winter squash soup with sage leaves

in an effort (however non-effective, at least it's earnest) to try to reduce the gluttonous impact my recent omnivorous ways have been taking on my body, i'm devoting one night a week to making soup for dinner. last week's was pasta e fagioli. yes, i know soup doesn't necessarily mean "healthier", but it at least feels healthier, so i tell myself.

we had a butternut languishing on our counter and fresh chicken stock (yes, i'm in love with homemade chicken stock) waiting in the fridge. some of my favorite soups come from, of course, ms. madison. so we decided to try this simple sounding squash soup with sage leaves.



i was worried without some beans or pasta or dare i say, meat, i wouldn't feel full from this soup. but coupled with a crunchy greens salad and some baguette, it was a perfect dinner. it was so flavorful, and like always, was better the next night. i even had the last bit for lunch yesterday and i still loved it. yes, that bears repeating ... i ate this soup three days out of this week and still loved it on the third day!!

so what are you waiting for?

winter squash soup with sage leaves: serves 4-6
from vegetarian cooking for everyone (1997, p. 215)

2 1/2 - 3 lbs winter squash
1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra for squash
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
12 whole sage leaves, plus 2 tb chopped
2 onions, finely chopped
4 thyme sprigs, chopped
1/4 cup chopped parsley
salt + pepper
2 quarts homemade stock (be it vegetable or chicken, but please be it homemade!)
1/2 cup fontina, pecorino, or ricotta salata, diced into small cubes

1. preheat oven to 375F. halve squash and scoop out seeds. brush surface with oil, stuff cavaties with garlic and place cut sides down on baking sheet. bake until tender, about 30 minutes.

2. meanwhile heat 1/4 cup oil in small skillet until nearly smoking, then drop whole sage leaves and fry until dark, about 1 minute. set leaves aside on paper towel and transfer oil to wide soup pot. add onions, chopped sage, thyme, and parsley and cook over medium heat until onions have begun to brown, about 12-15 minutes.

3. scoop squash flesh into pot along with any juices that accumulated in the pan. peel the garlic and add to pot along with salt and stock and bring to boil. lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 25 minutes. if soup becomes too thick, simply add more water/stock to thin it out. taste for salt.

4. depending on the type of squash you've used, the soup with be smooth or rough. if you want a refined soup, use a handmixer or blender. if you mix it, you might want to heat it up a bit again. then ladle into bowls and distribute cheese over top (the cheese adds a contrast flavor to the sweetness of the squash, so yes, it's necessary!) garnish with sage leaves, add pepper, and enjoy!

pasta e fagioli

i have to sheepishly admit ... many times i go through my google reader and think so many things look delicious and i post a comment "got to try this soon!" - sometimes even a "definitely trying this out!" - and then i guiltily never come through on my encouraging promise.

but for some reason, this pasta e fagioli bucked the trend when i saw it on jen's blog use real butter. folks, i saw this yesterday and made it tonight ... that's how much i was impressed by this so simple, but so delicious supper soup!



i made some slight modifications based on what we had in the pantry, and our preferences. we used our favorite turkey bacon instead of the italian sausage, and navy beans instead of northern. we did splurge on the ditalini (oh when am i going to use this again?!) and we had fresh rosemary instead of dried (if you use fresh, add and remove with the cinnamon, not in the beginning as written in the recipe).

i worked later than usual tonight so i asked mr. mimi to have it ready for me when i came home (i know, spoiled by a professional chef!) and when i walked in the hallway, the spicy aroma - combination of cinnamon, rosemary, and vinegar - was sooo nice!! it was a perfect meal with some crusty bread, and even though i was tempted to halve the recipe i'm glad i didn't because i bet it will taste even better (as all soups inevitably do) for tomorrow's, and the next day's, and next day's lunch!

now you might notice that my soup doesn't really look like anything from jen's soup. although i'm sure her photographs benefit from natural mountain sunshine, my soup was definitely a dark red in real life too, so it could have something to do with brand of tomatoes i used. regardless, it tasted great, so who cares what color it came out!



plus! when i started getting ready to write this post and upload my photos i noticed that unbeknownst to me at the time of my clicking - both of us did a spoonful money shot. great pasta e fagioli minds think alike :-)

for the recipe, click here.

in the home stretch: making chicken stock

only one more week to go!

nablowrimo has been fun, although tedious at times and because i want it to be interesting on the user-end i at least have tried to post something culinary-related almost each day.

but here i am, stretching it so to speak in the home stretch.

because a post about stock isn't inherently interesting. but oh so important. in the winter i am a big fan of making my own stock. of course, that was always vegetable stock. but now that i have gone to the dark side of omnivory, i wanted to start off the season with some easy chicken stock from leftover parts and bones saved from the think spice dish.

and home made stock is so so easy there is absolutely no reason for you not to make it yourself. besides some chopping at the beginning there is nothing you else you have to do. you can do a big batch and freeze individual sizes. plus, you get to use up the bits and bobs of the vegetables from the week so they don't go to waste (unless you compost). but the real reason to do it is to make everything you make taste that. much. better!



my go-to easy stock is the from deborah madison's vegetarian cooking for everyone (you know, my favorite book of all time). i simply added the parts/bones after the vegetables had browned a little bit, and browned them some more before adding the water. i found her "quick stock" posted over at brin eats. i think the only difference between her "quick stock" and her regular "vegetable stock" is double the carrots and celery. but the quantity of items is not a science, and you can improvise easily. i always add peppercorns and leeks. this time i added chives because i had them (but no fresh thyme).

