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Happy Christmas Eve!
I’ve always found this carol haunting and beautiful.
December 5 and 20.
First, I love any counting that involves a unit of 20. Secondly, this group sounds so lovely performing this song.
Oh, Christmas Tree!
This song, another Jingle Spells find, cracks me up so much. This is a live video, which is a lot of fun, taken at a performance at the Amherst Museum in Amherst, New York!
Cream of Broccoli (and other vegetables I happen to have in my house) Soup
I love cream of broccoli soup. I love it so much. I’ve loved it my whole life. I really, really love me some cream of broccoli soup. It makes you think you’re doing something healthy (eating broccoli) but it is full of cream and butter and so you’re really not. (Yes, that broccoli could look nicer. But, a combination of the end of the semester, CSA timing and life conspiring to put off making the soup “for one more night” until the broccoli looked a little yellowish. It tasted fine, though.)
And, you know, cream-based soups aren’t that hard to make. No, really. You start by chopping up your veg (I used broccoli, a potato, a tiny kohlrabi and kale and an onion). You set your vegetables aside. Then you cook your onions and a little garlic in some butter.
After the onions are translucent, you add some flour and make a roux. To this you add some broth, potatoes and kohlrabi and cook for a smidge, about ten minutes. You want the potatoes and the kohlrabi to start getting soft.
Then you add some cream and your broccoli. You cook until the veg are cooked.
You add the kale (if you are using it) and cook an additional five minutes. You want to save the kale for the end because you don’t want to make the soup too bitter.
And, then you enjoy your amazing, tasty, homemade awesome cream of broccoli (and other vegetables you happen to have in your house) soup.
Posted in 5 senses, food, Uncategorized
Tagged CSA, end of the semester, food, soup, vegetarian, yummy
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Winter Wonderland
So, this song always made me giggle because there is that line, “later on we’ll conspire as we dream by the fire” which could so easily be “we perspire”. Yes, internally, I’m like 12 years old.
Bing Crosby rocks out in this rendition. It is very enjoyable.
So Much Squash: Spicy Squash Soup
I’ve had a five-a-day cookbook for a really long time. I don’t think it is in print anymore. But, it is full of awesome recipes and even though I still own this book I couldn’t find it. It had a soup recipe titled “South of the border squash soup”. It was a spicy butternut squash soup and I wanted to make something like that. So, I guessed at its contents. I had squash, chilies, potatoes, onions, garlic, a parsnip, and broth.
I peeled and chopped up the squash, the onions and garlic. I sautéed the onions and garlic and tossed them into the saucepan with the squash, chilies and broth. I brought it to a boil and then I brought it down to a simmer and cooked until the squash chunks were soft. Then, I mashed some of the squash chunks up so that the soup had a bit of a creamy texture. It was super tasty. Although, I probably only needed one chili.
Run, Rudolph!
Chuck Berry’s the best. That is all.
So Much Squash: Stuffed Squash
The last week of classes, three squashes met its end in my kitchen. You could say I had a bit of a massacre. I stuffed two squashes with quinoa and I made a spicy butternut squash with the chilies from my garden that I dried. I went off script with both of these recipes; so I have a recipe that I can give you. After I cut open and dug the seeds out of the squash, I set them aside and made the quinoa. For the quinoa, I changed out the water recommended by the packaging on the quinoa (I still used the amount) with vegetable broth and to it I added a chopped onion, a clove of garlic, a quarter cup of dried cranberries and some pistachios. I started by sautéing the onions and garlic in some butter. Then, I added it to the quinoa and broth and cooked the quinoa as directed.
In the last couple of minutes, I added the nuts and cranberries. After the quinoa was ready, I divided it up and scooped it into the squash halves which I had arranged on a oiled baking tray, cut side up.
After the squashes were stuffed to the gills, I put them in an oven that had been preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
I roasted them for 45 minutes and then checked to see if they were done. They were and they were gorgeous. I served these puppies with a nice salad with some ranch. I am a Midwesterner after all, and we are obsessed with ranch.
Recipe
2 Delicata squash
¾ cup of quinoa and the amount of water (or broth) suggested by the packaging
¼ cup of dried cranberries
¼ cup of pistachios
1 chopped onion
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra oil for the baking sheet
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Discard the seeds
- Oil a baking sheet and arrange squash cut side up
- Sauté the chopped onion and garlic in the tbsp of olive oil
- Prepare the quinoa according to the package. Add the onion and the garlic at the beginning and the pistachios and cranberries 5 minutes from the end
- Stuff the squash with the quinoa mixture
- Roast for 45 minutes. Check for doneness. If not done, put back in oven for 5 minutes.
- Enjoy!
