on the menu : white bean + kale soup

WHITE BEAN + KALE SOUP

The autumn season really puts me in the mood for comforting soups like this one.  This particular soup is nothing fancy, budget-friendly, but indulgently yummy.  Puréeing the beans makes this soup silky smooth.  The best part?  It always tastes better the next day and therefore makes for perfect leftovers/lunch/snack.

Too much leftovers (if there ever is such a thing) – Try adding some brown rice and mushrooms to transform this into a “risotto” of sorts.

INGREDIENTS:

• Cannellini Beans (1 cup)
• Kale (Large Bunch)
• Celery Stalks (2)
• Yellow Onion (1)
• Garlic Cloves (2)
• Smoked Paprika (1 tsp)
• Herbes de Provence (2 tbsp)
• Vegetable Broth (64 oz) + Water
• Olive Oil
• Salt + Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Soak the dried cannellini beans a day in advance.  On the day of, drain and rinse well.
2. Drizzle oil into a large pot (one that can handle an immersion blender).
3. Finely chop up the onion and add to the pot.  Turn the heat on low and allow the onions to slowly heat through.
4. Finely chop up the celery and garlic cloves.  Add to the pot with the onions.  Season with salt + pepper.
5. Toss in the herbes de provence and smoked paprika.
6. The trick here is to allow the vegetables to cook at this low temperature, stirring occasionally.
7. Once the onions turn glassy, add the drained and pre-soaked cannellini beans to the pot.
8. Pour in vegetable broth and water to the beans.  Season with salt + pepper and stir.
9. Raise the heat to medium and allow the broth and water to heat up and come to a light boil.  As soon as it does, lower to a simmer, cover and allow the soup to sit for a good hour.
10. Once the hour is up and the beans have cooked, use your immersion blender to purée the soup.  Taste and season as necessary.
11. Add in some bite-sized kale leaves and allow them to wilt into the soup.

on the menu : spinach spatzle in tomato sauce

SPINACH SPATZLE IN TOMATO SAUCE

This post and recipe is dedicated to the tomato sauce.  I made a finger-licking tomato sauce for the first time solely by taking a different approach.

Before I get into what I discovered, I have a slight confession.  Up until now, I’ve been kind of lazy about my tomato sauces.  Not to the point where I would use a pre-made jar of sauce, but I often incorporated Pomo tomatoes or canned San Marzano tomatoes.  I would still take the time to create the sauce, but there was always something artificially acidic about the end result.

I did a number of different things this time around.  First of all, I started off by slowly extracting the sweetness out of the onion.  Before, I would have started off by simmering the garlic and then doing a quick flash sauté of the onions.  Second, I used my own tomatoes – skin off.  I know it sounds silly that I wouldn’t have done that normally, but I used to approach the tomatoes as something that would simply soak up the other ingredients and eventually break down in acidity.  I stand corrected.  Third, and most importantly, I took my time.  I really put some love into the sauce and that alone is not something I’ve taken seriously in years past.

INGREDIENTS:

• Sauce:
  • Roma Tomatoes (8)
  • Sweet Yellow Onion (1)
  • Capers (1 tbsp)
  • Garlic Clove (1)
  • Olive Oil
  • Salt

• Spinach Spatzle:
  • Fresh Spinach (Large Bunch)
  • Spelt Flour (1/2 cup)
  • Egg (1)
  • Water (1/4 cup)
  • Oil
  • Salt + Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a pot of water up to a boil.
2. In a large pan, drizzle in some olive oil.
3. Thinly slice up the yellow onion and add to the pan.  Keep the heat at low.  Let them slowly cook alone for 15-20 minutes.
4. Make a small slit on one end of your tomatoes and let them sit in the boiling water for about 30 seconds.  This is simply to help you peel the skin off.
5. Peel the skin off each tomato and place into the pan with the onions.  Toss in some salt and let the tomatoes slowly cook up with the onions over low heat.
6. Thinly slice up the garlic and add to the pan.  Add the capers to the pan.  Season with salt and pepper and give the sauce a stir.
7. Let the pan sit at a simmer until the tomatoes fall apart themselves.  This will take at least 30 minutes and ideally, you want the sauce simmering for a good hour to get all the flavors going.
8. While your sauce is simmering, you can make the spinach spatzle.
9. Bring a pot of water up to a boil and blanch the spinach for about 1 minute.  Remove them from the water and squeeze out all the excess water.  Let the spinach cool.
10. Place the spinach in a food processor (or blender) with a drizzle of oil.  Let it blend until smooth.
11. In a mixing bowl, add the spelt flour and salt.  Create a well in the middle and add the egg (whisked) and water.  Combine the ingredients, cover the bowl and let rest for about an hour.
12. Once the dough has had time to rest, add the spinach and mix until well combined.
13. Using a spatzle maker, push the “dough” through the holes into salted boiling water.  Just like gnocchi, they will float up when ready.
14. Transfer the spinach spatzle directly into the tomato sauce.

