Fall Tossing, Peanut Butter Frosting, & Zucchini Soup

First truth: I love my sewing room. Second truth: Although it was the largest available room in my house, it's way too small for all my stuff!

Cramped space isn't all bad, I suppose. There is an upside to squeezing everything into a small room. Since it doesn't take much clutter to turn the space into a maze, there's no choice but to keep things organized. That's not a bad thing.

On the other hand, controlling chaos also forces the occasional sort and toss, and parting with things can be downright painful. The overstuffed boxes, drawers, baskets, and surfaces have reached the point where something has to go. Make that plural. Lots of somethings have to go. I'll be saying good-bye to a few projects, both finished and unfinished, extra fabrics and supplies, and some other accumulated "stuff". Where to start? Where to stop? Most important of all, who to dump it on?

Taking the first step in the grand clean out wasn't hard at all. My daughter rather likes one of the numerous UFOs in my boxes, so it's going to her house. I've been working on it this week. The less than perfect quilting is completed, and the binding goes on later today. That's one item gone.  More to come.

My daughter's choice: a disappearing four patch lap quilt in Kaffe Fassett prints.

There are only two places you need to look for me in my house. If I'm not in the sewing room, check the kitchen. This week my kitchen time was limited so the recipes were quick and easy.

The soup of the week was extra yummy "Cream of Zucchini Soup" from skinnytaste.com. This is my new favorite soup for fall. Terri Lyn shared the link with me, and I'm sharing it with all of you. Thank you, Terri! If anyone else has a super recipe for any favorite food, please let me know and I'll post it here. 

I served the soup with melon and a chunk of whole wheat baguette. It made such a tasty, healthy lunch. 

Creamy Zucchini Soup
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2008/03/cream-of-zucchini-soup-1-ww-point.html?m=1

I also baked a cake this week. Thursday was the day for my monthly fifth grade book talks, and I had lunch in the teacher's lounge with my buddies. I aways try to take a treat for them, and this cake was it.

I should have taken my photo before the cake was discovered. These two little pieces are all that remain.

The cake was a basic sour cream chocolate dump cake that was just okay. My peanut butter frosting, though, was a real hit, and everyone wanted the recipe.  I hardly dare to call it a recipe. It's just a buttercream frosting made with equal amounts of butter and peanut butter.

This is the way I made it for an 8" square cake. Pair it with your favorite baked chocolate something,  and get ready for rave reviews.

1. In a medium bowl, cream 1/4 cup of room temperature butter and and 1/4 cup of peanut butter together until fluffy. 
2. Add a teaspoon of vanilla, three or four tablespoons of milk, and a couple of cups of powdered sugar. Blend thoroughly.
3. Add more milk and/or powdered sugar until the frosting is a nice spreadable consistency.
4. Frost cooled cake, cupcakes, or cookies and grate a little chocolate on top. 

... or just eat it with a spoon.
:)

Wishing you a lovely last week in October.