Sweet Potato & White Bean Soup

A long time ago, I picked up a slow cooker with the intention of trying to utilize it and take advantage of the convenience. I made a pretty good bean stew and promised to try more. But I haven't really done that and whenever I look at slow cooker cookbooks I always notice how meat-heavy they are.

While walking through the cookbook section of my local library (which I do every time I visit it), a cookbook caught my attention: The Vegan Slow Cooker by Kathy Hester. I checked it out of the library, brought it home, and proceeded to page through it reading through the recipes. There were easily a dozen recipes that I wanted to try. No more needing to skip through entire chunks of the book to avoid the meat recipes.

With the author being vegan, there are parts of the book dedicated to workarounds particular to vegans. And some of the recipes looked a little bland; written perhaps with the entire country in mind. Here in California, we have so many exotic ingredients available to us. So I immediately noticed places where I could add some changes and upgrades.

I decided to start with this recipe because we had multiple bags of sweet potatoes delivered that needed to be used up. I doctored up the recipe a bit.

On this particular December day, I was able to come home for lunch and get all of the ingredients into the slow cooker. I had an after-work holiday event to attend so I knew I wouldn't be home until a few hours later than usual. So I set this up to be our late dinner.

It was nice to walk through the door and pick up the scent of the simmering soup. This is a great weeknight meal for cooler fall and winter nights. Some good bread and olive oil goes along nicely.

Sweet Potato and White Bean Soup

Ingredients:

• Sweet potato - About 3 medium to small potatoes, peeled and chopped into mostly equal-sized chunks
• Garlic - 3 cloves, minced
• Celery - 3 stalks, cleaned and chopped
• Diced tomatoes - 1 14 oz. can
• White beans - 1 14 oz. can of beans, drained and rinsed
• Veggie broth - 5 cups
• Greens - 1 15 oz. bag of prepared greens. I used a bag of baby kale leaves.
• Parsley - leaves of 2-3 sprigs, chopped
• Bay leaf - 1-2 leaves
• Parmesan cheese - grated
• White pepper - 1/4 tsp or more to taste
• Salt and papper - to taste
• Flour - 4 tbsp

Directions:

The night before:

• Prepare the celery and sweet potatoes and store in air-tight container in the refrigerator.

The day of:

• Add sweet potatoes, celery, herbs, beans, tomatoes, minced garlic, white pepper and broth to the slow cooker and heat on low for 6-8 hours until potatoes are softened. 
• Remove bay leaf and parsley sprigs. 
• Before serving put the flour in a bowl. Ladle some broth into the bowl. Whisk to dissolve the flour. Once it is fully dissolved add it all back to the slow cooker and stir to mix.
• About 20 minutes before serving add in greens and let them cook down.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Top with some cheese and garnish with chopped parsley leaves.
• Serves 4.

French Mushroom Soup

We recently attended another dinner party with our friends. The theme this time was French. We volunteered for the soup course. But I knew I did not want to make the obvious: French Onion Soup. I quickly discovered that it's hard to Google the terms "French soup" without getting overwhelmed with French Onion Soup recipes.

I decided not to go with a bouillabaisse since it seemed more of a spring or summer dish. Instead, I settled on this elegant mushroom soup, combining two recipes I found online.

The soup was a success. You don't need a big bowl since the flour, cream, and butter make it a filling soup. This is a good special occasion soup that can be part of a larger, multi-course dinner. Perfect for the holidays.

French Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

• 1/2 medium onion - minced
• Butter - 1/2 cup
• Flour - 5-6 tablespoons
• 12 cups broth
• Parsley - a few sprig plus some leave chopped for garnish
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 lbs. mixed mushrooms - cremini, shiitake, oyster
• 4 egg yolks
• heavy cream - 1 cup
• white wine - 1 cup
• salt - 1 tsp. or to taste
• white pepper - 1/2 - 1 tsp.
• finishing salt and pepper

Directions:

• Prepare and cook onion in 4 tbsp. butter in a large stockpot over medium heat until soft.
• Add the flour and stir for a few minutes. Do not let it brown. 
• Pour in some of the stock and stir until flour is dissolved. Add the remaining stock.
• Add the bay leaf and parsley sprigs and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Strain the mixture into another stockpot.
• In a large skillet, heat the remaining butter over medium heat. 
• Add the mushrooms and season with salt, pepper, white pepper and cook until they have softened and browned.
• In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and the cream together. While whisking, add a cup of the simmering soup to the bowl. Add to soup and keep the temperature low so the yolks don't curdle.
• Let it simmer and season to taste.
• Using a slotted spoon, remove about half of the mushrooms to a bowl. 
• Puree the soup with the remaining mushrooms with an immersion blender. Add back the reserved mushrooms and stir to mix.
• Ladle soup into bowls, add a pinch of finishing salt, and garnish with chopped parsley.
• Serves 12.

Smoked Salmon Sandwiches

We recently spent a getaway weekend with some good friends in Chicago. Our hosts nicely accommodated our pescetarian eating preferences. Because our days were full seeing the sights, we often made our lunches in the morning and enjoyed them later in the day picnic-style.

They had the fixings for these excellent smoked salmon sandwiches that we made each morning. One day, we enjoyed these sandwiches on the new 606 walkway; another day at Starved Rock State Park; and again on the shore of Lake Michigan. Since coming home, we have continued to make and enjoy these for those times you need a quick and easy dinner or a weekend lunch.

One of the key ingredients is the Trader Joe's Wasabi Mayonnaise. If you don't have a Trader Joe's nearby you can Google the term and find some workaround recipes that you can make at home. It is worth it to take the time to have this ingredient in the sandwich.

If you have Trader Joe's and a Costco nearby you are set.

Smoked Salmon Sandwiches

Ingredients:

• Slices of smoked salmon
• Havarti cheese - sliced
• Arugula (or spinach)
• Trader Joe's Wasabi Mayonnaise
• Pesto
• Bread

One slice gets pesto. The other gets the wasabi mayonnaise. Add the smoked salmon to one side and top with cheese. Add a layer of arugula.

Butternut Squash and Pear Soup

Fall into Winter. The CSA box is delivering lots of apples, baby bok choy, butternut squash, and leeks. So we are eating with the seasons.

In October,  I found some of this soup in our deep freezer. It was quite good. The different sweetnesses definitely marry over time. The coconut milk adds a nice silkiness.

Since I had the ingredients on hand, I decided to make the soup again tonight fresh. I might try to roast the butternut squash next time to see if that adds another layer of flavor.

It was still quite tasty. The butternut squash flavored is tempered with a little sweetness from the pears. The coconut milk adds its own dimension. A good one for cold fall and winter dinners.

Butternut Squash and Pear Soup

Ingredients:

• Olive oil - 3 Tbsp.
• Butternut squash - 1 medium or 2 small - peeled, seeded, and chopped into 1 inch blocks
• Leeks - 1 large or 2 medium, white and tender green parts chopped
• Bartlett pears - 2 or 3 ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1 inch blocks
• Broth - 5 cups
• Coconut milk - 1 14 oz. can of light coconut milk
• Garnish: Dried chives or roasted pumpkin seeds or be creative
• Salt and white pepper to taste

Preparation:

• Heat olive oil over medium low heat. Add chopped leeks and cook, stirring often, about 10 minutes.
• Prepare butternut squash and pears and add to leeks. Saute for 5 minutes.
• Add broth and bring to a boil.
• Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until squash is fork tender (minimum 20 minutes).
• Using an immersion blender or standard blender, puree the soup.
• Season with salt and white pepper.
• Add coconut milk.
• Cook down to desired consistency.
• Garnish and plate.

Serve with some crusty, high quality bread with either butter or olive oil.