on the menu : cauliflower penne casserole

CAULIFLOWER PENNE CASSEROLE

Mmm baked pasta dishes = epitome of comfort food.  This one is no different!  And once again, I’m ever surprised at the versatility of tofu.  I can’t imagine ever using heavy cream in a dish like this because it would completely and utterly weigh down the subtlety of cauliflower.  The whole grain-ness of the organic tofu is important too, of course.  The taste?  The tofu (which doesn’t taste anything like tofu once blended and baked into the dish) is simply a creamy component playing off of the cauliflower and Einkorn pasta.  I wouldn’t classify this dish as rich, but not all comfort foods need to be rich or heavy to be satisfying to the soul.

This dish would also be great with some collard greens, brussels sprouts, or some sweet potatoes… but I’ve done the most basic rendition by keeping it simple.  Speaking of simple, this dish takes minimal prep work.  Because you’re able to cook the pasta and cauliflower in the same pot, you’re saving time and conserving some energy/water.

The best part is when you first take the dish out of the oven and you hear the crackling of the ingredients.  No complaints from my taste buds either; sometimes they’re just craving something airy and light, of which this dish delivers with high notes.

INGREDIENTS:

• Cauliflower (1)
• Silken Soft Tofu (12 oz)
• Einkorn Penne (12 oz)
• Green Peas (Handful)
• Parmesan Cheese (1/2 cup grated)
• Olive Oil
• Salt + Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F.
2. Cut up the cauliflower into bite-size pieces.
3. Bring a pot of water up to a boil for the pasta and cauliflower (you can cook both at the same time).  Salt the water once boiled and add the pasta and cauliflower to cook.  The pasta should be just under al denté as it will finish cooking in the oven.
4. Meanwhile, blend the tofu in a blender until smooth.  Add the Parmesan cheese, salt + pepper, dash of olive oil while you blend.
5. When the pasta and cauliflower have cooked, transfer to a large bowl.  Drizzle a little olive oil and season with salt + pepper.
6. Add the green peas to the bowl and mix together.
7. Pour in the blended tofu mixture and mix well with until all ingredients are coated.
8. Pour the bowl contents into a large baking dish, top with a little panko (optional), and pop into the oven for about 25-30 minutes.

on the menu : whole grain salmon burgers

WHOLE GRAIN SALMON BURGERS

Vegetarians and pescetarians deserve to indulge in a nice, juicy burger just as meat-eaters do.  Having chomped on some really mouthwatering red meat burgers in my time, I know that when I make a non-meat burger (namely for my husband) I am really going to have to up the ante.  My husband and I have been pescetarians for almost a year now so if there’s one thing I’ve had to perfect, it’s how to make a satisfying meal out of a bunch of fresh produce, grains, and seafood.

This particular burger I made with three main ingredients – salmon, tofu, and black beans.  Odd pairing?  Perhaps on the surface, yes, but here’s my reasoning.  Each ingredient alone speaks pretty loudly to its own distinct flavor but you can’t make a burger out of just salmon.. or just tofu.. or just beans.  I mean, you can, but it won’t be appealing to your taste buds.  When you mix all of these together to create one burger, you’re packing in layers of flavor and good-for-you nutrients.

The bun I use for all of my burgers are sprouted grain.  They’re great!  You can find them in the frozen section.  I toast them for a few minutes prior to serving and my favorite part about them is that they don’t necessarily taste like a “healthier” bread.  Toppings?  I add a few slices of lime glazed avocado and fig balsamic caramelized onions.  I am a simple burger kind of gal but if you want to add extra ketchup, balsamic, cheese, go for it!  I actually meant to make a healthy tartar sauce to pair (I will next time), which I think would go great with this burger as well.

