[Food Series] Ginger Butternut Squash Soup

Our family just recently started receiving our produce through a community supported agriculture (CSA) delivery service. Everything is locally grown, seasonal, organic and delivered to our doorstep. When I open my front door, once a week, and our box of goodies is sitting there, it's almost like I won the lottery and can't wait to open it up to see what we've won! This week was a ton of butternut squash, so I decided to make soup! This is a seriously healthy, nutritious and hearty meal, perfect for a cozy, winter family dinner. Enjoy!

Ingredients
2 lbs Butternut Squash
1 tablespoon ground Ginger
3 Bay Leaves
1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 15oz can of low sodium organic garbanzo beans
4 cups water
Pepper
1 tablespoon Pine Nuts
1 Avocado

This recipe is seriously easy!! First peel and remove the seeds from the butternut squash, then cut into one inch cubes. Throw everything (except for the pine nuts and avocado) into a soup pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and let it simmer. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Spread out the pine nuts on a lined baking sheet and toast them in the oven for about 3 minutes, making sure to watch them closely so they don't scorch. Thinly slice the avocado. When the butternut squash is easily mashable with a fork (approximately 20-30 minutes), use a hand held immersion blender to puree the soup, directly in the pot. Ladle the soup into bowls, top with avocado slices and pine nuts and devour! I served this up with leeks in olive oil. Heavenly.

[Food Series] Roasted Garlic and Broccoli Soup with Goat Cheese Crostini

When I'm making soups that feature one particular vegetable, like broccoli soup, I generally prefer to keep the soup fairly simple, so that I can actually taste the vegetable that I am highlighting. The fewer the ingredients, the easier the prep, the quicker wholesome food gets to the table for us to savor! This recipe is so comforting and delicious, I always make a big batch to ensure we can enjoy it for days after! I hope you enjoy it, too!

Ingredients
3 heads of Broccoli
1 brown Onion
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 tablespoon fresh Lemon Juice
5 Garlic Cloves
1/8 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Thyme
Salt
Pepper
Crostini
1/3 cup Goat Cheese
1/4 cup raw Hazelnuts
Water
1/2 cup Half and Half

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Take the outer skin of the garlic bulb off, slice off the very top drizzle with olive oil and wrap in aluminum foil. Place it on the bottom rack of the oven and set the timer for 15 minutes. Chop your broccoli into florets, toss in olive oil, salt and pepper, place in a large roasting pan and place it in the oven when the timer goes off. Set the timer for another 15 minutes. Dice the onion and throw it into a deep pot on the stovetop with a little olive oil and saute for about 5 minutes on medium heat. When the timer goes off, take out your garlic and stir your broccoli. Place the broccoli back in the oven and set the timer for the last 15 minutes. When the broccoli is done, place it in the pot with the onions, 5 cloves of the roasted garlic, nutmeg, thyme, salt and pepper and enough water to just cover the ingredients. On a low heat use your emulsifier to puree your soup in the pot. Add hot water in small amounts to bring it to the desired consistency (I added about 2 cups), then add your cream. Allow it to simmer for another 5 minutes. Thinly slice a baguette and place in the broiler for about 3 minutes. Keep a close eye on them to make sure they don't burn! When they become a nice golden brown, take your crostinis out of the broiler, spread with goat cheese and sprinkle with crushed, raw hazelnuts. Once the heat is turned off under the soup, add the lemon juice and serve! Enjoy!

[Food Series] Hearty & Healthy Potato Leek Soup

In the hopes of coaxing Madame Fall over to The City of Angles, yesterday I decided to honor her by making a pot of Potato Leek soup! You see, here in the San Fernando Valley, we have been smack dab in the middle of a heat wave with temperatures soaring over 100 degrees pretty much every day for the last two weeks! So, when I didn't wake up this morning sweating (temperatures hovered around the mid 80s), I said to myself, "Yay! Fall is HERE!" Um... Ok. Not really. Yet! But, I'm hopeful she will be here soon! Enjoy!

