Autumn is when a lot of squash varieties are in season. Butternut squash is one of my favorites because it can be roasted pretty easily with brown sugar and olive oil, it can be deep fried as a vegetable (if it is sliced thinly enough), and it can be made into a nice and hearty soup.
Ingredients
One butternut squash (approx 3 lbs), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1" pieces
1 qt organic chicken broth
1 organic medium carrot, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp curry powder
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
1. In a stockpot, melt butter and olive oil together over medium heat. Add carrot, garlic, squash and curry powder. Let vegetables sweat for a few minutes, then add the broth. Bring soup to a boil and simmer over medium heat until squash is tender, 20-25 minutes.
2. Using an immersion blender or regular blender, pureé the mixture until smooth. Season with sea salt and black pepper, to taste. Serve while hot.
Note: If you like onions, a medium chopped onion can be added when the garlic and carrots are added. Let the onions caramelize in the oil before adding the squash and curry powder.
Simple Lemon Syrup
Makes about 1.5 cups
Ingredients
1 c. sugar
1 c. water
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
In a small saucepan, combine sugar, water, lemon juice, and lemon zest over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about five minutes until sugar has dissolved.
Remove from heat and allow syrup to cool before using or storing.
Ingredients
1 c. sugar
1 c. water
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
In a small saucepan, combine sugar, water, lemon juice, and lemon zest over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about five minutes until sugar has dissolved.
Remove from heat and allow syrup to cool before using or storing.
Sweetened Cream Scones
Once you have a decent base recipe, making additions to it is easy enough. This particular recipe calls for a lot of sugar. While it isn't as ludicrously sweet as the scones you can get at a Starbucks, it has a noticeable amount of sugar that is more than what you'd get out of a standard cream-based scone at an English tea shop. It can easily be turned into a savory scone (aka a biscuit) with the omission of the sugar. It's the combination of cold butter and cold heavy cream that make these scones light and crumbly. Moisture is a big deal in a scone like this. Depending on your climate (here it is very humid during the winter), you may not need an entire cup of cream.
Basic Cream Scone Ingredients
2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 c. organic granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
6 tbsp cold unsalted butter, diced
up to 1 c. organic heavy cream
This batch's additions:
2 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
strawberry jam
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
1. In a food prep, pulse together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter and any additional fresh herbs until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
2. With the food prep running, slowly add heavy cream until the dough comes together.
3. On a lightly floured surface, turn dough out and knead into a ball. Lightly dust a rolling pin with flour then roll out the dough to 1/2" thickness. Using a biscuit or cookie cutter, cut the dough into shapes and place them at least an inch apart on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
4. If using a fruit jam, make an indent in the center of the scone and put up to a half teaspoon of jam in the middle. I used a wine cork for this step; but you could easily use a thumb or index finger too.
5. Bake scones for 18 minutes. Let cool before storing. If you're using jam in this recipe, you should store the scones in a sealable container in single layers separated by wax paper. That way the jam doesn't bleed onto other scones.
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| Sweet Cream Scones with Rosemary and Strawberry Jam |
2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 c. organic granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
6 tbsp cold unsalted butter, diced
up to 1 c. organic heavy cream
This batch's additions:
2 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
strawberry jam
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
1. In a food prep, pulse together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter and any additional fresh herbs until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
2. With the food prep running, slowly add heavy cream until the dough comes together.
3. On a lightly floured surface, turn dough out and knead into a ball. Lightly dust a rolling pin with flour then roll out the dough to 1/2" thickness. Using a biscuit or cookie cutter, cut the dough into shapes and place them at least an inch apart on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
4. If using a fruit jam, make an indent in the center of the scone and put up to a half teaspoon of jam in the middle. I used a wine cork for this step; but you could easily use a thumb or index finger too.
5. Bake scones for 18 minutes. Let cool before storing. If you're using jam in this recipe, you should store the scones in a sealable container in single layers separated by wax paper. That way the jam doesn't bleed onto other scones.
Honey-Balsamic Chops
The ingredient ratio for this recipe is more like a finishing sauce than a how-to make the aforementioned title of this post. It combines the sweet, tart taste of balsamic vinegar with the smooth, silky sweetness of honey. It could be used on grilled pork or lamb chops, as well as some types of white-fleshed fish like cod or tilapia.
Makes 1 serving.
