A Few Different Things

Ola!  I’ve got a few things to “talk” about in today’s post so I hope you enjoy it!  I want to start with a recipe for wonderful espresso chocolate chip muffins a la Kelsey. This girl makes some seriously amazing muffins based on her favourite cafe’s delights.  I halved the recipe for this one and still got 6 great big muffins: DD and I have been enjoying them as morning snacks this week.  We finished them off today and I think a tear or two were shed! Next up is a super simple butternut squash soup recipe that I made on Sunday with a freshly picked squash from my garden:
Butternut Squash Soup
-1 butternut squash, chopped
-1 large onion, wedged
-2 cloves garlic
-2 tbsp olive oil
-1 tsp dried oregano
-salt & pepper to taste
-3 cups stock of your choice (I used homemade turkey stock)
-1/2 cup milk of your choice (I used unsweetened almond breeze)
*preheat oven to 400 deg
*put squash, onion, garlic and spices in a big bowl
*add olive oil and toss to coat well
*roast for 45 minutes
*add veggies and any “juices” to a soup pot along with stock
*bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes
*puree until you get your desired consistency (I used a hand blender)
*stir in milk and heat through
*serve with a dollop of sour cream/Greek yogurt/quark This soup is smooth, silky and filling.  Especially with the quark I used that insisted on sinking to the bottom! 
Now on to something totally unrelated to food; dry shampoo.  Lately I’ve been hearing a lot about this stuff!  I was pretty curious about it so I decided to find out what the rave was all about.  Here’s what I learnt:
“Powdered shampoos are designed to work without water. They are typically based on powders such as starch, silca or talc, and are intended to physically absorb excess sebum from the hair before being brushed out. Those with dark hair may prefer to use brown powders such as cocoa or carob powder.”
(source)
You can buy some really fancy, and sometimes costly, dry shampoos such as these brands:

(source)
OR…you can use what I’ve always used in “emergency” situations (which is also WAY cheaper!):
 
Good ole baby powder!  Now, I like to wash my hair every other day.  Any longer than that and I start getting greasy where my hair parts naturally and where it usually ends up tucked behind my ears.  There are times on the weekend, say, where I don’t have time to give it a wash.  Those are the days that I pull out the baby powder to sprinkle on my “problem” areas.  Just a bit will do and once it’s blended and brushed through you’re left with clean looking, un-greasy hair for the day.  This works especially well when sporting a ponytail. So tell me, have you ever used dry shampoo or baby powder?  What do you like/dislike about either or??  
Now on to some of the yummy food I’ve been eating! Oats.  Was there ever any doubt??  LOL  Lots of fantastic tasting fruit.
I ate this stir fry yesterday.  It was put together using stuff from the fridge such as brown rice, broccoli, raisins and chicken with fig balsamic dressing.  The sweet potato was tonight because I wanted something on the small side so as not to have an overly full belly for Pilates.
And lastly, because I forgot to post about it Sunday,  I made sure to stick Operation Beautiful notes in each and every bathroom I encountered in each tournament city.  These are 2 of them!  
So how’s that for an extremely random post?  I’m trying to keep things a little less “structured” because I feel my posts have been a little lack lustre lately.  Let me know whether you love (or hate) this format.  Your input is important to me, loves!!
Bye for now!!