Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash Soup
Originally uploaded by kel h

The farmshare has been filled with carrots, squash and potatoes lately. It's cold in New England (although STILL no snow, which seems wierd). My lungs were made of fail today. Put it all together and that spells SOUP

Based on a recipe from All Recipes

Ingredients:
1 2-3 lb butternut squash peeled and cubed
2 potatoes peeled and cubed
1 medium carrot peeled and grated
1 large onion chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
2 ribs celery diced
2 tbsp butter
1 cup white wine
3 cups veggie or chicken stock
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp grated fresh nutmeg
1/4 cup cognac
salt and pepper to taste

melt the butter in the bottom of a large pot
cook the onions and garlic til softened
add vegetables and cook for 10 minutes
add wine and cook for 2 minutes
add broth and thyme and simmer, covered for 30 min
puree in blender or with imersion blender
add cognac, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 min

Cognac (and wine) are optional, although I like the depth that the cognac adds to the soup. You could swap out the thyme for curry I suppose, but I think it's a bit much for the butternut's own flavor. Carrots are a bit more robust if you're looking for a curry soup.

Stuffed Baked Potato Soup

Stuffed Baked Potato Soup
Originally uploaded by kel h

here's what I did to make some soup (based very loosely on Alton Brown's Potato Soup Recipe):

1 package chopped pancetta (to replace 5 pieces bacon)
2 leeks halved and chopped
3 cloves garlic shredded
1 bunch broccoli chopped (stem peeled)
3 tbsp butter
6 cups veggie stock
1/4 cup flour
4-6 baked potatoes (based on size)
1 1/2 cup half and half
2 tbsp white wine vinegar (original from Alton Brown suggests sherry vinegar if you have it)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar

brown the pancetta/bacon
then add the butter, shallots and garlic
cook until translucent
add flour and cook for a few minutes
then add chicken stock

run baked potatoes through a ricer (or squish them through a strainer if you're me)
add potatoes, cream and vinegar to the pot
great the cheese
whisk everything together
season to taste and simmer

I had a soup, but I ated it

I had a soup, but I ated it
Originally uploaded by kel h

The bulk of our trivia team bowed out this week, so I decided to make soup for dinner for me and my roommate instead. And THEN I invited another member of the trivia team. And that's how I wound up having a small dinner gathering tonight.

We have a surefit of onions from the CSA, and I've been wanting to make vegetarian french onion soup ever since watching Alton Brown make it on Good Eats a while back. And once we went from just me and G (the roommate) to a small dinner party, I thought I should make dessert. I have a bunch of apples from the farmshare too, so I thought a french apple tart would make a good dessert.

It was a local, seasonal, french supper

The soup recipe was taken from Food Network, which cribbed from Julia Child's recipe. I made a few adjustments, and I want to kiss the man who invented the food processor (so much easier to slice onions with the slicing plate). I used less broth (although I probably could have used the whole 8 cups), and I added a teaspoon of herbs de provance and a bay leaf (Alton made his with a bouqet de garni of bay leaf, thyme and parsley, but I didn't have the whole sprigs of herbs).

French Onion Soup

Taken from Food Network, which based their recipe on Julia Child's recipe for French Onion Soup

Ingredients
1/2 stick butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 cups thinly sliced onions (about 2-1/2 pounds)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon flour
8 cups homemade beef stock, or good quality store bought stock (I used better than boullion No Beef Base. I LOVE their stuff and ususally have two or three containers in the fridge at any given time)
1/4 cup Cognac, or other good brandy
1 cup dry white wine
1 tsp herbs de provance
8 (1/2-inch) thick slices of French bread, toasted
3/4 pound coarsely grated Gruyere

Directions
Heat a heavy saucepan over moderate heat with the butter and oil. When the butter has melted, stir in the onions, cover, and cook slowly until tender and translucent, about 10 minutes. Blend in the salt and sugar, increase the heat to medium high, and let the onions brown, stirring frequently until they are a dark walnut color, 25 to 30 minutes.

