Monday 31 October 2011

Happy Halloween!

I hope your Halloween was full of goblins and ghouls!


The Cane Girl.

Sunday 30 October 2011

Procrastinate No More

I spent a couple of days at my parent's house this weekend.  And even though my Dad insisted that I should stay one more night there's actually a reason I wanted to come home.

I'm not much of a procrastinator.  Okay - maybe I am, but usually when I have projects to do around the house I just get to it and get em done.  Cause I hate things sitting around.

I started my day (okay, it was in the afternoon - I had to travel!) with the blind in my bedroom.  I have a hard time sleeping if it's too bright.  Basically I like my room to be like a cave.  I've always thought that if it's too bright I don't sleep deeply enough.  So I like to live like a mole at night.

Oh geez - did I just refer to myself as a rodent?

In order to achieve the dark that I needed I bought a roller blind and really - it totally works.  But it's one of those spring loaded blinds.  And it is a GIANT pain in the butt because it refuses to roll up all the way.  And during the day I like it to be bright and warm looking.  I'm basically a contradiction in terms. 

And not a rodent.  ick.

In April - maybe it was May, but it's been so long I don't remember - I bought a roller blind that's similar to the one in my living room (which I love).  It has a cord and doesn't rely on a spring to roll up. 

I suppose the reason I've been putting this off for so long is that the store where I bought the blind doesn't cut the blinds for you - you have to do it yourself.  And for whatever reason I'm completely terrified that I will mess it up and cut it wrong and have to spend ANOTHER $40 for a new blind and pray I don't get it wrong again.

So I've been walking by it every day for six months.

I'm so sick and tired of the old blind and looking at the new blind leaned up against the wall in my bedroom I can hardly stand it.  For the last six months.

So - I got out a couple of measuring tools (tape measure and this handy dandy little measure from my sewing kit), scissors, a hack saw, a drill, and a screwdriver and got to work.

It took about an hour - I blame my hacksaw - that thing needs a new blade really badly.  It's clearly not me.  It took forever to saw through the metal roll at the top of the blind.  And I was glad to find a pair of those plasticy hole thingys - wall mounts maybe? - because the one side of existing holes were quite loose.  And now - it's all said and done and I'm quite satisfied with myself!  The edge of the blind that I cut is not TOTALLY perfect, but it looks pretty straight and it's a little ragged, but that's kind of what you get for a DIY job.  And I forgot how big that window actually is!

The old blind - for whatever reason my flash wouldn't go - so it's kinda dark
The new one is up!


After that I moved on to my cutlery drawer.  The weekend of my Mom's birthday, we were out shopping and I found this awesome drawer knife block.  I hate clutter on my counter - even having my KitchenAid mixer up there in between projects makes me crazy.  So I thought the knife block in the drawer would be perfect for me.

The problem is, the width of the cutlery tray plus the width of the knife block does not equal the width of the drawer.  And all the other drawers are the same size so I couldn't even switch my cutlery to another drawer.  I looked and looked for a cutlery tray that was the size I needed and I couldn't find anything I liked.  I literally hated everything.  So the only option I HAD was to CUT the cutlery tray I already had.

My Mom's birthday was in February. 

Yes.  I know!  That was 9 months ago.  And that knife block has been sitting on my counter the whole time.  Don't judge me. 

Had only I known I needed a new hacksaw blade.

I might be the only girl in the world who's grocery list looks like this:
Milk
Eggs
Flour
Sugar
Hacksaw Blade
Tuna

Seriously.

I didn't need to pull out my measuring tools cause they were handily already out in the middle of my living room floor.

Man, I wish I had a garage.
The cutlery drawer before
And now with the knife block!

And that one went really well too!  Plus it gave me an excuse to wash the tray - so two birds with one stone and all that.

While I was waiting for the cutlery tray to dry a little more, I changed out the weatherstripping on my back door.  The door has leaked during rain ever since I moved in - and I've tried everything else - so I changed out the weatherstripping.  It may make a big difference - but I think I may also change out the sweep - again.

And you know what's funny - after I moved in, I complained to my warranty office about the leaking doors.  And I suggested perhaps it was the weatherstripping.  The claims inspector told me that in order to change out the weatherstripping, they had to remove the entire door and frame from the house!  Can you imagine.  So, of course, I said no way and then earlier this spring I was doing some research and found out how to change out the weatherstripping myself.  I also contacted the manufacturer of the doors and windows that are in my house and asked the girl at reception who proceeded to explain that it was very easy to do and that I should have no problem.

