the blender, (in batches) along with just a bit of heavy cream and it was lick-the-bowl delicious. I didn’t add the brown sugar because it didn’t need it. I didn’t have creme fraiche which was called for in the original recipe, either, but otherwise the ingredients were very close to the first one. Quantities were a bit different. What makes this great is you can put everything into the crockpot and not have to bother with waiting for it to simmer. If you’re not going to be home, just do the normal thing – set on automatic (the older crockpots did that for you – my new one doesn’t) and it cooks for 2 hours at high, then switches to low until you turn it off.
Once the soup was smoothed out in the blender, I reheated it and served the soup with some toasted pecans on top. If you are going to make this, I’d recommend using my Peppered Pecans (my all-time favorite spicy nut) to garnish the soup. I happened to have had some leftover pecans from the Radicchio Salad I made a week or so ago which had a touch of cayenne in them. They were great on the soup. I particularly liked the texture change – the soup needs something to give it a different texture from the silky smooth consistency of the soup. Or, if you don’t want to be fancy, just toast some pecans in a nonstick skillet. The recipe made about 12 cups (2 cup servings), so I divided up the leftovers and put them in freezer bags (pictured) to go into my ongoing soup library.
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Crockpot Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger & Jalapeno
Servings: 6
3 pounds butternut squash — peeled, cubed
4 cloves garlic — peeled, minced
1 medium yellow onion — diced
1 whole jalapeno chile pepper — seeded, in chunks
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 cup ginger — about a 2-inch chunk, sliced
6 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup pecans — toasted and minced
1. Into the crockpot place the squash cubes, garlic, onion, jalapeno, salt, ginger and chicken broth. Add enough broth to not quite cover the squash. Push the ginger and garlic down into the liquid.
2. Turn onto a high setting and cook for about 2 hours, until the squash is completely soft. Turn temperature to low and continue cooking for another 2 hours or more.
3. If time permits, cool slightly, then in batches, puree the soup in a blender. Do not fill more than half full as the heat and steam may blow the lid off.
4. Serve immediately, or cool and reheat later. Garnish with toasted pecans, if desired.
5. If doing this in a traditional crockpot, set temp to low and cook for 6-7 hours, then continue from step 3 above.
Per Serving: 299 Calories; 18g Fat (50.4% calories from fat); 9g Protein; 31g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 36mg Cholesterol; 1410mg Sodium.
A year ago: Coconut Banana Bread
Marie
said on February 4th, 2009:
This soup looks fabulous Carolyn. I love butternut squash soups of any kind and I ADORE your soup library!! What a fabulous idea!
Do you mean, Marie, with all the cooking you do, you haven’t discovered flat-freezing soups? Makes it so easy to defrost! . . . Carolyn T