A Big Batch of Squash Soup

 These days I'm getting loads of butternut squash in my weekly vegetable box.  Yesterday morning I had five, all lined up like chubby soldiers just waiting to be called to action.

I don't always cook things in big batches but when I do it's so satisfying I wonder that I don't do it more often.  In this case I roasted three of the squash, face down on parchment (brushed lightly with olive oil).  I sprinkled the squash halves with coarse sea salt and some ground black pepper before lying them down on their parchment.

 The flavour base of this soup was very simple, shallots sautéed with olive oil, dried parsley and black pepper.  As the shallots became translucent I added some sea salt.  The shallots then remained in their pot until the pureed squash was ready.

 I roasted the squash for a decent amount of time, 45 minutes.  I like some of that roasted flavour to come through.  Once the squash had cooled somewhat, I scooped it out of the skins and added it to my vitamix blender with some filtered water, just enough to cover the squash by about an inch.
I did this in two batches so I wouldn't overload the blender and create an exploding mess.

 The first batch I pureed was added to the pot, the second was stored in a large glass container in the fridge.  The next time we want some squash soup, I'll just saute up another flavour base of shallots and dried herbs (or maybe red onion and fresh herbs) and pour in the pureed squash.

The best thing about this soup is the topping.  I snipped away at the tops of some living pea shoots, about a half cup per serving.  Then I sprinkled about a quarter cup of roasted and salted pumpkin seeds all over.  Those pumpkin seeds are great sources of protein and healthy fats, as well as minerals.

There you have it, a perfect winter soup.
Have you done any batch cooking lately?  What are your favourite dishes to prepare in bulk?
xoxDani

The Home's Engine

 January was such a busy month that by the end of it my house was a filthy, disorganized mess.  I went back to basics this week with a whole-house scrub followed by a detailed kitchen cleaning.

The kitchen is the engine of the home and family, there's no doubt about that, and the center of the kitchen is surely the refrigerator (as evidenced by the typical magnet-like qualities of the fridge: walk into kitchen, open fridge and stare inside).

A good refrigerator cleaning begins with removing most of the food and scrubbing away at all surfaces.  I usually just use a mild dish soap with warm water.  If things have become really out of hand I might throw a couple of cups of vinegar into the dish water to add some natural disinfecting power.

 As you can see I avoid plastic containers whenever possible.  We are fortunate to have our milk cheerfully delivered in recyclable glass bottles (by Wolfgang of Pfennings Organics) and whenever possible I store food in re-purposed glass jars.  I'm also a fan of wax paper to wrap up cheese.

 With the price of nuts and seeds gone through the roof it's an excellent idea to store them in the fridge- which gives them a better chance of staying fresh. 

As you can see my family are fans of cheese, we always end up with odds and sods which need corralling into some sort of container: I use this wire basket I bought in Provence many years ago:

 There's a whole debate about storing eggs on the fridge door (is it cold enough there etc) but I think it's fine.  I also like to see them lined up like little soldiers:

 When I do a big fridge clean-up I have a peek into every jar and bottle to look for freshness.  If your family are extremely messy sandwich-fixers they are more likely to stick knives and spoons with peanut butter and crumbs into jars and vessels in their haste to make that sandwich pronto. 

 There are a couple of recipes I can pretty much always put together out of the contents of our fridge and pantry.  The first is the old reliable crepe.  These are so easy to whip up and always have the feeling of a special treat.  They are great to serve for breakfast but I also give them to my youngest daughter for an after-school snack.
This is the recipe I use (the basic crepe recipe, this link includes a delicious-sounding mushroom sauce paired with asparagus, there's a good crepe lunch recipe right there).

 To tell the truth I don't even measure it out, I know the crepe batter has the right consistency when it falls off the whisk in cascading ribbons:

I use my flat grill set-up on my stove top to cook them:

 Serve a stack with various jams, maple syrup and for a bit of decadence some whipped heavy cream.

 How about an easy lunch recipe?
I've been trying to incorporate pumpkin seeds into our diet as they are so healthy.  The raw seeds are quite bland so I roast mine in a skillet:

Don't get distracted: they burn easily.

 It took me some time to get used to cooking quinoa but I'm not sure why, it's actually so easy.  I buy mine in bulk from the health food store and I cook it at a 2:1 ratio (two cups of water to one cup of dry quinoa).  I saute a shallot in olive oil, add the water and an organic vegetable bouillon cube, some chopped parsley and the quinoa.  Cover and boil low for 15 minutes or so... towards the last 5 minutes I chuck in some greens, in this case a bit of shredded kale:

 Top with the pumpkin seeds and you have a filling, superfood lunch:

 I garnish it with a bit of pink salt:

If the refrigerator is clean and organized I find my nerves are far less frayed.  How about you?
Enjoy the weekend Tooties.
xoxDani