She was right.  Once I figured out how to pull out the old weatherstripping - it was a CINCH to put in the new stuff.  Gawsh I'm smart.

Then I put my cutlery drawer back together, changed my clothes and headed out to "vacuum" up some leaves.  It was an absolutely beautiful "can't miss this day" kind of a fall afternoon.  Cleaning up leaves is kind of a never-ending battle because there are great big trees on my avenue and across the street from me is a big park and no-one cleans up those leaves, so just when I think it's going to be all good - the wind blows all the leaves across the street into my yard.

So the question becomes - how much effort to I actually put in? 

The answer is once per week until the snow comes.

And after I finished in the yard and felt super good about myself, I came in, showered, and made Creamy Shrimp Soup - which you can read about in a separate post.

It was actually a lovely day....  Except for the drive which felt like it took 27,000 hours.

This is the Cane Girl - signing off.

Saturday 22 October 2011

Cupcakes A to Z: Almond Joy Cupcakes

I might have had an Almond Joy bar at some point in my life.  I know for sure I've had a Bounty Bar.  And we all know that I love almond and coconut.  And together?  Whew.  It could be the best day ever.

So - I found two different versions of Almond Joy Cupcakes out there in the big bad world of the Internet.  I'm going to use the Almond Cupcake recipe that won out over all the others a couple of weeks ago as the base for both cupcakes.  Shelly over at Cookies and Cups has a chocolate cupcake with coconut mixed in, but I wanted kind of a layer effect.

The first version goes like this: almond cupcake, chocolate icing, topped with toasted coconut.

The second version goes like this: almond cupcake, coconut buttercream, topped with a chocolate coating.

ooooooo.  

I started out by baking up a fresh half-batch of almond cupcakes and letting them cool.  I think I may have been somewhat excessive with the batter because I only got 9 cupcakes and I really should have gotten 12.  *shrug*

The First Version:
This is another case of not being able to get things in Canada.  The recipe calls for Ghirardelli baking chocolate.  I can't get it here.  Well - at least I couldn't find it in my grocery store.  And I didn't feel like checking other stores just in case.  I figured I'd just use the semi-sweet chocolate that I already have in my pantry, and then I realized upon closer inspection of the recipe that I should be using unsweetened chocolate.  Oh well.  No biggie.

It's an interesting recipe for frosting.  You make it in a double boiler.  No mixer, no nothing.  Just heat and stir.  And then cool to room temperature.

The most irritating part was grating the chocolate.  And it got EVERYWHERE! 

So I made the "frosting", and I waited.  And waited.  And waited.  Now I kinda wish I'd made it before I made the cupcakes.  Grrr.

And it was so runny I thought it would never firm up.  The recipe says "let it cool to room temperature before frosting cupcakes".  FROSTING.  This gives me the impression that something magical will happen and the concoction will cool and turn into a spreadable frosting. 


It does not.

So I waited for almost two hours for it to cool and firm up.  And then I stuck it in the fridge to see if that would help.  A half an hour later I thought - "oh joy!  It looks good!".  And the chocolate proceeded to slide off the cupcakes.  So I scraped off what I could and put the chocolate back in the fridge.

Then it came to me.  Maybe if I whip the chocolate it will turn into a frosting?  And by this point I had cleaned everything up (and disposed of the leftover coconut buttercream and didn't want four naked cupcakes feeling left out) so I whipped out my hand mixer, the chocolate and went to work.  Almost immediately, the chocolate lightened in color and stiffened up! 

Now, this part was not in the instructions, so I don't know if it was right or wrong - but it worked, so that works for me.  The power of improvisation.  And I doubt that the Frosting Police are lurking outside my door waiting to issue me some kind of ticket or whatever.

And I'm clearly no expert.  So it's entirely possible that it's simply my lack of knowledge that prevented the frosting from working.  Who knows, who cares.

Then I dunked the cupcakes into some toasted coconut and VOILA.  Almond Joy Cupcakes!


While I was waiting for the chocolate to cool, and because I like to multi-task, I started on the coconut buttercream.

This buttercream has both butter and shortening in it.  I'm not particularly crazy about shortening, but I do think I read somewhere that shortening is used to get frostings to hold their shape.  But really - I have no idea and I might have gotten away with all butter.

