It’s dinner time! Delicious autumnal soup & sandwich

Last weekend mom and I packed into the car and made the drive to Ellijay to find some yummy apples and such. I’m just going to say right now it was a crazy drive. Way too many people on the road and a long drive. We did, however, find some yummy things, like fried pies and fresh apple cider, and strange things, like yards full of unicorns, that made the trip worth it. We came home with bags full of apples and sweet potatoes which inspired me to find healthy and delicious recipes to use these farm fresh ingredients.
Tonight was soup night. And it is delicious!

Curried Sweet Potato & Apple Soup

• 3 pounds sweet potatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 sweet onion
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 apple
• 2 large carrots
• 1 cup cream
• 24 oz. chicken stock
• 1 tsp. curry
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• dash red pepper flakes
• salt and black pepper

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400° F.
2. Prick the potatoes with a fork, place on a baking sheet, and roast until tender, 40 to 45 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, chop your onion, celery, carrots, and apple. Add to a large pot and cook with olive oil stirring occasionally, until soft, 10 to 12 minutes.
4. Halve the potatoes, scoop out the flesh, and add to the pot. Add chicken stock (I added about half a box of stock, so 24 oz.). Mash veggies. Add cream, curry, brown sugar, pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste. Cook until heated through, 8 to 10 minutes.
5. Serve and enjoy!

I served this yummy soup with these delicious crostini sandwiches.

Fig, Pear, & Brie Crostini
Slice ciabatta or other crusty bread. Toast the bread, drizzle with fig jam, top with brie, pear, and toasted walnuts. Drizzle more fig jam and add a fig or two to the top. So good!
Let me know what you think!

What is your favorite food on a chilly October night?

Bon Appetit!
Chelsea

Apple Festival 2011

So I feel negligent in my blog postings lately. Things have been very busy here and getting home late at night a lot over the past week has left me exhausted and not very motivated to stay up and share some stories with you guys. Last week I worked for 2 straight days(30+ hours in two days) as a movie extra getting home super late and getting up before sunrise four days in a row. It was interesting and exhausting but overall it was a great experience. You never know what to expect when you get that call time and show up but I met some very nice and interesting people who also work as extras, there were over 400 people working as extras during that particular shoot, and I even saw some people from the last shoot a few weeks ago. I now have two part time jobs and have been training and working since last week also. I was on call today and actually really happy they didn't need me even though I need the money. I've been doing homework and organizing my closet today with a new shelf and shoe caddy(organizing makes me soooo happy!!).

Beautiful!! :))

I'm in love with this new shelf!! Stella tried to help me put it together but she quickly became more interested in how the screws looked like toys and the cubbies were clearly made to be her playset weaving in and out of the boards as I was screwing them together. Sheesh!

On to more enjoyable items on the agenda here:
A few weeks ago Lily Girl(as I am currently going to dub her) and I headed up to north Georgia for the 2011 Ellijay Apple Festival to celebrate all things apple!

We're on our way!

Jane loved these tea cup bird feeders!

This picture reminded Jane and I of home. It looks just like our spring house with the fig tree right next door. Kitties in windows are staples at our house too!

Hard to tell in this picture but there is a window next to the door and that's our fig tree next to that.

Apples Galore!

Guess the weight of this jumbo!

Which Way!?!

Waiting on our fresh lemonade

Yum!

Cute bird houses made of found objects

Is anyone home!?

Heading into downtown Ellijay

Ellijay has tons of scarecrows every year. I even saw one on a Harley and one with an oxygen tank. Woah baby!

A bit morbid. In front of the funeral home perfectly accessorized with a casket, tombstone, and funeral flowers.

Don't get caught with your pants down folks! :(

Those are some sassy ladies

Lily Girl had a one way conversation with this lady. We think she had a little too much cider!

Awesome graphics on this building

We did a little antique shopping

Look at all those vintage lunch boxes! Which to choose?

We loved this Mary Poppins one!

I even found Maman's Disney school bus lunch box!

I found these cute vintage bird prints and thought it was a pretty good deal, $25 each. Someday they will look great in my house, when I get one.

I also really like collecting vintage postcards. I liked the images and graphics on these with animals, cottage scenery, and flowers.

Reminds me of England:)

Lily Girl made a new friend!

Pumpkin time folks...

We're hitchin' a ride, packin' our friend apple pies in our saddle bags, and headin' outta town.

I hope you enjoyed our tour of the town! Check back soon for more adventures!!
Have a bright day!
Bright Girl