Ingredients
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp raw honey
2 tsp fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
1 garlic clove
fresh black pepper, to taste
Himalayan pink salt (or sea salt), to taste
Directions
In a small food prep (1.5 c or 3 c), combine balsamic vinegar, olive oil, rosemary, garlic, honey, and freshly ground black pepper and sea salt. Spoon over cooked meat.
If you're concerned about the honey lingering on the bottom of the food prep container and having to spatula it out, you could also whisk these ingredients together in a small bowl. You'll have to mince the garlic first though.
Giadia's original recipe calls for eight grilled lamb chops (serves 6-8 people) and has the following ingredient ratio:
1/3 c. balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, peeled
2 tbsp honey
3/4 c vegetable or canola oil
The chops are drizzled with 2 tbsp olive oil and sprinkled with 1/2 tbsp fresh rosemary, then grilled for 2-3 minutes on each side.
This recipe ratio is adapted from the book Giadia at Home by Giada De Laurentiis.
Makes 1 serving.
Ingredients
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp raw honey
2 tsp fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
1 garlic clove
fresh black pepper, to taste
Himalayan pink salt (or sea salt), to taste
Directions
In a small food prep (1.5 c or 3 c), combine balsamic vinegar, olive oil, rosemary, garlic, honey, and freshly ground black pepper and sea salt. Spoon over cooked meat.
If you're concerned about the honey lingering on the bottom of the food prep container and having to spatula it out, you could also whisk these ingredients together in a small bowl. You'll have to mince the garlic first though.
Giadia's original recipe calls for eight grilled lamb chops (serves 6-8 people) and has the following ingredient ratio:
1/3 c. balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, peeled
2 tbsp honey
3/4 c vegetable or canola oil
The chops are drizzled with 2 tbsp olive oil and sprinkled with 1/2 tbsp fresh rosemary, then grilled for 2-3 minutes on each side.
This recipe ratio is adapted from the book Giadia at Home by Giada De Laurentiis.
Chicken Soup
Autumn is in full force in the northwest with its overcast days and lots of rain. It's the perfect time to set the slow cooker (Crockpot) for a one-pot meal in the morning and come home to a piping hot bowl of soup full of hearty stock, meat, and vegetables. The flavor of this soup is more Italian by the herbs (thyme, parsley, garlic, bay leaf, and oregano) used, and the inclusion of traditional Italian vegetables in a soup such as carrots, potatoes, and tomatoes. This batch used chicken thighs. This recipe has no added sugar or salt. The sweetness comes from the tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and marsala wine; the salt comes from the canned tomatoes and beans.
Ingredients
1 lb chicken
1 qt chicken stock
One 14.5 oz can organic diced tomatoes
One 15 oz can organic black beans
1/4 c dry marsala wine
3 carrots, sliced
2 roasted sweet potatoes, diced
1 tbsp organic tomato paste
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp basil, minced
Directions
1. In a skillet, brown sides of the chicken and let cook (covered) on medium heat for 10 minutes, or until most of the pink is gone. Transfer all in the skillet to slow cooker.
2. Deglaze skillet with wine to remove the crispy bits from the pan. Pour this liquid into the crockpot as well.
3. Except for the beans, add remaining ingredients and spices to crockpot and set on "high" for 6 hours. After three hours, the chicken will be cooked enough to fall off the bone (if using bone-in chicken parts). Remove chicken and shred or cut into bite sized pieces. Put chicken back into crockpot.
4. A half hour before you're ready to serve the soup, rinse and drain the beans and add those to the crockpot. If using canned beans, these are already cooked and this will just warm them up.
Ingredients
1 lb chicken
1 qt chicken stock
One 14.5 oz can organic diced tomatoes
One 15 oz can organic black beans
1/4 c dry marsala wine
3 carrots, sliced
2 roasted sweet potatoes, diced
1 tbsp organic tomato paste
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp basil, minced
Directions
1. In a skillet, brown sides of the chicken and let cook (covered) on medium heat for 10 minutes, or until most of the pink is gone. Transfer all in the skillet to slow cooker.
2. Deglaze skillet with wine to remove the crispy bits from the pan. Pour this liquid into the crockpot as well.
3. Except for the beans, add remaining ingredients and spices to crockpot and set on "high" for 6 hours. After three hours, the chicken will be cooked enough to fall off the bone (if using bone-in chicken parts). Remove chicken and shred or cut into bite sized pieces. Put chicken back into crockpot.
4. A half hour before you're ready to serve the soup, rinse and drain the beans and add those to the crockpot. If using canned beans, these are already cooked and this will just warm them up.
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