After I had made the buttercream to the recipe instructions, I gave it a taste and decided that it really needed more coconut extract.  I added the extract 1/4 teaspoon at a time until I got the flavour that I wanted.  I only ended up adding 1/2 a teaspoon extra.  Now keep in mind that I halved this recipe and if I was making a full recipe I would have added one whole teaspoon.

It's actually a really nice and creamy buttercream!  So, keep your judgements aside about shortening - and really, there wasn't THAT much in there.

Moving on.  What I did next was pipe the buttercream on top of the cupcake (I used a Wilton 1A tip, but a zippie bag with a corner cut off would work just as well), and then stuck those bad boys in the freezer for 5 minutes. 

While the cupcakes were in the freezer, I melted the milk chocolate chips and vegetable oil in a bowl and then poured it into a glass.  I actually should have used something different because those cupcakes BARELY fit in the glass.  After I pulled the cupcakes out of the freezer, I gave them a dunk in the melted chocolate and put the whole lot in the fridge to set the chocolate and VOILA - Almond Joy Cupcakes part deux.

Hi.  This is a cup of chocolate.  You could drink it.  It would be yummy.

I have to confess, I had SO MUCH FUN dunking those cupcakes!  I think it was the funnest part of my day!  (And YES, funnest is a word.  I'm going to check the dictionary and prove it.  But it's a word in my head, so it's a word.)

I kind of wish that I'd piped the buttercream a little closer to the edges of the cupcake, but gosh don't they look CUTE!!!


And, yet again, I have to apologize about the lack of pictures.  I just get such bad tunnel vision, that I forget to grab my camera, especially when I have to improvise (read: the chocolate frosting).

And the verdict..... 

Version 1 - was surprisingly delicious!  The toasted coconut was really obvious, but I wish the chocolate frosting had a little more body.  What I mean is that I wish it was a little firmer. 

Version 2 - I actually think it could have used more coconut extract in the buttercream, because the almond flavour was so distinct it sort of masked the coconut.  Add in the chocolate and you couldn't REALLY taste to coconut.  But Oh Yum anyway.

For me it's hard to choose which way I'd make them for myself.  I thought for sure Version 2 would be the clear choice, and perhaps it would be if I upped the coconut flavour in the buttercream - some more.

But in the end - neither one is a loser and neither one is a clear winner.

So enjoy your Almond Joy cupcakes however you choose!

This is the Cane Girl - signing off.


Monday 17 October 2011

Cupcakes A to Z: Almond Cupcakes with Cherry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Can I tell you a secret?

I REALLY didn't want to make these today.  The truth is - I had bigger kitchen plans for today (I was gonna knock out a couple of different recipes and tell you all about them) - but after being stuck on site for two extra days, going to Cold Lake so my brother could work on my car (which went pretty well and I got loads of baby time!), and spending a couple of hours doing yard work this morning, I couldn't hardly stand the idea of hanging out in the kitchen this afternoon. 

Sorry about that run-on sentence.

What I REALLY wanted to do was be a couch potato and relax.

But I had already taken out the frozen cupcake batter (I wanted to test the idea that I could freeze cupcake batter and they would come out just like I'd made them fresh) and I didn't want it to go waste.

So I lowered my expectations of myself. 

And I have one more day before I have to go back to work.  And since I've spent less than 24 hours in my home, I don't have to clean!  :o)

Anyway.  Now that you think I'm disgusting, let's move on to the cupcakes.

Here's the frozen cupcake batter.  Well, at this point it wasn't frozen anymore.  And yes, that is my finger print in there - but it was a CLEAN finger!


So, what you do is bring the frozen batter to room temperature and bake it according to the recipe directions.

And how did they come out?


I thought they didn't get as much of a rise as when they were freshly made, but they weren't HORRIBLE.  But I would still rather make them from start to finish.

Now for the buttercream.  Ever since I heard about Swiss Meringue Buttercream, I've been interested in trying it as it's somewhat more intense than just a plain buttercream, but apparently it's supposed to be pretty fantastic.  Lots of bakers swear by it.

Here's what you do according to this recipe.

You start by whisking together egg whites and sugar in your KitchenAid mixer bowl.  Or whatever type of mixer bowl you happen to be using.