[Makes about 12 patties]

INGREDIENTS:

• Wild Caught Salmon (3/4 lb)
• Organic Firm Tofu (12 oz)
• Black Beans (12 oz)
• Yellow Onion (1/2)
• Red Onion (1/2)
• Garlic Clove (1)
• Scallion (1)
• Organic Ketchup (1 tbsp)
• Soy Sauce (1 tbsp)
• Paprika (1 tsp)
• Whole Spelt Flour (1/4 cup)
• Egg (1)
• Oil
• Salt + Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Clean your piece of salmon well, dry, and remove any pin bones with tweezers.  Season with salt + pepper.
2. Drizzle some oil into a large pan and pan-sauté the salmon until it’s basically cooked through.
3. Once cooked, separate the flesh from the skin (should come off easily on its own if cooked enough).  Set aside on a plate tented with aluminum foil while you prep the other ingredients.
4. Finely chop up the yellow onion, red onion, scallions, and garlic.  Drizzle some more oil into the same pan your salmon was cooked in and add the chopped veggies.  Season with salt + pepper and let the onions caramelize but not brown.
5. While your veggies are in the pan, drain the tofu.  Wrap it in a paper towel, place it on a plate and microwave for about 2 minutes.  This is to remove some of its moisture.
6. Drain and rinse the black beans.
7. In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg.  Add the spelt flour and mix well until combined.  Also add the soy sauce and ketchup.
8. Flake in your cooked salmon flesh, add the sautéed veggies, and tofu.  Use a masher get the tofu and salmon mixed well.
9. Add the black beans and continue to mix using a masher.  Do this until all ingredients are meshed together.  Season with salt + pepper as well as the paprika.
10. Add oil to your pan over medium (on the lower side) heat and add the patties you shape with your hands, one by one.  Flip after each side has browned and finish off the other side.

on the menu : japanese garden fish “chowder”

JAPANESE GARDEN FISH “CHOWDER”

Here in the States, we have broths and stocks of the vegetable, chicken, and beef variety.  These are often made from a multitude of ingredients with the intention of drawing out every last bit of flavor from that chicken bone or onion peel.  In Japan, we have something called dashi.  Dashi is a simple sea stock that has a big game despite its simplicity.

Dashi is incredibly subtle but watch out – it sneaks up behind you and intensifies the flavor of any food it touches.  The magic is in the konbu (sea kelp) and katsuo-bushi (bonito fish flakes).  I’ve learned that while the process of making dashi is simple, timing and temperature make all the difference between a good and not-so-good stock.  Letting the konbu sit in cold water is key as is not letting the water come to a boil.

I call this soup a “chowder” not because it encompasses qualities of richness from cream or milk, but rather, for its uncanny ability to speak notes of comfort.  A quintessentially perfect soup for winter that simply makes you… happy.  A dish that warms your heart and fills your body with only foods that are good for you.  As with many traditional Japanese dishes, the flavors are meant to be subtly complex.  Vegetables aplenty with hints of seafood seeping through every bite – what’s not to love?

PS – did you end up with leftovers?  Forego the boring old re-heating and transform this soup into a beautiful Japanese risotto.  Stay tuned for the recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

