It’s soup and stew season. Hallelujah!

Soups and stews are my favorite meals to make during the winter season. They are so perfect for this lazy period of hibernation, as most of the time all you have to do is prep all your ingredients and throw them into a pot to simmer for an extended period of time, while your house not only warms up but saturates itself with the aroma of whatever you’ve been cooking. It’s amazing. One of my favorite stew recipes I tried out last year is a vegetarian one, actually, that’s filled with delicious veggies like squash and kale. It’s a little more involved, as you have to chop up everything and do a little roasting first, but it’s all definitely worth it in the end. And the beans make it oh so hearty too. I can’t wait to try it again with my new dutch oven I got for Christmas (I wouldget a dutch oven…)

Kale and Roasted Vegetable Soup
adapted from Simply Recipes

Ingredients:

• 3 medium carrots, peeled and quartered lengthwise

• 3 roma tomatoes, halved (or use 2 large tomatoes, quartered)

• 1 large onion, cut into 8 wedges

• 1/2 of a butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch thick wedges

• 6-7 garlic gloves

• 1 tbsp. olive oil

• at least 6 cups of vegetable broth

• 4 cups of finely chopped kale

• 4 large fresh thyme sprigs

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 15 oz. can of Great Northern white beans, drained

Directions:

(1) Preheat oven to 400 F. Brush rimmed baking sheet with a thin coat of olive oil. Arrange squash, carrots, tomatoes, onion, and the garlic on the sheet. Drizzle with a little more olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper, tossing to coat. Roast the veggies until they are tender and browned, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes.

(2) Cut squash and carrots into 1/2 inch pieces and set aside. Peel the garlic cloves and place them into a food processor, along with the tomatoes and onion. Puree until everything is smooth.(3) Pour 1/2 cup of the broth onto the baking sheet, scraping up any browned bits. Transfer broth and the veggie puree into a large pot. Add the rest of the broth, kale, bay leaf, and thyme to the pot, bringing everything to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered until the kale is tender, about 30 minutes.

(4) Add carrots, beans, and squash to the soup. Simmer about 8-10 minutes to blend all the flavors together, adding more broth or water to thin the soup if necessary or preferred. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf.

This soup is better over the next few days too, so ideally make it a day ahead!

Move over, turkey… we all know Thanksgiving is really just about the sides.

In light of Thanksgiving – my favorite holiday (not just because I’m a foodie, although that is a major part) – I’ve been making a lot of side dishes lately that involve squash, cranberries, and other fall produce. These tend to be my favorite foods of the holiday, and I never understood why so much emphasis is placed on the turkey. Without the gravy, cranberry, stuffing, and all that other stuff to dress it up, it would be just plain boring and tasteless! Pass me the sweet potato casserole and green beans please! Here are two interesting takes on traditional veggie dishes – squash and brussel sprouts – that I’ve come up with recently and will perhaps incorporate into my own Thanksgiving dinner someday, if I ever stop going to my aunt’s house for it because I’ll have my own family. Haha, fat chance that will ever happen.

Moroccan-Spiced Spaghetti Squash
(adapted from smitten kitchen)

Ingredients:

• one large spaghetti squash

• 3-4 tablespoons of butter, cut into pieces

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 tsp. ground cumin

• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander

• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

• 1 tsp. sea salt

Directions:

(1) Poke squash all over with a knife, making cuts that are about an inch deep. This will prevent the squash from bursting in the microwave, which is the easiest way to cook it. Nuke it on high for 6 to 7 minutes, then turn it over and cook until slightly soft when pressed, about 8 to 9 minutes longer. Allow it to cool while making the spice mixture.

(2) In a pan, heat the butter on medium heat until it melts. Add the minced garlic and cook until it gets soft and just barely golden (the smell will permeate your nostrils, which also lets you know that’s enough). Stir in the salt and spices and remove from the heat.

(3) Carefully halve the squash lengthwise with a large knife and scoop out the seeds. Working over a bowl, scrape out the flesh with a fork, loosening and separating the strands as you go (true to its name, it will actually look like spaghetti!) Toss it with the spiced butter mixture and EAT!

Maple-Infused Brussel Sprouts with Apple and Bacon

 

Ingredients:

• 1 container of fresh brussel sprouts, halved and shredded along the stem side with a knife

• 1 granny smith apple, sliced thinly and chopped into small pieces

• a few slices of turkey bacon (I used 5)

• 1 Tbsp. maple syrup

• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

(1) Chop the bacon into small pieces, and fry them in a heated pan until crisp. Remove the bacon and deglaze the pan with either some water or a little bit of butter, if it’s not greasy enough from the bacon (this will definitely happen if you’re using turkey bacon, which is a lot leaner).

(2) Add the apples and cook until they are a little softened. Add the brussel sprouts, cooking until soft, and season with salt and pepper. Deglaze the pan with more water if necessary, and add maple syrup, mixing everything in together. Add the bacon back into the pan or just sprinkle it on top to retain the crispiness.

Happy Thanksgiving! Off to gorge until I hit a food coma

Butternut Lovin’

Squash is most definitely my favorite vegetable, particularly the butternut variety. Maybe it’s just because I have such a sweet tooth, but I love how surprisingly versatile it is. You don’t have to just chop it up and roast it (although this is also delicious), but you can also purée it for soup, mash it into a pasta sauce, put it in a savory casserole, etc. Here’s some of the things I’ve made in the past with my beloved butternut:

Butternut squash with browned butter, sage, and thyme:

simple and delicious as a side or snack, and great mashed up in a quesadilla the next day.

Butternut Squash and Carmelized Onion Galette:

I stole this one from Smitten Kitchen last year and have been making it consistently since. Definitely one of my more ambitious recipes, since it requires making your own pastry dough. The stinky fontina cheese compliments the sweetness perfectly!

And of course, the classic butternut squash soup:

I actually made this again last night to finally put my food processor to use (best Christmas present ever), and threw an apple in there just to see what a difference it would make. Best soup EVER. No seriously… I should sell this shit to Whole Foods. Here’s the recipe:

Butternut Squash, Pumpkin, and Apple Soup

Ingredients:

• 1/2 large butternut squash, seeded, peeled and diced
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 1 apple, grated
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 4 tsp olive oil, divided
• about 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (I used the kind from a 15oz. can)
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock, or 2 of both
• goat cheese, for serving

Directions:

(1) Preheat oven to 400 and line baking pan with parchment.
(2) In a bowl, combine diced squash and carrot and toss with 2 tsp. of oil and a little bit of salt and pepper.
(3) Add the mixture to the baking sheet, spreading out evenly and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until tender and browned.
(4) Meanwhile, in a large stock pan over medium-high heat, heat the remaining olive oil and add diced onion, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring every now and then until onion softens and just starts to turn golden.
(5) Add minced garlic, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add pumpkin puree and grated apple, stirring until it smells phenomenal and starts to stick a bit to the bottom of the pot, about 4 minutes.
(6) Add 2 cups of stock and scrape the bottom of pan to release browned bits. Turn off the heat while the veggies finish roasting.
(7) When veggies are done, remove from oven to let cool a bit.
(8) Place stock pan mixture into a blender or food processor and blend smooth, then return the mixture to stock pan over low heat.

Food Processor Action!!

 And back to the pot again…

(9) Place the roasted veggies into the blender with the other 2 cups of whatever stock you’re using, then likewise pour the mixture into stock pan to combine with the other one, and heat through. Serve with sprinkled goat cheese on top (this, in my opinion, makes the soup).

Also, I cannot wait to use some of the leftovers as a pasta sauce later this week!