Then you drop your mixer bowl into a pot that's on the stove and has simmering water in it.  Just a make-shift double boiler.  Then you heat the egg whites and sugar until 145 degrees F.



Once the egg whites and sugar have come to 145 degrees F, you whip it with your wire whip until it's a stiff meringue.  Or stiff peaks if you will.  At this point it tastes like marshmallows.  And you can use it this way - it's pretty good, but I'm not a huge fan of it.  Anyway, switch to your paddle attachment and add butter in pieces gradually until it's all mixed together and creamy and delicious. 

And this is where I stopped taking pictures cause I'm a big dummy.

I took some cherry jam and gave it a whir in my mini food processor.  Then I ran it through a sieve and added a little at a time to the egg whites, sugar, and butter until I had the flavour I wanted.

Then I piped it on in a big blob with a Wilton 1A tip.

So it's not that gorgeous.  But you still kind of wish it was on YOUR table.
And what did I think of this buttercream?  The cynic in me wants to say that it's overly fussy and that I have had butter/icing sugar buttercreams that are equally excellent.  And while part of this is accurate, I would be lying if I said it was overly fussy.  I mean - it is a little more work than just a plan buttercream, but the end result is smooth and creamy and not overly sweet.

And almond and cherry pair SO well.

Would I make this buttercream recipe again?  Maybe with a different flavouring, but it didn't particularly rock my world - although it was still really good.

This is the Cane Girl - signing off.



Tuesday 4 October 2011

Cupcakes A to Z: Almond Cupcakes

There are certain flavours that I love.  Citrus flavours, coconut, and almond.  I mean - I'm not going to say NO to a chocolate or vanilla cupcake - but I would choose something a little different in place of chocolate or vanilla.

And now - it's all about the almond.

I mentioned before that I had a multitude of similar recipes.  The almond cupcake recipe is no exception.  So, I went to my computer gathered up as many almond-related recipes I could find and printed them off - there were eight.  So this is kind of a best of the best episode too.

I halved all the recipes (math, math, math) and decided to make four cupcakes from each recipe.  I froze the remaining batters to test a theory that you can in fact freeze batter and that it would still work out okay.

And I totally intended on starting first thing in the morning - at like 9.  I wanted to have breakfast and watch a little bit of a movie (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World).  Then my brother called to talk about my car issues (he can fix it!  He won My Favorite Person of The Day Award - there's a crown and sceptre and everything, he was very excited).  And then I didn't want to turn off the movie.  So I didn't get started until 11.

And I thought it would take way way longer than it actually did, but once I got into a rhythm things started to go pretty quickly.  And I have an idea for how to make it go even faster next time.  Because we all know there'll be a next time.

I decided to do a Vanilla Almond Buttercream, courtesy of The Curvy Carrot, on all the cupcakes as a control.  Holy crap I could have swam in a bathtub full of it - it was so creamy and yummy, and most importantly - almondy.  (Is that a word?)

I also tossed around how I would differentiate the different cupcakes.  I thought about colouring the cupcakes all different colours, but I tossed that out the window.  And then it came to me a little later in the day.  LETTERING.  So I put aside some of the buttercream, coloured it blue and piped letters A - G on the top of each cupcake.  I know - I'm a nut.
Don't laugh!  I have to practice my piping, and it's REALLY hard to pipe on that swirl!

A: Vanilla Almond Cupcakes
This recipe calls for vanilla beans, but I just subbed in extract in place of the vanilla bean.  (I Googled and found out that 1 bean is about equal to 1 teaspoon of extract)
Putting the cupcakes back on the recipe was how I kept them sorted!

B: Almond Cupcakes
This recipe is actually the base to "Almond Joy Cupcakes". 

C: Vanilla Almond Cupcakes
This recipe called for coconut milk, but I subbed in whole milk.  Do you know how hard it is to half 1/3 cup?  1/3 cup is equal to 16 teaspoons.

D: Vanilla Almond Cupcakes
This is from a box, so I couldn't half it.  I am not opposed to using box mixes, but I do have my concerns that you can TELL it's from a box.

E: Vanilla Almond Cupcakes
This one uses almond meal and no almond extract.

F: Almond Cupcakes
I've never beaten eggs into stiff peaks by hand before.  Holy crap it's hard work.  The only reason I did it by hand was because my mixer was already in use.  But I got it to work anyway!  How did people DO that before mixers?  And when I started to mix the egg whites into the batter, I noticed that some of the egg hadn't been beaten.  But I had already deposited my whisk into the sink.  So it was warm.  And then the rest of the eggs would NOT whip up.  But I used them anyway.  Halfing 5 egg whites is hard.  But there are two tablespoons of whites in each large egg, so there ya go.