Sprinkle the flour and cook slowly, stirring, for another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool a moment, then whisk in 2 cups of hot stock. When well blended, bring to the simmer, adding the rest of the stock, Cognac, and wine. Cover loosely, and simmer very slowly 1 1/2 hours, adding a little water if the liquid reduces too much. Taste for seasoning

Divide the soup among 4 ovenproof bowls. Arrange toast on top of soup and sprinkle generously with grated cheese. Place bowls on a cookie sheet and place under a preheated broiler until cheese melts and forms a crust over the tops of the bowls. Serve immediately.

We had a side of salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

For dessert I made an apple tart based on a recipe from Smitten Kitchen. I am pretty sure I used three kinds of apples (Macintosh, Granny Smith, and Golden Delicious). I altered the recipe a bit. Alton reccomends using applejack in apple pie dough instead of water, and I like bourbon in my apple pie so I used some of that in the syrup. Part of the decision was based on the fact that apple tart is traditionally french, part because I had a bunch of apples, and part based on my recent purchase of a new tart pan from Ikea

Based on Smitten Kitchens Simplest Apple Tart recipe

Alice Waters’s Apple Tart
Found buried deeply within my recipe bookmarks folder!

Dough:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, just softened, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
3 1/2 tablespoons chilled water (I used applejack)

Filling:
2 pounds apples (Golden Delicious or another tart, firm variety), peeled, cored (save peels and cores), and sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
5 tablespoons sugar

Glaze:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup bourbon

MIX flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl; add 2 tablespoons of the butter. Blend in a mixer until dough resembles coarse cornmeal. Add remaining butter; mix until biggest pieces look like large peas.

DRIBBLE in water (or applejack), stir, then dribble in more, until dough just holds together. Toss with hands, letting it fall through fingers, until it’s ropy with some dry patches. If dry patches predominate, add another tablespoon water. Keep tossing until you can roll dough into a ball. Flatten into a 4-inch-thick disk; refrigerate. After at least 30 minutes, remove; let soften so it’s malleable but still cold. Smooth cracks at edges. On a lightly floured surface, roll into a 14-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Dust excess flour from both sides with a dry pastry brush.

PLACE dough in a lightly greased 9-inch round tart pan, or simply on a parchment-lined baking sheet if you wish to go free-form, or galette-style with it. Heat oven to 400#176;F. (If you have a pizza stone, place it in the center of the rack.)

OVERLAP apples on dough in a ring 2 inches from edge if going galette-style, or up to the sides if using the tart pan. Continue inward until you reach the center. Fold any dough hanging over pan back onto itself; crimp edges at 1-inch intervals.

BRUSH melted butter over apples and onto dough edge. Sprinkle sugar over the crust and apples. I have some vanilla sugar that I used for this (although instead of alton's recipe I just keep a tupperware with white sugar and used vanilla bean pods that I add as I use them)

BAKE in center of oven until apples are soft, with browned edges, and crust has caramelized to a dark golden brown (about 45 minutes), making sure to rotate tart every 15 minutes.

MAKE glaze: Put reserved peels and cores in a large saucepan, along with sugar. Pour in just enough water and bourbon to cover; simmer for 25 minutes. Strain syrup through cheesecloth.

REMOVE tart from oven, and slide off parchment onto cooling rack. Let cool at least 15 minutes.

BRUSH glaze over tart, slice, and serve.

Buttercup Squash Soup

My roommate and I are splitting a large farmshare from Enterprise Farms now, so we get more veggies. This past week we got two tiny buttercup squash, and one big one. The two little ones seemed too small to do much with, so I thought I would make some soup.

Initially I thought about making this a curry soup, or using some herbs de provence or something, but one I tasted it I liked how simple it was

Ingredients

2 small buttercup squash

1 onion, minced

1 leek halved and sliced (light green and white parts only)

3 cloves of garlic grated (it's so much easier than mincing)

1 bay leaf

1 carrot shredded

1 tsp paprika

1 pinch aleppo pepper

1 cup veggie broth

1 cup soup

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

Cut the squash in half and place cut side down in a baking dish with a quarter inch of water

bake at 4oo for about 25-30 min

in a soup pot melt butter and add olive oil

cook onion, leek and garlic in the pot

add carrot and bay leaf and continue to cook

once the squash is done and cool enough to handle, use a spoon to scoop out the soft flesh into the pot

add the broth and then either use an immersion blender or put into a blender to make it smooth

pour back into pot, add milk and season to taste

Making new friends: Tomatillo Corn Chowder

Corn Chowder
Originally uploaded by kel h

I made this for lunch. I got Tomatillos in my farm share, which I've never used before. Most of the recipes I found for them were salsas, but I thought this would be more fun. I still have some left, so I will probably make salsa this weekend