Original inspiration:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/butternut-squash-bartlett-pear-soup/

Black Pepper and Honey Marinated Cantaloupe with Basil

This is the second fruit dish that was served at a recent dinner party (see below). This particular dish got the highest praises. It seems an unlikely hit but people commented on how the fruit and pepper combination worked well together. A few days after the dinner party, comments came in saying that this was a particularly memorable dish. It's definitely a keeper.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper (coarse grind better)
• 1 cantaloupe, slightly underripe
• 3 tbsp. basil, very thinly sliced
• Flaky sea salt, Maldon preferred

Instructions

• Bring 1 cup of water to a boil
• Peel, seed, and slice cantaloupe into thin slices
• Whisk honey into boiling water and add black pepper then allow to cool
• Place cantaloupe slices in a 9x13 baking dish
• Add honey/water mixture and stir to coat
• Cover with plastic and refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to overnight
• Drain and discard excess syrup from the mixture
• Sprinkle with basil and sea salt
• Garnish with a basil sprig

Link to the original recipe is here.

Feta Stuffed Watermelon Blocks

I recently had to bring the makings for a cheese/fruit course for a dinner party. It was a very hot day and the entree was going to include cheese, so I went with a cheese/fruit course that was lighter on the cheese and more fruit forward. Rather than just put out a traditional assortment of fruit, I decided to make two different fruit "recipes" to accompany the two cheeses we did put out: A Gorgonzola and an Italian Fontina. This is one of the two fruit dishes we served to accompany the cheeses. The second, even more popular, recipe will follow.

This is a great and easy to make summertime appetizer. It is best for a hot day when watermelon can be so refreshing and invigorating. The sweet fruit along with the salty feta topped with the herbaceous basil makes for an interesting mix of flavors. It's also a unique presentation.

Pairing the appetizer with a wine can be a little challenging dealing with all of the different flavors. A Vouvray, Verdelho, or a Rose would all be good choices.

Feta Stuffed Watermelon Blocks

Ingredients:

• 1 3-4 lb. watermelon
• Crumbled feta cheese
• Basil leaves, very thinly sliced

Preparation

• Cut the watermelon in half and then slice 1 - 1 1/2 slices from the center.
• Cut off the rind and cut  1 - 1 1/2 inch blocks of watermelon.
• Using a melon baller, scoop out the top of each watermelon block.
• Divide the feta among the melon hollows. 
• Top each block with thinly sliced basil

Link to original recipe is here.

Braised Belgian Endives

Endive (ON-deev), not to be confused with curly EN-dive, is something that doesn't really exist in out in nature. The white to yellowish (sometimes slightly red) torpedo-shaped vegetable often has the word Belgian in front of it because it was discovered or created accidentally in Belgium around 1830. Seems a Belgian farmer forgot about his chicory roots that he left in his cool, dark, humid cellar. In the springtime he found these shoots growing from the chicory roots. They tasted pretty good and could be eaten raw.

Today, it is grown all over and California produces most of the nation's supply. It's a versatile vegetable that is too often overlooked. Individual leaves can be a healthy substitute for crackers. You can also arrange the leaves on a platter and add a spoonful of your favorite dip on each leaf (as I did a few years ago).

This recipe is adapted from endive grower, Rick Collins, who grows most of the endive we find in stores in Rio Vista. He offers this cooking tip:

"You want to braise these endives beyond al dente. I've seen them served still kind of crisp, but you want these to be really limp. They won't fall apart because of all the fiber in them, and you'll still have to cut them with a knife."

Braised Belgian Endives

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 Belgian endives, cut in half
• 1 1/2 cups of broth

Heat oil in a heavy skillet (cast iron works real well for this). Add endives cut side down and sear for a few minutes. Press down with a spatula. When there is some visible browning, flip endives over and add stock. Reduce to a simmer and braise uncovered until the stock reduces and the endives are soft and carmelized.

Remove endives from the pan and serve hot, drizzled with reduced sauce. 

Serves 2 to 4 as a side dish.

Endive links with more information and recipe ideas:

http://endive.com/

http://www.endive.ca/

http://www.belgianendive.com/