G: Vanilla Almond Cupcakes
I think I messed this one up a little.  I was measuring out the vanilla and my hand started to shake and I spilled a whole bunch into the milk.  So I kind of had to guess on how much vanilla actually ended up in the batter.  And I would have just started over, but the last bit of milk that I had went into that cup.

Now - if you've been counting, that's only 7.  There was an eighth, but something happened.  And I was really excited about this one.  When I did my shopping on Thursday I couldn't find almond paste.  So on Saturday morning I had a few free minutes, so I ran over to another grocery store and found almond paste in the bakery.  I did have to ask for help to find it, but there it was beside the fruitcake.  For real. 

So you're supposed to blend the almond paste and the sugar in the food processor until well mixed (I believe the actuall word was "sandy").  And when I pulled the top off the food processor I almost drooled.  Alright - I did drool a little, but not into anything.  And when the whole she-bang was baking in the oven I just about died.  And when it rose really high and started to spread I got a little nervous.  And at the end of the cook time, I tried to check the "doneness" and the cupcake DEFLATED.  Right in front of my eyes.  And when I pulled the pan out, the other three proceeded to deflate. 

Here's a picture.

So needless to say - this one got pulled out of the running.  Bummer.

I told Kay recently - okay, it was after I hadn't talked to her in a while (WE'RE BUSY!) and I felt like a jerk and was trying to seduce her into being my friend again (like she was ever not) - that I would follow her around with cupcakes.  And she whole-heartedly accepted this offer.  Silly silly girl.

I gave Kay the assignment of sampling cupcakes A - G and letting me know which one she thinks is best. 

The best part?  She totally understood what I was going for.  And even though other people might think I'm somewhat sick and crazy, she doesn't.  Heck - isn't that what friends are for?

So now you've waited all this time and are still waiting with baited breath about which was my favourite.  And now I'm gonna tell you.

But let's start with Kay's choice.  (ha ha ha)  She chose as her first choice cupcake C.  Followed by B.

For me, it came down to a choice between B & F.  I honestly couldn't remember which was which so I when I taste-tested them it was kind of blind.  I would also like to say here that if I didn't find your recipe to my palate, it's not because it isn't good - it's my own personal preference.  I literally have the weirdest tastebuds in the history of the world.  (I really don't want to offend anyone.)

A was a little dry and had a little almond flavour, but not enough.  C was really moist, and had not bad almond flavour.  D just tasted like white cake from a box.  It was really fluffy, but I couldn't get past that taste.  E was nice and moist, but had no almond flavour.  G didn't have enough almond flavour, but just wasn't it.

F had excellent almond flavour and was nice and moist.
B also had excellent almond flavour and was also nice and moist.

Well now what?  They are both wonderful.  How do I choose?  A decision has to be made.  There can be only one.

So I pulled the recipes.  Because I could swear they were almost the same.  But obviously they're not.  I decided that for me, the decision maker would be the ingredients and the "ease" of which the recipe is made.

For me - the easiest was B.  So that's my choice for a base almond cupcake. 

And that Vanilla Almond Buttercream is KILLER.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my decision making process.  Ain't it fun?

This is a tired Cane Girl - signing off!

Cajun Seafood Pasta

I'm not normally a HOT spice lover.  I like to be able to actually taste my food and I really prefer to NOT burn off my tastebuds.  The description of this recipe is - "This is a hot one but delicious!" so I had my reservations.  I halved the recipe just in case.
The ingredients - but the fettuccine pasta was late getting to the party so it's not in the picture

The recipe calls for fresh thyme and basil, but the truth is you could use dried as my opinion is that you couldn't really taste it over the THREE different kinds of peppers.  It also calls for shrimp and scallops - but I just doubled the shrimp and left the scallops out.
I gave the shrimp a rough chop so it would be easier to eat and nicely distributed

I've never actually used fresh thyme or basil.  I had to kind of guess with the thyme.  And I had to buy this whole big package.  But I learned this great little trick that you can portion chopped fresh herbs and freeze them in ice cube trays and just pull out what you need when you need it.  So I stripped the thyme leaves off the twigs, gave them a quick chop and froze what I didn't use. 

