What an exciting and exhausting week I’ve had and I still have two work days left until Sunday! I think I said it on Monday, but the Universe certainly works in mysterious ways! After loosing five classes and my job last week at a nearby studio, I was able to get right back up and find new homes for those classes at other nearby yoga shalas. I taught two group privates in a student’s home this week too… so gracious of him to offer up his space to me but that’s the yoga community for you! It’s incredible the love and support all the students have given me this week and I want to thank you all for your comments, emails and phone calls too. It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice! 

Speaking of new jobs, I forgot to mention that my husband got a new chef gig in the beginning of January! Andy is now the new head chef of Backlake Golf Course in Nipomo and they are slated to start building a hotel in the next year. If you’re not busy tonight (and you live in the area) you should head down to the golf course for their one of a kind 805 beer battered fish & chips served alongside homemade cole slaw for only $13 until 7 p.m. And they have amazing clam chowder too so don’t forget to try a cup tonight!

Oh! I have a great cup of soup for you to try today! Once again I am featuring local squash given to me by my pal Terry Hooker at Branch Mill Organics here in Arroyo Grande. Butternut squash is my favorite among the winter squash varieties. It has a sweet, nutty taste to it and it’s similar to a pumpkin, but better. The seeds are delicious too so remember to save them and roast them off later. I used my crock pot to make this soup but if you don’t have one, just use a big pot and your oven instead.

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Butternut Squash Slow-Cooked Soup- serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

-1 butternut squash, peeled and deseeded

-4 cloves garlic

-5 celery stalks

-juice from one orange

-1/2 yellow onion, chopped

-1/3 cup fennel, chopped

-1 and 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

-1 and 1/2 cups water

-1/4 tsp ginger

-1 tsp each cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice

-salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Peel the butternut squash and deseed it. Chop it up into small pieces.

2. Chop up the remaining veggies and add everything to your slow-cooker. If you don’t have one just use a big pot instead! My garden just stopped producing tomatoes so I used this brand here.

3. Cook on high for 3 hours and stir occasionally if you’re around.

4. Using your blender, liquify the mixture until it’s smooth.

5. Store in airtight containers for one week if you don’t plan on eating it right away!

6. Garnish with herbs or nuts and enjoy!

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Before I go today, I have to tell you about the new Podcast that I am obsessed with! Thanks to some of my girlfriends, I was recently introduced to Serial, a Podcast produced by NPR and the creators of This American Life, my all-time favorite program to listen to! One crime story is told piece by piece, one week at a time and like a good book, it’s hard to put down, or rather turn it off! This first episode of Serial follows Sarah Koenig as she investigates the 15-year-old murder of a Baltimore high school student. Her story focuses on the girl’s ex-boyfriend who was arrested and has been sitting in jail since. He swears he didn’t commit her murder, and the case lacked so much evidence to prove that he’s guilty that Sarah Koenig becomes infatuated with proving his innocence. It is SO good and you can download the app “Podcasts” from the iTunes store and get it there!

Each piece of the story is 30 minutes!

And along the same lines, I’m currently reading The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace written by his college roommate, Jeff Hobbs. Rob Peace was a remarkable young man who left the hood of Newark, NJ, for Yale University and who was tragically killed I think… I’m not sure about this yet as I am only 200 pages through. Regardless he was a straight A student who helped provide for his mother through janitorial and dining hall jobs and who died much to young. If you like non-ficion, you’ll enjoy this throughly!

Okay so the best part about teaching my new Sunrise Yoga classes at the Yoga Centre is that I actually get to watch the sun, rise! It’s amazing! Join me Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6:30-7:30 a.m. It’s a GREAT way to start your day! Namaste!

And the views of Madonna Mountain are unreal!