• White Fish (1/2 lb)
• Daikon (1)
• Burdock Root (2)
• Carrots (2)
• Shiitake Mushrooms (Handful)
• Scallions (2)
• Snow Pea Shoots (Large handful)
• Ginger (1-inch knob)
• Organic Firm Tofu (12 oz)
• Roasted Sesame Seeds (1 tbsp)
• Konbu (40 square inches)
• Katsuo-Bushi (1 cup loosely packed)
• Water (8 1/2 cups)
• Mirin (1 tsp)
• Soy Sauce (2 tbsp)
• Ponzu (1 tbsp)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prep the dashi first. Place the konbu in a pot with cold water.  Let the konbu soak in cold water for 15 minutes.
2. Once the 15 minutes are up, turn the heat on medium.  Watch the pot as you’ll want to remove it from the heat as soon as you see small bubbles begin to break on the surface of the stock.
3. Add the katsuo-bushi to the pot and let them soak for about 4 minutes.
4. Strain the stock through a cloth or coffee-filter-lined strainer.
5. Once the stock is complete, set it aside while you prep the fish and vegetables.
6. Clean the fish, make sure it’s free of bones, and cut into bite-sized pieces.  Let it marinade in a bit of soy sauce and cooking sake while you prep the vegetables.
7. Peel the daikon, quarter it, and dice up into equal-sized half moons.  Set aside.
8. Peel and slice up the burdock root diagonally.  Place the slices in cold water and let them soak.
9. Peel and slice up the carrot diagonally as you did with the burdock root.
10. Wash, clean, and slice up the shiitake mushrooms.
11. Finely chop up the scallions.
12. Chop up the snow pea shoots in half.
13. Peel the ginger and grate it down to a paste.
14. Dice up the tofu into small bite-size pieces.
15. Place the stock back onto your stove top and raise the heat to medium.  Add the fish, prepped veggies, grated ginger, tofu, and sesame seeds to the pot.  Stir to combine.
16. Pour in the soy sauce, ponzu, and mirin and continue to stir.
17. Before the soup can come to a full boil, lower the heat and cover. Let the soup simmer for at least 25 minutes.

on the menu : chestnut wild rice in green tea

CHESTNUT WILD RICE IN GREEN TEA

The inspiration for this dish comes from a similar Japanese dish called hitsumabushi.  Unlike the inspiration, my dish does not call for eel (though if you’re a fan – go for it!).  Essentially a rice dish layered with unagi (eel) eaten by many connoisseurs in the following order: 1. As is, 2. Topped with chives, wasabi, + nori 3. Topped with chives, wasabi, + nori, then soaked with dashi.  The last stage is quite simply the best.  If you’ve never had rice soaked in some sort of a dashi or tea, you must try it.

The beauty of this dish I’ve created is the lightness.  I sometimes eat dinner past 9:00 so my body is naturally craving something that won’t weigh me down.  This dish taps that bar and so many others – easy to prepare, healthy, fills you up, comforting, warming, etc. etc.  I do encourage you to go for de-caffeinated tea if you’re eating it late at night.  Unless you’re immune to caffeine… .

I’ve captured the sweetness that eel in hitsumabushi brings by incorporating roasted chestnuts and sugar snap peas.  I’ve kept things whole grain friendly by opting for the whole grain rice over white rice.  Instead of the sweet unagi (eel) sauce that would traditionally accompany eel, I’ve added brown rice syrup.  Healthy and delicious?  Check and check.  Where does your dinner inspiration come from?

INGREDIENTS:

• Chestnuts (1 lb)
• Sugar Snap Peas (1/2 lb)
• Whole Grain Wild Rice (2 cups)
• Soy Sauce (1 tbsp)
• Brown Rice Syrup (2 tsp)
• Nori Seaweed
• Brewed Green Tea
• Salt + White Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Roast the chestnuts (pre-heat oven to 375 F, make deep cross hatches on the humps of the chestnuts, place them on a baking sheet for about 20-25 minutes.  Peel as soon as you’re able to handle them).
2. Meanwhile, cook the rice according to your package.
3. Chop up the sugar snap peas and chestnuts.  Set aside.
4. While your rice is finishing up its cooking process, brew some green tea.
5. When your rice has cooked, add the chopped snap peas and chestnuts and mix well.
6. Add to the rice soy sauce, brown rice syrup, and a little salt + white pepper.
7. Prior to serving, add some shredded nori.
8. Pour in the brewed green tea and serve immediately.

on the menu : super easy spinach + goat cheese quiche

SUPER EASY SPINACH + GOAT CHEESE QUICHE

Yes – this really is a super easy quiche!  Obviously if you’re having a lazy Sunday and have the time to make your own crust from scratch, this will become a much more time-consuming recipe.  If you’re making this on a Thursday night when you’re exhausted from the week and opt for the frozen tart shell, super easy it is!  I found mine at Whole Foods and opted for the whole spelt variety because it was made sans butter + white flour, and free of artificial ingredients.

This dish is also super healthy .  If you do a search on quiche recipes, 98% will likely incorporate heavy cream or milk in the list of ingredients.  I don’t want to discount the traditional ‘this is how my great grandmother made it’ method and the cream thing is okay on occasion BUT why not incorporate some organic tofu instead if it makes the dish whole grain friendly?  PS – You will not taste the difference.  When I do drastic ingredient substitutions like these, I stay mum until my husband finishes his plate.  Ha.  But I tell you, more often than not he will have no idea that I’ve made any substitutions.