Ingredients:
1 onion diced
2-4 cloves garlic minced
1 jalapeno pepper minced (seeds and membrane removed)
2 tomatillos diced
2 red potatoes 1 inch diced
1/4 cup flour
1 can hominy
1 ear corn (cut off the kernels, keep the ear)
4 cups veggie stock (I used better than boulion no chicken stock)
1 cup cream
1/4 tsp cyanne (more or less to taste)
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp dried cilantro
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste

heat up the oil and butter
sauté the onion and garlic for abt 2 minutes til soft
add jalapeno and tomatillo
cook for another two or three minutes
add potatoes and cook for five minutes
add flour and some salt and pepper and cook for a minute or two
add liquids, spices, and corn and corn cob (you keep the corn cob in to simmer and add more flavor)
bring to a boil then simmer for about 5-10 min til potatoes are at the consistency you like

The tomatillos add a nice tang, and the hominy has an interesting texture

Curried pumpkin black bean soup

Curried pumpkin black bean soup
Originally uploaded by kel h

Curried Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup(ish)

(so, when I cook and not bake, I am not the best at measuring. this is my best guess as to what is in this)

Definately in the soup
-1 can pumpkin puree
-1 can black beans (not drained)
-4 cloves garlic minced
-1 bay leaf
-1 individual container greek yogurt (I have a bunch left over from trader joes, so it is going in everything until we use it up)
-1 large white potatoe cubed (this would also be good with a sweet potato but I was too tired to cut one up)

Other stuff that i am mostly guessing at the measurements for
1/2 cup vermouth
2 cups veggie broth
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 onion chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp dried thyme
1 or 2 cups egg noodles

Here is what I did

Heat the oil in the pot and cook up the onions, garlic and bay leaf until they brown (maybe toss in a pinch of salt)
then add the pumpkin, vermouth, broth and potatoes
bring to a simmer
Then add the yogurt and spices and stir well to incorporate
Then add the black beans and noodles and cook until the noodles and potatoes are soft

YUM!

Red Lentil and rice soup that is not terribly soupy

Red Lentil and rice soup that is not terribly soupy
Originally uploaded by kel h

its one of those "use everything in the pantry" kind of weeks, and i have a ton of red lentils, so I tried to make red lentil soup. Except i accidentally added waaaay too much rice and it became red lentil and rice....stuff. Still tasty, not so soupy

1 c. red lentils
1 med. onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 c. rice (I accidentally added 1 c which is why it looks less like soup and more like rice with lentils and onions)
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
6 c. veggie broth
1 bay leaf
1 cup crushed tomatoes (or a small can if you want more tomatoey goodness)
2 tbsp. olive oil

heat olive oil in bottom of stock pot and cook chopped onion and garlic along with bay leaf until onions soften. Add veggie broth, lentils, rice, tomatoes and pepper flakes and bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer until rice and lentils become soft (start checking after half an hour or so).

Carrot Stew, Carrot Stew...It's my favorite thing to do

Today I made some Carrot Coconut soup. I know I have a real recipe for it somewhere, but I just improvised, and it came out OK, if a bit thick.

This particular recipe is full of cheats, because I'm sick.

in a big pot brown 1 diced onion (or 1 c frozen chopped onion) and 4 cloves diced garlic (or use prediced in a jar)

Then brown three pounds of carrot coins (I just used three one pound bags of frozen sliced carrots) You want to cook them until they're soft.

Add one can coconut milk and 2tsp (or more) grated ginger

Add some Curry Powder (I think I added at least two tablespoons of sweet curry)

Add 4c veggie broth (I think I added less, but I'm pretty sure 4c is the correct ammount)

throw in a Bay Leaf (the veggie soup's best friend)

Cook until the carrots get really soft. Take out the bay leaf and then either use an immersion blender, or pour the soup into a blender a little at at time and puree until you get a silky soup.

Add salt and hot sauce to taste and enjoy!