I looove eating soup when it's dark and chilly outside. I also like trying new recipes. So could you share your favorite soup recipe with me?
To get you in the soup mood I'll share my favorite soup. I found this recipe at Chow for roasted butternut squash soup I think a year back. It's really foolproof and soooo yummy! A real comfort food. And this makes such a huge pot full of soup that it lasts for days.
I've tweaked the ingredients a bit though to fit my taste:
Instead of butter I often use walnut oil. Instead of Granny Smith apple I use one huge Jonagold apple. Instead of yellow onion I use shallots, about 3 bigger ones to 5 smaller ones. Instead of sage leaves I season my soup with a pinch of ground ginger, ground clove and ground nutmeg. Instead of heavy cream I use creme fraiche (or sour creme). This gives the soup a nice pinch of acidity and also makes it creamy.
Your turn! Share your favorite soup with us and tell us a bit of why you like it so much.
I'm so nervous!!! I'm starting my second university of applied sciences degree next Tuesday. I've been on pins and needles since I got the acceptance letter. I was accepted to study design as one of the 20 people taken in this year, so I'm feeling quite a lot of pressure. Will I be good enough? What is it actually that these people see in me? Do I really have that kind of potential? Also I am 25 years old, so I'm a bit afraid of if this degree too will be kind of a miss as the last one I did was and I'll push it trough just to achieve nothing - again.
At the same time I'm really excited to get started on this. I don't have any expectations considering the degree, but I do have this secret dream of my own business of designing, manufacturing and selling my own products. I hope I'll do well in the school and that the school can keep me motivated. I went to see the student's spring exhibit this year and the things they had made looked like so much fun, really looking forward to all the new things I'm going to learn.
I tried to match their personalities to their UK back card stories, and maintain a chubby G1-ish style. Also I needed to scan in two parts, hence the stupid white patch on the upper corner.
Eeeep! Our local TRU had the whole Pinkie's Boutique line and photo finish and Zecora doll! Never ever thought I'd find them in any store in this distant corner of the world but I did and now they're mine!! I've been drooling after glam goth Pinkie since she was first spotted at Taobao so my heart pretty much skipped a beat when I spotted her. Mine, all mine! My precious... *gollum, gollum*
I'm asking for your help fellow 80's children to solve this childhood memory mystery! I have these vague memories of this animated movie I saw as a toddler. There were some colorful cute alien creatures and children helping them. They were looking for something from old ruins I think. The movie was located in a jungle with dark colors (at night I think). I can remember them crossing a small creek at some point.
As some of you may know, I got flaked on the arena newbie Christmas swap last Christmas. So our wonderful host Hathorcat came to the rescue! I was so surprised when the doorbell rang two days ago, since I wasn't expecting any big mail to come. And look what the mailman brought me!!
I got plenty of chocolates and hot chocolate mixes, and my kitties cot new toys to play with. The Yankee Candle made the whole box cherry scented, my favorite!
There were some pony related extras too! A dollymix Bluebell! Now I have four dollymix ponies! And the bunny suit I have been wanting forever! Cat had included a G1 pamphlet too, I've never had any. And look, my favorite childhood pony Flutterbye has joined the pony parade too.
Movie Firefly, whom I've been trying to catch for ages! Surprise, and not one but two baby boys! Baby Drummer has been one of my major wants since I started collecting and I just love the pink one's pose.
I've never considered myself as a good paper crafter, but I decided to try and made this card for a swap box. Just wanted to show it off a bit more, because I'm really proud of what I managed to create!
This swap is closed for new sign ups, sorry! Welcome to the candy swap!
This is a swap for all of us candy lovers who like trying new things. If you'd like to join in, it is extremely important that you check your customs and post office rules of what you can and cannot ship and receive prior to signing up. Some countries have restrictions on shipping certain food items and it would be a real bummer if the lovely boxes of candy got caught for reason or another. Please check the best before dates of the candies you're going to send and make sure they'll be good still after the estimated delivery time!
This is a secret swap which means you won't know who you'll be receiving your box from. Please keep your identity a secret from the partner you send to!