Ingredients
2 Lbs of Yukon Gold Potatoes
1 medium Shallot
3 Green Onions
2 large Leeks
2 cloves of Garlic
2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
3 tablespoons of Ground Mustard
3 tablespoons chopped Fresh Thyme
3 Bay Leaves
1 Lemon
Salt & Pepper
Water

Let's begin by preparing all of our various onion friends! Dice up the shallot, green onions and garlic. Making sure you have rinsed your leeks well to remove any sandy residue, slice them 1/2 an inch thick. Pour your 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a deep pot and add your shallots and green onions. Allow them to cook on medium-low heat for about 4 minutes. Add the garlic to the pot and cook for another minute, then add the leeks and bay leaves. I like to ensure a good caramelization on this base to add a nice depth of flavor, so I let this simmer, covered on low heat for another 10 minutes or so, then add your potatoes, salt, pepper, fresh thyme & ground mustard. Finally, add water to about 3 inches above the potatoes. Cover your pot with a tight-closing lid and let it simmer on medium heat for about 40 minutes. Ladle into a bowl and Enjoy!

[Food Series] Cold Cucumber and Yogurt Soup (Cacık)

This is, hands down, my favorite Turkish soup and a staple in our house, especially in the summer months. Since I have been asked by so many friends for the recipe, I figured you guys might enjoy it too! It takes less than 15 minutes to make, not to mention it's really low cal and nutritious! My two year old devours this by the gallon. Win, Win, Win!

Cold Cucumber and Yogurt Soup (Cacık)

Ingredients:
6 Cups of Plain Yogurt
2 Cloves of Garlic
4 Persian Cucumbers
1 Cup of Water

Into a large bowl, grate the peeled cucumbers and use a zester or microplane to add the garlic. Dump the yogurt and water in and blend until it is smooth. I usually use a fork because it easily breaks up all of the lumps, but doesn't aerate the yogurt. Chill and serve! That's it, literally!

In our house, we usually prefer it on the thicker side, but feel free to add more water, in very small increments, to get it to the consistency that works for you. This dish is also delicious with finely chopped mint or dill, a drizzle of olive oil or served as a side dish with any yummy protein!

[Food Series] Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho

Summer is HERE in Southern California and in honor of the fact that it will be 95 degrees today, I made Gazpacho! I had every intention of doing an Asiago cheese crostini on the side, but we were so hungry that I just tore off a piece of rustic bread and called it a day! HA! This recipe is SO easy, there's no reason you can't have this staple in a pitcher in your fridge all summer long! Enjoy!

Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho

Ingredients:
4 large tomatoes
4 celery stalks
4 small persian cucumbers, peeled

1/4 red bell pepper

1 clove of garlic
2 tbsp red onion
1 avocado
1/3 cup of olive oil
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste

Finely dice the first 6 ingredients and toss them into the food processor and top it off with the juice of 1 lime and a bit of salt and pepper. Pulse the processor just a few times while adding olive oil. Chill, then serve with a garnish of sliced avocado (and feel free to add any fresh herbs you have on hand! Cilantro or Basil are two of our favs!) Voila! That is literally it! 10 Minutes, TOPS! Enjoy with a great Sauvignon Blanc!

A few side notes:
I prefer my gazpacho chunky, so I truly only pulse my processor for about 5 - 10 seconds, but if you like a creamier consistency, feel free to puree it, then you can add a variety of chunky garnishes on top!

Also, I know many gazpacho recipes call for some sort of heat, whether it's jalapenos or tabasco, but my hubby does not do well with spicy food, so we leave that part out. Feel free to add heat to your liking!

A great variation on this recipe that we love is roasting the tomatoes and red bell peppers! It adds a smokier flavor to the soup. If you want to try this way, I would recommend adding a tablespoon or two of sherry vinegar to balance the heightened sugars from roasting.

[Food Series] Bok Choy and Shiitake Mushroom Soup

Last month we took the baby to Underwood Family Farms and came back with a bounty of bok choy, so I went online in search of a new recipe and stumbled upon a 10 minute soup recipe that is bursting with flavor and loaded with nutrition! I took some creative cooking liberties by adding fresh cilantro and cutting down on the stock by half. I have to say that it is now one of my top 5 favorite soups of all time!! Enjoy!

2 cups of sodium free chicken stock

2 cups of beef stock

4 cups of water

6 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms (about 10 large), stemmed, caps sliced

2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger

1/3 cup of fresh cilantro (de-stemmed)

3 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon of sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon chili oil

3 cups roughly chopped bok choy

4 teaspoons rice vinegar

2 chopped green onions

In a large pot, bring broth, water, mushrooms and ginger to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes.

Add fish sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil and chili oil and simmer 2 minutes.

Add bok choy and simmer until bok choy is tender, about 3 minutes.

Stir in rice vinegar.

Ladle soup into bowls.

Sprinkle with green onions and cilantro and devour!