what a week!
thankfully yesterday we got a little bite in the air and some much needed rain. this called for a big pot of homemade soup to fill our home with warmth and comfort!
i looked to our bounty from our CSA box and what we had in the pantry and decided to make a fall veggie minestrone soup. i served it beside a batch of some warm herbed focaccia bread.
fall minestrone
ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium size onion
3 ribs of celery
2 small sweet peppers or 1 large
2 bulbs fennel
3 cloves of garlic
1 quart of vegetable stock
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1 small can of crushed tomatoes
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can of red kidney beans
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp of sweetener (can sugar or maple syrup works great)
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 cup elbow noodles
a handful of diced basil
directions
-dice your onion, fennel, celery, and peppers, salt and pepper
-in a large dutch oven, saute in olive oil on low for 15 minutes
-add diced garlic
-saute for 5 more minutes
-add the stock, tomatoes, beans, sweetener, and salt and pepper to taste
-cook at medium heat for 30 minutes or so and turn to simmer until you are ready to eat
-just before you are ready, add noodles , cheese, and basil
-enjoy!
comfort food
winter minestrone
this year the weather has been chilly and no signs of spring seem to be anywhere in sight. this past week we had our first flurries of the year, an ice storm, and tomorrow we have snow in the forecast. winter just doesn't want to let up!
with that being said, I am going to keep making soups to keep us warm through these cold days. this minestrone is a perfect soup to do just that.
winter minestrone
-in a large stock pan, saute 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt, 1 large diced yellow onion, 3 cloves of diced garlic, 1 large or two small fennel bulbs, sliced and core removed. saute on med-low heat for 20 minutes
-add 5 cups of good quality vegetable stock, (homemade if you got it), 2 cups water, 1 can of white beans, 1 small can of fire roasted tomatoes (14.5 oz), salt to taste, a pinch of pepper, 1 Tbsp of maple syrup or another sweetener. if you have any rinds of parmesan cheese you can add them to the stock for flavor. let simmer for 1 hour to allow the flavors to develop.
-add a handful of sliced greens such as chard, kale, collards, turnip greens, or spinach and also add 1 Tbsp of finely diced fresh parsley.
-lastly, add 1 cup of orzo and allow the pasta to cook for 20 minutes or so. bon appetit!
photo and recipe by kristen bach
photo
lemon cardamon cream pie
everybody loves a cream pie right? we had family visiting from boston the other day so i whipped up a southern cream pie with some florida lemons.
it's an easy one to make and eat!
-pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees to pre bake your crust. you can make your own or use a store bought one, hopefully your crust will look prettier than mine! When your 9 inch crust is ready to bake, bake for about 9-11 minutes or until the crust begins to brown. if your crust bubbles while baking, poke with a fork to let the air out.
-to make the custard use a medium sized sauce pan. add 1/4 cup corn starch, 3/4 cup unrefined sugar, 1/4 tsp sea salt, 1/4 tsp cardamon.... and stir until combined.
-in a small bowl beat 3 egg yolks and 2 1/2 cup whole milk, and the zest from 3 lemons. when mixed pour into the sauce with your dry ingredients
-on medium heat, whisk your custard until it begins to thicken, about 5 minutes
-remove from heat and add 2 Tbsp of unsalted butter, and the juice from 3 lemons. Stir into custard
-put in a bowl and chill until you are ready to assemble pie
-while custard is cooling, make your whipped cream. in a large bowl pour 1 1/2 pints of organic heavy whipping cream and whip with an electric mixer or hand held immersion blender. When it begins to thicken, add 3 Tbsp maple syrup and 1 Tbsp vanilla. mix until thickened. be mindful to not over-beat or it will begin to separate and turn to butter.
-when your custard and pie shell are cooled you can assemble pie. carefully spoon a layer of custard into the shell and then spoon your whipped cream
-return to your refrigerator and chill until ready to serve. i put some zest and cardamon on top just before serving but that is optional.
