Curried Butternut Squash Soup

I just made a pot of Curried Butternut Squash Soup that came out excellent. I based it on a recipe that my mother photocopied for me years ago. Sorry, I don't know the source. I adapted it somewhat, so here's what I did:

1 1/2 lbs. butternut squash, peeled and cut in cubes

1 small onion, chopped

1 shallot, chopped

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 large clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

1/2 tsp. coriander

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. dry mustard

1/2 tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups water

2 apples, peeled, cored, and chunked

(1) In soup pot, saute onion and shallot in vegetable oil until golden. Add the garlic and spices and cook for another 30 seconds.

(2) Add the squash, broth, water, and apples and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to simmer for 25 minutes or until the squash and apples are soft.

(3) Puree the mixture in a blender in batches until velvety smooth.

(4) Serve hot with a dollop of plain yogurt.

The 1/8 tsp. of cayenne turned out to be just the right amount of heat for all but my younger daughter, who said it was OK, she just guzzled it. The original recipe included toasting the seeds from the squash and serving them with the soup. And whoever gave the recipe to my mom wrote in "add 1/2 cup cream, optional." So you might try that. I found the plain yogurt to be perfect.

Beet, Feta and Red Onion Salad with Honey Oregano Vinagrette

• 4 large beets

• 6 Tablespoons olive oil

• 2 Tablespoons honey

• 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 1 large garlic clove

• 2 Tablespoons fresh oregano leaves or 2 teaspoons dried

  1-1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

• 1 small red onion, diced small

• Fresh salad greens, enough to make a nice bed on a large platter

• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (cow's milk feta is milder than sheep's milk)

• 1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the tops off the beets, leaving 2 inches of the stems. Wrap beets in foil. Roast until tender, about 1 hour. Cool, peel and slice the beets.

While beets are roasting, you can roast the walnuts and make up the salad dressing. I put the walnuts in a toaster oven, at around 250 degrees for about 10-15 minutes (if you do it in too hot an oven, the walnuts can burn). To prepare the dressing, blend oil, honey, vinegar, garlic, oregano and mustard in blender until thick. Season with salt and pepper.

Wash and dry salad greens, and keep them fresh in the fridge until you're ready to assemble the salad. Arrange the greens on a serving platter. Top with sliced beets, feta, walnuts and red onion. Spoon dressing over.

Enjoy!

Turnip Spice Cake

Turnip Spice Cake

Okay, I confess - we aren’t all that keen on turnips. I like them alright raw, with raisins, as a snack, but take as little of the mashed turnip Thanksgiving dish as is possible while still being polite.I don’t usually advocate hiding vegetables in sweets – I think people, especially kids, should learn to like the vegetable for its own taste; but with turnip all rules go out the window.

2 ½ cups whole wheat flour

¼ tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp cloves

½ cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup soured milk (if you don’t have sour milk, combine 1 T lemon juice and 1 cup milk, and let it sit for 5 minutes)

2 tsp baking soda

1 ½ cups cold mashed turnip

1 ½ cups raisins

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine flour, salt and spices. Cream butter and sugar. Stir the baking soda into the soured milk; add to sugar mixture. Mix in the turnip and raisins. Combine with the dry ingredients. Bake in a 13 x 9 pan for 40 minutes.

Savoy Cabbage Gratin

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

61 people added this to their Recipe Box

This makes a savoury autumn side dish alongside Bavarian-style sausages or roast turkey. It's also hearty enough to be a vegetarian main course accompanied by crusty bread and a salad.

Servings: 8

Ingredients:

Nutritional Info
Per each of 8 servings: about	-
cal	183
pro	6 g
total fat	13 g
sat. fat	8 g
carb	13 g
fibre	3 g
chol	37 mg
sodium	336 mg
% RDI:	-
calcium	15%
iron	6%
vit A	20%
vit C	32%
folate	28%

Suggested Recipes

• Linguine with Walnuts and Arugula
• Tropical Granola Clusters with Brazil Nuts
• Romesco Sauce
• Pecan-Crusted Chicken Fingers
• Wafu Burgers

1 head savoy cabbage (about 2 lb/1 kg)
2 tbsp (25 mL) butter
1 leek (white and light green parts only), thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup (125 mL) vegetable stock
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) each pepper and groundnutmeg
2 tbsp (25 mL) all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups (375 mL) 10% cream or milk
Topping:
3/4 cup (175 mL) fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup (125 mL) shredded Gruy? cheese
2 tbsp (25 mL) butter, melted
1 tsp (5 mL) chopped fresh thyme, chives orparsley

Preparation:

Quarter cabbage lengthwise; cut out and discard core. Thinly slice cabbage crosswise; set aside.

In large pot or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat; cover and cook leek and garlic, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 10 minutes.

Add cabbage, stock, salt, pepper and nutmeg; cook, covered and stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 15 minutes.

Stir in flour; cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Stir in cream and bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Spread in greased 12-inch (2 L) oval baking dish.

Topping: Combine bread crumbs, cheese, butter and thyme; sprinkle over cabbage mixture. (Make-ahead: Let cool. Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Bring to room temperature to bake.)

Bake in 400°F (200°C) oven until bubbling and topping is golden, about 20 minutes.

Source

Canadian Living Magazine: November 2007

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The Enormous Turnip

Sunday was one of those busy weekend days with the kiddies. When supper hour rolled around, I had nothing planned and was in desperate need of inspiration. I didn't have to look very far. I opened my fridge and an enormous turnip fell out, almost hitting me in the head. A quick search on the internet and I came up with a super easy and fast recipe to whip together in no time. I tinkered a bit with it, so here is the final result. Hubby was impressed and said it tasted like "restaurant quality". Is that a compliment?

1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tbsp butter
3 cups potatoes - cubed
3 cups turnip - cubed
1 Tbsp flour
4 cups veggie stock
sprig of rosemary
salt and pepper
2 splashes of cream


Saute onions, potatoes and turnip in the butter until onions are soft. Stir in the the flour to coat all the veggies. Add the stock along with a sprig of rosemary and simmer until veggies are tender. Just before serving, add salt and pepper to taste along with a couple of splashes of cream. Enjoy!