real simple magazine

my secret job that i'd do if i could regardless of my skill level would be....

real simple magazine art director

i'm secretly a 40 year old urban yuppie soccer mom.

frilly bits

First, snaps to our blogmistress for launching "frillseekers" for all things frilly, frumpy, and frivolous!

I have three points of business:
1) I am in dire need of some new music-- particularly the type that is a far cry from the pathos driven stuff I usually listen to. Any suggestions for good songs to rock out to?

2) Re: Project Runway. Who will rule the runway (top three finalists)? Who do you want to win?

3) I proclaim our first recipe topic: soups.
My current favorite take on the classic butternut squash soup is the following super-easy recipe. The soup is creamy, without having to add cream, and has that sweet spiciness of anise that smells really good.

2/3 cup chopped shallot/onion
1 garlic clove thinly sliced
3 whole star anise
2 T. unsalted butter
1 3/4 lb. butternut squash (cut into pieces)
4 c. chicken stock/water

Method:
1) Cook onion, garlic, and anise in butter in 3 qt saucepan over moderate heat until shallot is softened, about 5 minutes.
2) Add squash, stock/water, and simmer, uncovered until squash is tender about 20 minutes. Remove star anise.
3) Puree soup in 2 batches in a blender until very smooth, about 1 minute. Serve warm.

andiamo!

life is too short to mess around with the fascinating world of blog templates and doohickeys. so let's just enjoy what I had the patience to create so far.

welcome to frillseekers! a little space on zee web to share fun stuff, fond memories, and not-so-private musings potentially viewable to the online public -- conceived somewhere between chinatown and penn station in new york city, one humid august evening, by yours truly, sonali and jenny.

you should have received an e-mail by now explaining some things. but if you want explanations for more things, just contact me, your sometimes-friendly version 1.0 blogmistress.


Y supriya