Why I Love Country Music
Many people make faces or comments when I declare that I not only enjoy Country music, but consider it to be one of my favorite genres. Partly this is from the horrible stigma that socially
exists in people's mind of twangy whiny vocals set to equally twangy guitars. Yes, some Country songs sound like that, but not all. There are a few reasons I like Country, and this is not the place I'm going to defend Country music to the pop masses; those folks won't change their opinions through my few feeble words.I will say that one reason is that most Country music has clear and understandable vocals with "clean" lyrics that still tell a story or paint a scene. I also just happen to enjoy Country music. I'm not sure what really brought this rant on, but it was fun.
In other news, I just finished watching the movie Robots. It was very cute and quite funny. I've noticed recently that the best movies I've seen have all been CG animated movies, often by Pixar. I wonder if that's going to be the future of our movie industry. Who knows.
I also have a really excellent Pumpkin Soup recipe from my work at Williams-Sonoma. The All-Clad demo lady was up at our store on Saturday and made a delicious soup using our Pumpkin butter. I've included the recipe below in a cut.
½ small onion, diced
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups heavy cream
1 can (12 oz) pumpkin puree
1 jar (13.5 oz) Williams-Sonoma Pumpkin Butter
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Place enough oil in a medium stock-pot (3.5 qt) to just coat the bottom and sauté the onion with a little salt and pepper over medium heat until translucent. Add the pumpkin puree, Pumpkin Butter, and stock and stir to combine. Bring just to a boil and simmer over low heat for 10-20 minutes. Use an immersion blender or run through a food mill or food processor for a smooth soup, or leave as-is for a rustic soup. Stir in the heavy cream just to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper. Warm the soup over medium-low heat and serve immediately. Garnish with crème fraise or heavy cream and a sprig of parsley.
Well, that's all for now.
Peace Out!