Wonderings from the Wack

This morning I made a crock pot full of butternut squash soup. Normally I load it up with curry and roasted garlic and make it really spicy. However I was making for my friend L who just had a baby girl last Tuesday. Since baby is being breast fed, I made it a little bit milder. A smidge of garlic only, and some cumin. It was still yummy.

I don't really have recipe but I can explain how I did it. A cut a medium sized squash in half lengthwise and then scooped out the seedy bit. Brush it with olive oil, put both halves on a cookie sheet and stick it in the oven at 350F for about an hour until it's pretty soft.

While the squash is baking ( and the bulb of garlic is roasting if you are using it ) get the crock pot ready. I put in about 2 cups of water. I usually use chicken stock but L is vegetarian. Add whatever seasonings you are using to the pot as well. Crank it up to high and let it get hot.

When the squash is soft, take it out and let it cool enough that you can scoop it out of the peel. Plop it into the crock pot. I whizzed it up by sticking my Braun whizzing thingy into the pot. You could mash it too but it won't be as smooth. Adjust the seasoning as needed. I put about half a cup of skim milk in after I whizzed it. I like it reasonalbly thick, but not like sludge. That's it! Turn it back down to low and eat it whenever.

Ta da! T put the sink back in last night ( with much swearing and cursing ) but we need to wait a bit longer before the other things go back on the counter. Maybe this evening.

The flat surfaces have a nice glossy finish from the epoxy. Should be easy to keep clean. The rounded edged aren't as shiny, since the epoxy was really drippy and some came off. There are two coats of sealer under the epoxy, so the entire counter is water-proof, even some areas aren't as shiny as others.

T is planning to finish up the last few half tiles just under the cupboards this weekend, and do the grout. Most of the stuff to go back on the counter will have to wait until that is done anyway.

This is 2 coats of Stone Effects, plus touch ups. The colour is called Espresso I think, and that's pretty much what it looks like. It's a warmer brown than the photo indicates. The area of counter in this photo is part between my stove and my fridge. You can see the stove area and little bit of the counter in one of the photos from the last post.

These 2 photos show the coat of primer on the counter and beginnings of the tile back-splash. This is what happened yesterday afternoon. T put on some of the Stone Effects stuff as well. It is easy to trowel onto the flat surface, but the counters curve down slightly at the edges and it was hard for it to stick. This afternoon he bought another bucket of stuff and tomorrow he will do coat number 2.
Today he spent finishing up the tile, except for the grout.

My handy hubby is changing our counter-tops using Rustoleum Stone Effects. It's kind of hard to tell with the glare from the window but the counters were a burgundy colour. When we moved in 3 years ago, the cupboard nobs were white. Last year T bought brushed nickel ones, and matching brushed nickel light fixtures. The tiles on the floor are like fake marble with varying swirls of colour. They are light, but consequently will match pretty much anything

Stay tuned for more photos that don't have my husband's loud Hawaiian shorts in them!