If you want to add more vegetables like zucchini, red bell pepper, tomatoes – pile it on!  Also, feel free to add more (or less, I suppose) cheese!

INGREDIENTS:

• Egg (2)
• Organic Silken Soft Tofu (12 oz)
• Yellow Onion (1)
• Garlic Clove (1)
• Frozen Spinach (16 oz)
• Paprika (1/2 tsp)
• Goat Cheese (1/4 cup)
• Olive Oil
• Salt + Pepper
• Whole Grain Spelt Tart Shell (1)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
2. Thaw your frozen spinach in advance.
3. Finely chop up the yellow onion and garlic clove.
4. Drizzle some olive oil into a sauté pan and add the chopped onions and garlic.  Raise the heat to medium-low and let the onions caramelize a bit.  Season with salt + pepper.
5. Remove the onions (they should appear glassy but not totally wilted) off of the heat and set aside.
6. Add the spinach to the pan and mix together.  Also mix in the goat cheese (chopped) and season with salt + pepper.
7. Place the tofu into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
8. Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl and pour in the blended tofu.  Continue to whisk until well combined.  Season with paprika, salt + pepper.
9. Place your tart shell on a baking sheet.  Spoon in the spinach mixture then carefully pour in the egg mixture.
10. The egg mixture will be thick and should coat the spinach mixture completely.
11. Pop into the oven until cooked – roughly 30 minutes.  You should start to see the surface brown.

on the menu : sweet potato croquettes w/ two sauces

SWEET POTATO CROQUETTES W/ TWO SAUCES

Japanese style croquettes (or korroke) embark childhood memories as french fries may do for you American folk, perogis for those of Polish heritage, and perhaps samosas for those of Central Asian decent.  You get the idea.  Croquettes are make-you-happy comfort patties .  The traditional Japanese croquette is typically comprised of white potatoes, ground meat, onions, garlic and are dredged in panko bread crumbs.  Served alongside tonkatsu sauce or soy sauce, I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t love a warm freshly made croquette.

What I’ve done here is taken the concept and flavor profiles of traditional Japanese croquettes but – naturally – added my own twist.  I opted for sweet potato instead of a white potato and incorporated a little quinoa flour to give the sweet potato an added “starch” content.  The biggest change perhaps is the use of shredded coconut flakes over panko bread crumbs.  Albeit unsweetened, the subtle notes of coconut play so well off of the natural sweetness of the sweet potato.  If you’re not a coconut lover, you can definitely go with the more traditional panko bread crumbs.  Also, my husband and are still on our pescetarian streak so I omitted the ground meat.

I mentioned that Japanese croquettes are served with a tonkatsu sauce.  Tonkatsu sauce is a sweet sauce similar to Worcestershire but not as tangy and with the consistency of ketchup.  The problem is, a lot of the bottled tonkatsu sauces contain a myriad of artificial ingredients.  For this reason, I created my own sauce.  I really enjoy concocting my own sauces out of non-traditional ingredients and this time around I created a sweet sauce out of burdock root.  I hope that your local grocer carries burdock root in its produce section because this sauce really makes the croquettes pop.  The scallion oil I whisked together to add a layer of savory complement.

The dish was a huge success and my only complaint was that I should have made more!  I suggest doubling this recipe if you’re feeding more than 2 hungry mouths!

INGREDIENTS:

• Sweet Potato (1)
• Yellow Onion (1)
• Scallions (2)
• Garlic (1)
• Quinoa Flour (1/3 cup)
• Egg (1)
• Unsweetened Coconut Flakes (1 cup)
• Salt + White Pepper
• Oil
• Burdock Puree -
• Burdock Root (1)
• Organic Ketchup (2 tbsp)
• Worcestershire Sauce (1 tbsp)
• Creamy Balsamic Vinegar (1 tsp)
• Togarashi (1/2 tsp)
• Scallion Oil -
• Scallions (2)
• Oil (2 tbsp)
• Ponzu Shyoyu (1 tbsp)
• Ginger (1 tsp grated)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Peel and cube the sweet potato into equal-sized pieces.  Place in a pot of cold, salted water and then place on the stove.  Bring the water to a boil.  Cook the sweet potatoes until fork tender.
2. Finely chop up the onion and garlic.  Drizzle some oil into a saute pan over medium-low heat and add the chopped onions and garlic.  Season with salt + pepper and let them caramelize but not brown.
3. Meanwhile, finely chop up the scallions and place into a mixing bowl.
4. When the chopped onions and garlic appear glassy, remove from the heat and transfer to the mixing bowl with the scallions.  Let sit.
5. While your sweet potato is cooking, prep the two sauces.
1. Peel and chop up the burdock.  Saute the burdock in a little oil with salt + pepper until cooked.  Once cooked, transfer to a blender.
2. Also add to the blender the ketchup, Worcestershire, creamy balsamic, and togarashi.  Puree until smooth.  Add a little water to get it extra smooth.
3. Create the scallion oil by whisking the oil and ponzu shyoyu in a small bowl.  Add chopped scallions and grate in the ginger.
6. Drain the sweet potatoes and place them into the mixing bowl.  Use a masher to mash up the sweet potato.  Let the other ingredients mold into the sweet potato.
7. Add the quinoa flour and continue to mash well.
8. Set up your dredging station.  Spread out the coconut flakes in a shallow dish.  Whisk the egg with a little water and place in another shallow dish.
9. Create small patties out of the sweet potato mixture, then dip in the whisked egg, and then coat with coconut flakes.  Repeat until all patties have been created.
10. Drizzle oil into a frying pan (enough to coat the bottom) and raise the heat to medium.  Saute the patties and as they finish, place on a paper towel lined plate.

on the menu : stuffing stuffed acorn squash

STUFFING STUFFED ACORN SQUASH

Stuffing doesn’t have to be a Thanksgiving-only dish.  In fact, it deserves more time in the spotlight and I encourage you to take some time to explore the endless varieties of stuffing.  Generally speaking, stuffing is served alongside turkey.  Guess what?  It makes a fabulous pairing with roasted squash as well!  Given how quick and easy it is to concoct your own stuffing from scratch, you’ve know excuse not to make this at least a few times throughout the year outside of the holidays.

You’re wondering why I would be such an advocate of a “bad carb” filled dish.  Well, once I discovered that sprouted grain bread makes a mighty fine substitute, I was hooked.  It holds up great in the oven and actually adds a pleasantly nutty backbone to the dish.  That plus the notion you can eat as much of this stuff without feeling the next-day guilt is reason enough to give this a go!  One bite of this jolly dish and your taste buds will be singing carols.  The wintery and fragrant herbs alone smell like the holidays.  Enter roasted chestnuts, apples, cinnamon, nutmeg… merry galore .

Happy holidays, fellow foodies, from my kitchen to yours!

INGREDIENTS:

• Acorn Squash (1)
• Celery Stalk (3)
• Yellow Onion (1)
• Chestnuts (10)
• Garlic Clove (1)
• Apple (1)
• Thyme (3 sprigs)
• Sage (1 leaf)
• Rosemary (1 sprig)
• Stale Sprouted Grain Bread (2 slices)
• Vegetable Broth (1/2 cup)
• Raw Maple Syrup (2 tbsp)
• Cinnamon (Pinch)
• Nutmeg (Pinch)
• Olive Oil
• Salt + Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Roast the chestnuts in advance by making cross-hatches on the shell and placing them on a baking sheet.  Let them bake in a 400 F oven for about 25-30 minutes and peel as soon as you’re able to handle.  Set aside.
2. For this dish, pre-heat the oven to 375.
3. Cut the acorn squash in half and spoon out the seeds.  Use a fork to gently pierce the flesh and skin.
4. Whisk together the maple syrup, olive oil, pinch of cinnamon + nutmeg, salt + pepper.  Brush the flesh of the squash with this mixture.  Take the reserved mixture and spoon into the cavity of the squash halves.
5. Place the squash halves on a baking sheet and pop into the oven for 35 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, finely chop up the onion, celery, and herbs.
7. Drizzle some oil in a pan over medium heat and add the chopped onions.  Season with salt + pepper.
8. Once the onions have had a chance to sweat it out a bit, add the chopped celery.  Saute for a few minutes then remove from the heat.
9. Place the sauteed vegetables in a mixing bowl.  Add the chopped herbs and mix.
10. Leave the skin on your apple and remove the core and seeds.  Chop up into bite-size pieces and add to the bowl.
11. Chop up the sprouted grain bread into bite-size pieces and toss into the bowl.
12. Roughly chop up the chestnuts and add to the bowl.
13. Pour in the vegetable broth and mix well until combined.  Season with salt + pepper to taste.
14. Remove the squash halves from the oven.  Transfer to smaller baking dishes filled first with the stuffing.  Go ahead and fill the squash cavity with stuffing as well.
15. Pop the stuffed squash back into the oven for another 20 minutes.