BUDGET For this swap you'll be having a budget of 15 to 20 USD to use on tasty candies for your partner. 15 dollars is the minimum value of the swap box and must be used on candy in it's whole. I know we all love to spoil our partners, but to keep it fair for all participants try not to exceed the $20 top value. Non candy extras can be added but they will not count towards the swap budget. Please don't send more than $7 worth of extras, the candies should be the stars of this swap! Shipping is not included in the swap budged. Keep in mind that candy is relatively heavy and the shipping cost builds up pretty quickly! Shipping via air mail please, surface mail just takes too long to travel.
CAN I JOIN? As per arena rules, you'll need to be at least 16 years of age to join. I will require the participants to have:
Positive feedback of +5 or more on sales and trades here on the Arena
Minimum 300 posts with 6 months of arena membership OR Minimum 500 posts with 3 months of arena membership
IMPORTANT DATES Sign ups: Feb 12th to Feb 25th Assigning of partners: Feb 26th to Feb 27th Shopping: Feb 28th to Mar 23rd Check-in: Mar 15th Shipping: Mar 24th to Mar 30th
CHECK-IN The candy doesn't need to be gift wrapped for this swap so you don't need to post a teaser photo on the forums if you don't wrap it, but to compensate I will need a check-up with photo via pm by March 15th. By this time you have had plenty of time to find some lovely goodies for your partner and I'm going to want to see how you're doing.
LET THE FUN BEGIN! To join, please PM me the following swap form filled:
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1. You needed to check something prior to joining. What was it?
2. Full shipping address with your full name and country
3. Allergies and other food sensitivities
4. Is it okay to send melting things like chocolate to you (is it hot in your country at the moment)?
5. Are you okay with shipping internationally?
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After you've sent the PM take a little time and post on this thread a bit of your candy likes and dislikes to give hints for your partner!
Happy Swapping!
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PARTICIPANTS 1. Mirnyj ~ SHIPPED ~ RECEIVED 2. True ~ Checked in ~ SHIPPED ~ RECEIVED 3. BerryMouse ~ Teased ~ SHIPPED ~ RECEIVED 4. NoDivision ~ Checked in ~ SHIPPED 5. tikibirds ~ Checked in ~ SHIPPED ~ RECEIVED 6. Saja ~ Checked in ~ SHIPPED ~ RECEIVED 7. Corona ~ Checked in ~ SHIPPED ~ RECEIVED 8. Jennifer2004 ~ Checked in ~ SHIPPED ~ RECEIVED 9. svarta-perlan ~ Checked in ~ SHIPPED ~ RECEIVED 10. Scraleos ~ Checked in ~ SHIPPED ~ RECEIVED 11. CottonTALE ~ Teased ~ SHIPPED ~ RECEIVED 12. wiccanpony1 ~ Checked in ~ SHIPPED ~ RECEIVED 13. ChipsteRJ ~ Checked in ~ SHIPPED ~ RECEIVED 14. Mori_LeStrange ~ Checked in ~ SHIPPED ~ RECEIVED
Hi everyone! I am considering of hosting a candy swap here, and was wondering if anyone would be interested in one? I was thinking of a budget of 15 to 20 dollars in candy only. Shipping may be monsterous since the candy quickly piles up in weight but I think the fun would be worth it. So what do you think?
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Welcome to the MLP Arena! 
)
And this makes such a huge pot full of soup that it lasts for days. 
I'm starting my second university of applied sciences degree next Tuesday. I've been on pins and needles since I got the acceptance letter. I was accepted to study design as one of the 20 people taken in this year, so I'm feeling quite a lot of pressure. Will I be good enough? What is it actually that these people see in me? Do I really have that kind of potential? Also I am 25 years old, so I'm a bit afraid of if this degree too will be kind of a miss as the last one I did was and I'll push it trough just to achieve nothing - again. 
I hope I'll do well in the school and that the school can keep me motivated. I went to see the student's spring exhibit this year and the things they had made looked like so much fun, really looking forward to all the new things I'm going to learn.
I've been drooling after glam goth Pinkie since she was first spotted at Taobao so my heart pretty much skipped a beat when I spotted her. Mine, all mine! 
A dollymix Bluebell! Now I have four dollymix ponies! And the bunny suit I have been wanting forever! Cat had included a G1 pamphlet too, I've never had any. And look, my favorite childhood pony Flutterbye has joined the pony parade too. 
~Kiwi]
So what do you think?