Pond Bloom, Pumpkin Creamer, Daily Harvest, and more
1. Vibrant Bloom: this week, we had a stunningly beautiful flower open up in our back yard pond. To be honest, I don’t even know what type of flower this is. Possibly a lilypad flower. That vibrant pink you see is all-natural—there’s no filter whatsoever on the photo. The flower only lasted a couple days, but wow, did it put on a show!
2. Chobani Pumpkin Spice Creamer: who knew that Chobani had creamer in addition to yogurt?! I discovered this creamer while searching for pumpkin items on Fresh Direct. AND I LOVE IT. It turns my morning coffee into even more of a treat to look forward to. I’ve already repurchased this and will keep doing so until the limited batch is gone. They also offer an oat milk version for non-dairy folks.
3. Daily Harvest: if you’re a podcast listener, I’d be very surprised if you haven’t heard of this company. It’s a plant-based meal delivery service that I believe started with smoothies. They’ve expanded to bowls, oatmeal, flatbreads, ice cream, and more. I’ve thought about trying Daily Harvest for quite some time and finally signed up. I started with the smallest delivery they offer, which is 9 items. Everything arrives frozen and each dish includes simple preparation instructions. So far I’ve tried the broccoli and cheeze bowl and the mint + dark melty cacao chips “scoops,” which is a coconut-based ice cream. Both were delicious! I’ll update here once I’ve tried more of these meals.
4. Fall Butternut Squash Soup: I know this isn’t a very exciting food photo…I’ve never claimed to be a food photographer. 😛 This week, I concocted a fall soup sans recipe. Over the weekend, John grilled slices of butternut squash, which was the star of the soup. First I sautéed onion and garlic (two cloves from a head that John roasted on the grill) in extra virgin olive oil with salt and pepper, then added sweet potato chunks, mushroom broth, water, dried thyme, and dried rosemary. I brought the mixture to a boil, then reduced the heat and simmered for 25 minutes. Then I tossed in the grilled squash to warm it up, and blended using an immersion blender. We both thought it turned out great and I will make it again!
5. Market Sunflowers: just some cheerful sunflowers that John picked up at our local farmer’s market over the weekend. That white one is so big! You don’t see pale sunflowers that often. I do miss picking up fresh flowers at Trader Joe’s, so it’s nice to have some in the house again.