on the menu : triple squash soup w/ baked apple chips + crystallized ginger creme fraiche

TRIPLE SQUASH SOUP W/ BAKED APPLE CHIPS + CRYSTALLIZED GINGER CREME FRAICHE

Last Thanksgiving, I cooked the entire feast – hors d’oeuvres and all.  This year, I had it easy and just made one dish .  I opted to make a soup that encompasses the flavors of fall.  I also intently chose a dish I knew would taste better the day after I prepped it.  When I was creating this recipe, I envisioned a silky, comforting soup with plenty of aromatics.  The consensus?  Check, check, and check.

I chose butternut, acorn, and kabocha squash.  You can go with any of your 3 favorites though I would stray away from spaghetti and definitely recommend at least the kabocha.  When you roast the squash and puree the flesh, it gives your soup a silky + creamy texture.  You could puree everything, I suppose, but I left the vegetables as is for contrast and color.  Speaking of color, the squash emit the perfect color to represent fall and Thanksgiving.

My secret to any good soup is to a). build layers and b). infuse the aromatics.  You have plenty of time to do this while the squash is roasting!  You want your kitchen to waft with the beautiful aromas of herbs and spices.  If I could point my finger at one aspect I love most about Thanksgiving, it would be the aromas that fill the kitchen.

The toppings I added are completely optional but give adage to holiday entertaining.  Not an apple or creme fraiche fan?  Worry not!  The soup is absolutely divine and flavorful on its own.  What did YOU make for Thanksgiving??

INGREDIENTS:

• Butternut Squash (1/2)
• Acorn Squash (1)
• Kabocha Squash (1)
• Yellow Onion (1)
• Celery Stalk (2)
• Ginger (1-inch knob)
• Garlic Clove (2)
• Thyme (6 sprigs)
• Sage (2)
• Rosemary (3 sprigs)
• Bay Leaf (1)
• Vegetable Broth (60 oz)
• Cinnamon (Dash)
• Nutmeg (Dash)
• Olive Oil
• Salt + Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Ideally, you want this soup to sit overnight so if you can, make it the day before!
2. Pre-heat the oven to 375 and roast all 3 squashes.  Use whatever method you prefer (whole or halved).  Cook all 3 squashes until completely tender.
3. Meanwhile, drizzle some oil into a large stock pot.
4. Finely chop up the garlic and add to the pot over low heat.  Add all of the herbs and let them simmer with the garlic.  Grate in the ginger.
5. Chop up the yellow onion and celery.
6. Raise the heat on the pot to medium and add the chopped onions.  Season with salt + pepper and let them sweat out a bit.
7. Add the chopped celery and continue to saute.
8. Add half of the vegetable broth and lower the heat.  Cover and let simmer.
9. When the squash have cooked, remove from the oven and let cool a bit.
10. One by one spoon the flesh into the blender to puree to a smooth consistency.  Add 1/3 of broth to each squash to help the puree process.
11. As each squash is pureed, pour into the stock pot and stir.  Season with salt + pepper as you go along.
12. Once all of the squash has been pureed and added to the stock pot, add a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg, add the bay leaf and cover.  Let it simmer.
13. While the soup is simmering, you can make the toppings (optional).
1. Apple chips just require a mandolin slicer, a little simple syrup and a cinnamon stick.  Bake them in the oven at 200 F for about an hour and you’re set.
2. The creme fraiche (again – completely optional!) but makes a great pairing with this soup.  Whip up the creme fraiche and add pieces of chopped crystallized ginger.
14. You can let the soup sit overnight and re-heat when you’re ready to serve.  Give it a good stir and don’t forget to remove the bay leaf prior to serving!