Stripped thyme twigs
Thyme leaves - gets kinda messy
I think dinner probably would have been ready sooner if I'd been better prepared.  It took forever to strip that stupid thyme.  And now my hands smell like thyme and I can't get it off.

Anyway.

A quick overview of the recipe.

Heat cream in a skillet until it's almost boiling.  Add in the peppers and the fresh herbs and simmer until thickened.  I don't think I let it thicken as much as it could have gotten, but I was starting to get impatient. 

Add in the shrimp and cook until pink, then throw in the cheeses and stir until well combined.
This actually smelled so good

Serve over pasta.
You want some? (Yeah - I kinda overdid it with the pasta)

I wasn't crazy about the way this recipe is written because the first step is to cook the pasta.  My problem with that is what the heck do you do to keep the pasta warm while you're waiting for the sauce?  In my opinion, I would put the pasta in after the peppers are added to the cream.  You would have to rush around to drain the pasta and at the same time finish the sauce.  But at least your pasta would still be warm.

My opinion on this recipe?  If you like burny spicy food a lot - this is for you.  I mean, it was seriously yummy, but it was a little too much for me.  I thought my mouth and guts were starting to liquefy.  I think my exact reaction was "WHEW".  I also thought it could have used like half the parsley, but perhaps it helps counter the pepper?

Would I add it to my recipe book and make it again?  Not for myself, but I would feed it to someone who really likes HOT food.  (I personally don't get it, I like to taste things)

This is the Cane Girl with the liquefied insides - signing off.


Saturday 1 October 2011

Spicy Chicken Soup & A Needy Vehicle

I must have the neediest car in the history of the world.  No really.  This year especially it has been extremely needy.  I mean - I feed it gas, freshen it's oil, make it look pretty by giving it regular baths, and make sure it doesn't freeze solid by plugging it in during the Winter.  Really - how much more does it need?

This year, the car has gotten a new ignition switch, a new windshield, new tires, new brakes, a tire REPAIR, and an oil change.  There might have been something else in there, but I can't think of it.  And now, the temperature gauge isn't working, the engine light is on, and there's a funny noise that sounds like the air conditioning is running - but it's not.

So basically - yay for me.  Stupid car.  Don't worry - it'll get sorted out.

With the return of Fall, I look forward to soups and stews.  I actually start to be pretty obsessed with it.  Although today was 20 degrees Celcuis (the stinkin' ICE CREAM TRUCK even came round!  He doesn't come round in the summer, but September 30th he's on my doorstep).  I want to try and get in a different soup or stew every week, although it's not do or die.

This week is Spicy Chicken Soup.

The recipe calls for 8 chicken breasts, but I only used 3, because - holy cow, chicken is expensive.  It also calls for some spices, onion, garlic, salsa, tomatoes, tomato soup, corn, chili beans, and sour cream.  Apparently I'm an idiot and couldn't figure out that CHILI BEANS are a mixture of different kinds of beans.  So I'm just using kidney beans.
All the stuff you'll need - plus chicken

I did opt to leave out the can of whole peeled tomatoes - just cause there were already LOTS.  Also, because I'm not the biggest tomato fan.  The truth is - I pull tomatoes off BLT sandwiches.  Okay, not always.  But I really only prefer tomatoes when they're on toast with mayo and salt and pepper.

It was really easy to put together.  Some may scoff at the opening of cans of beans and a can of soup, but I don't mind.  Really - the easier the better.
This is my BIG stock pot - and it was almost completely full

And boy did it make one big pot of soup.

Now - if I were a thinkin' lady I would present this bowl of soup with a dollop of sour cream on top and some tortilla strips and serve it with cornbread.  But when it's just me, I kind of forget to pretty things up.  Oh well.

Honestly, I was totally surprised.  I was really unsure about this recipe, but I am really glad I made it!  The tomatoes didn't overpower the soup and were really complimentary.  It wasn't overly spicy - although you would expect it to be with a name like Spicy Chicken Soup, but just enough to have a little zing. 

I think it's a great fall soup.  And I'm happy to say that I have left-overs for a few days and I vacuum-packed a whole bunch of it in individual packages as well so that I can have it over the winter.

Bon apetit!
I honestly tried to take pictures - but who wants to see a picture of open cans?

This is the Cane Girl - warmed up and signing off.