the next morning my kitchen still smells like that simmering stock from last night. which, i guess, could be a good or bad thing ;-)

winter tomato soup and dinner rolls

still feeling under the weather, exhausted and coughing. i've felt like this for a month, with varying degrees of intensity. sure it's nice to call out sick and have a four day weekend. but really, it gets kind of old and boring and completely a waste of time. by now i would happily trade in all my sick days for the quarter if i could just feel better.

but since today was better than yesterday, i dragged myself out of bed and took a short walk around in the sun. i also was in the mood for a simple dinner of creamy soup. ginger carrot was on my mind as a spicy balm to my scratchy throat.

of course you can't have soup without some bread! i really enjoy baking bread. i love the smell of the yeasty beasties (that lovely phrase came from somewhere else, but i have forgotten ... if it's yours, i'm sorry!) i love the feel of the dough, the kneading and the folding. i love the oxymoron of forced patience. of course mine isn't quite up to the best of the city's bakeries (i'm personally partial to here and here, ahem, even if that last one isn't *technically* a city bakery at least it's still new york). but nothing beats that taste and smell fresh out of the oven in your own kitchen.

i didn't want to be laboring under something difficult or timely, so i found a quick little recipe for rolls. after i tried one of these light, fluffy, buttery dreams of a carb, ginger carrot didn't seem to fit the bill anymore. mr. mimi suggested something a little more homey and classic. and it hit the spot perfectly!

no-knead dinner rolls: makes 18
from martha's everyday food magazine (dec 2007, p. 93)
(i halved this recipe and put into a 9x9 pan and it was fine)

2 cups warm water (105-115F)
2 packages (1/4 oz each) active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
4 tb butter, melted, plus more for pan and brushing
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp salt
6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for shaping

1. pour warm water into large bowl, sprinkle with yeast and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

2. add sugar, butter, eggs, and salt and whisk to combine. add flour, mix until incorporated and sticky dough forms. brush top of dough with butter. cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

3. turn dough onto well floured work surface. roll dough into thick log. cut into 18 equal pieces (cut in half, and then each half in thirds, and another thirds, etc).

4. brush 9x13 pan with butter. flatten each piece of dough then fold edges toward center, pressing to secure, until smooth ball forms. place each roll in pan, smooth side up (three rows of six). cover loosely with plastic wrap and rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.

5. preheat oven to 400F. brush rolls with butter. bake until golden, about 35-40 minutes. serve warm!

i love my rolls :)

winter tomato soup: serves 4

1 shallot, diced
1 large garlic clove, sliced
2 leeks, cleaned and sliced, white parts only
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 tb white wine vinegar
1 can chopped tomatoes (if this was summer, you'd be using "real" ones)
1 tsp paprika
salt + pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
chopped chives for garnish
olive oil
1 tb + 1 tsp butter

1. heat olive oil and about 1 tsp butter. lightly sautée shallots, garlic, and leeks until translucent. add vinegar, reduce. add carrots and tomatoes, season with paprika and salt and pepper. simmer until carrots are soft, about 1 hour (because the tomatoes will thicken, add water if soup looks too thick).

2. add cream and then purée with a burre mixer (or use a regular blender) until silky smooth. bring back up to a simmer and if you're feeling decadent add a monté au beurre (about a 1 tb butter) and mix in until incorporated.

3. serve and garnish with a drizzle of cream and chives.

this ain't your mama's can of campbells!

jewish penicillin

two things are true. i am still sick (what, is this the fourth week of snottin' and coughin'??) and i am eating meat again. yesterday mr. mimi and his dad went to the farmer's market and amongst other animals, he bought a skinny chicken from a local, organic, humanely raised, pasture-fed farm. it's amazing how small a "real" chicken is compared to the pumped up crap you get in the supermarket. today is a rainy, windy day ... the perfect afternoon to stay inside and treat ourselves to chicken soup with crusty sourdough bread for late lunch.

mr. mimi learned this technique at the culinary institute of america. it was confirmed by the ages old jewish wisdom of mimi's nanny (of the grandmother type, not the mary poppins type) although she puts a whole tomato in the mix, for color and flavor. we'll see tomorrow if it worked or not!

jewish penicillin: serves probably about 8

1 whole chicken, leaving skin on
5 large carrots, chopped 1"
1 bunch celery, chopped 1"
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 bunch leeks, white parts and tiny bit of green, sliced
3 bay leaves
salt+pepper to taste
cold water

mirepoix, plus leeks

the blessed skinny chicken

1. add all vegetables into large stock put, evenly mixed.

2. rinse chicken until water runs clear. then place on top of vegetables, and add cold water until chicken is covered 3/4. add bay leaves. bring to boil and then down to simmer.

3. cook for 3 hours total, turning the chicken over halfway through and seasoning with salt and pepper. skim off fat periodically. if you get a good chicken there won't be that much fat or scuzz.

4. carefully pull out chicken, discard skin, and pick off meat from bone. chop up meat, add to soup, simmer for another 20 minutes or so and taste for salt and pepper. enjoy and feel better!!

hot, steamy jewish penicillin!