-enjoy!
recipe and photo by kristen bach
winter squash + coconut soup
i make soups a couple of times a week throughout the winter months. i love packing a ton of vegetable, flavors, and nutrients into one pot and getting a good baguette to go alongside.
this week i roasted some winter squashes that i had been storing and used up some other vegetables we had on hand to make a delicious winter soup. i always try to have coconut milk on hand so i can add them to soups when they call for them. this soup can be made with carrots, sweet potatoes, winter squash or a combination of all three!
-pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
-cut two small or one large winter squash(s) in half and gut. apply a light coat of coconut oil to a baking sheet and put the squashes cut side down. roast in the oven until the squash is tender, 30-40 minutes should be good but depends on the variety of squash.
-in a large soup pan dice a yellow onion and green pepper, 3 inches of fresh ginger, 4 cloves of garlic, and saute in 1 Tbsp of coconut oil.
-when the vegetables are tender, add 4 cups of vegetable stock.
-dice 3 small sweet potatoes (or 2 large) and 3 carrots and add to soup pot. When the winter squash is done, spoon out the squash and add to the pot.
-cook on medium heat until all of the vegetables are tender.
-slowly add 1 can of full fat coconut milk. Remove from heat and let cool for a bit.
-in batches, blend soup until it is very smooth. Return to heat, stir in sea salt to taste.
-top with some sriracha sauce if you want to add some spice.
-enjoy!
rustic black eyed pea soup
many days i challenge myself to make a meal entirely from what i have in our kitchen. this was one of those meals and i will surely make it again. i think i have made variations of this soup many of times, it's not all that inventive. i do think what made it so wonderful this time was the homemade vegetable stock. the flavors were so much warmer! started this soup in the morning before work and let it cook in the crock pot all day long. we enjoyed this with some buttered bread from a local bakery....it was a perfect fall night supper. rustic black eyed pea soup -saute 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 diced yellow onion, and 2 sweet peppers from the garden until tender -in the crock pot add 1 cup of dried black eyed peas, rinsed , 4 cups stock, and 2-3 cups water (add more as needed) add the sauted vegetables to the crock pot -add 2 handfuls of finely chopped kale or other greens to the soup photo and recipe by kristen bach
vegetable stock
i woke up to frost this morning. i think that the weather has officially turned to chilly....no more surprise 80 degree days.
our dutch oven has been making a daily appearance with all of our soups, stews, and other comfort meals on our menu. this year i have been making my own stocks with all of the discarded vegetables. it is so simple and really enhances your home cooked meals. they also freeze well so you can use them when needed.
vegetable stock
-save all of the ends and pieces of vegetables that you use throughout the week. broccoli stalks, tough pieces of your greens, radish tops, carrot ends, etc.
-in a large dutch oven or large pan, sauté 1 large diced yellow onion, 2 stalks of celery, and 1 diced carrot
-add your vegetables
-cover with water and bring to a boil
-add 1 TBSP salt (adjust to your preference), fresh herbs, and 2 bay leaves
-simmer for 2 hours
-cool and put in freezer bags if you want to freeze or store in fridge for a week.
-enjoy!!
photo and recipe by kristen bach
winter tomato sauce
i think that most of us are dreaming of the bounty of spring and summer. i can't wait to slice open a fresh tomato,sprinkle it with some salt, and call it a meal. while dreaming of tomatoes i decided to make a comforting winter sauce to serve atop some fresh noodles. with no fresh tomatoes on hand I opened up a can of san marzano tomatoes which always seem to get me through the cold months.
ingredients
1 big can of san marzano tomatoes
1 medium yellow onion
3 cloves of chopped garlic
1 T fresh basil (i used some that i had froze in the fall)
2 T olive oil
1 sweet pepper
4 sprigs of rosemary
water, if needed
salt and pepper to taste
directions:
-pre-heat the oven to 275 degrees
-chop up the vegetables
-in a 9 x 13 inch roasting pan coat with olive oil
-put vegetables and herbs in the pan and season
-slowly cook the vegetables for 2 hours or more
add water if sauce begins to burn or looks like it need some liquid
-remove the sprigs of rosemary and serve over bread, rice, noodles, or beans
photo and recipe by kristen bach
rebecca's healing soup with tofu
photo and recipe by rebecca wood
Read More