Savoury Pumpkin Pasta

I was at home on my own one night, home from work and ready to watch a DVD (Mansfield Park) I had gotten from the library. I had pumpkin in the fridge I wanted to use, so I adapted this Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage recipe from Rachael Ray to make a quick, easy and comforting weeknight meal. Also - cooking with wine is a great excuse to drink a glass or two!

In a large pan, heat some olive oil and add 3 minced garlic cloves and one diced onion. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then add 1 bay leaf and 1/2 cup white wine. Let it bubble for 2 minutes so it reduces a little, then add 1/2 cup stock (I used vegetable) and 1/2 cup pumpkin puree. Once it bubbles, reduce the heat and stir in 1/4 cup milk and a few pinches of cinnamon and nutmeg - careful not to overdo it!

Let it bubble away for 5-10 minutes so the sauce can thicken. Remove the bay leaf, and pour over cooked whole wheat pasta - I used penne, which is good for thick sauces. I also stirred in some greens to add some vegetables to the meal. Serve with parmesan cheese or, as I did, feta on top.

The spices give it a little kick and the wine keeps it from being too sweet. The addition of pumpkin means that you can make a nice, thick sauce with very little unhealthy ingredients, like cream and cheese. The original recipe calls for sausage, which I'm sure would be good, but I was just looking for a something quick and light. The fresh sage leaves she calls for would make a big difference, as sage is quite strong and piney - something to try for next time.

Broccoli-Cheddar Soup

Broccoli isn't my favourite vegetable. I tend to eat it in Indian or Thai dishes, where it's covered in sauce and mixed with other vegetables, oven-roasted until crispy or I make it into soup. I liked this Broccoli-Cheddar Soup recipe from Food Network magazine because of the addition of sweet potato - which would make the soup look even cheesier than it is. Always a good thing as I, as usual, would cut most of the cheese out of the recipe. It's a new year - time to be healthy.

In a large pot, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add 1 diced onion, cook 5 min to soften. The original recipe called for celery as well - also not a favourite of mine but feel free to add it in. Chop 1 lb each white potatoes and sweet potatoes, which for me was about three small white potatoes and one large sweet potato. Throw them in the pot with 2 cups water, 2 cups stock (I used vegetable), 2 cups milk (I used regular 2%, if you're feeling fancy use half-and-half), 1 bay leaf and some salt and pepper.

Simmer the soup on medium-low for about 10 minutes to cook the potatoes. Meanwhile, cook the broccoli separately in the microwave. This may seem strange - why not just throw the broccoli into the pot with the potatoes? - but this way the broccoli doesn't get pureed. If you really don't like broccoli and would rather eat it pureed and hidden in the rest of the soup, I would still cook it separately because I'm assuming there wouldn't be enough room in the pot to cook them with the potatoes. Cook 2 cups florets covered, with a little bit of water, for 3-4 minutes in the microwave.

Use a blender or immersion blender (much easier) to puree the soup. It will be thick and a lovely orange colour. Put burner on low, throw in the broccoli, and add 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese. I also added some baby kale I had in the fridge for extra greens. Once the cheese has melted it's done! I served it with homemade croutons (whole wheat bread fried in margarine YUM) and a little feta on top. I liked how the broccoli was still whole - it was like eating them covered in a thick, cheesy sauce. You can thin the soup with water but I enjoyed it as is. It would still be good with less cheese, or even without the cheese, if you're looking for something a little healthier. A good recipe to play around with.

Pasta with Spiced Shrimp and Cilantro Pesto

I made this recipe a few months back, and am sad to say I have completely forgotten where I got it from! Note to self: keep better notes. I debated not posting about it for that reason, but it was so good I will anyway. I'll keep searching and update if I find anything. It's not the quickest recipe but all the parts come together nicely - the pesto and shrimp complement each other to make a satisfying pasta dinner.

To make the pesto, I got to use my new mini food processor. A full size one would have worked better, as I had to work in a couple batches, but it worked just fine. Pulse together 2 cups cilantro, the juice of one lime (2 Tbsp), 1/4 cup walnuts, the zest of one lime (2 tsp) and 2 sliced garlic cloves. This will make a flavourful, dry pesto, though the walnuts added a slightly milky touch. Set it aside.

In a large pan, heat 1/4 cup oil. Add in 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 tsp cumin, and 1/2 tsp each cayenne, curry powder and coriander. Let the spices cook for about 2 minutes, then throw in about 2/3 lb shrimp. I used frozen, but fresh shrimp would only take a couple of minutes to cook. Watch what you're wearing - I got a few splatters on my work clothes.

Throw 1/2 lb spaghetti (cooked) into the pan, along with the pesto. I also added some pasta water to make it a little saucier. The shrimp itself was quite spicy but it gets tamed with the addition of the pesto. Top with some feta cheese and it's done! I found it a little hard to fully incorporate the pasta into everything else, as it was drier than I'm used to. By the end, however, it was a big bowl of oily, herby, spicy goodness. I hope to make more pesto-type things in my mini processor, since it worked so well.

French Onion Soup

Here's another good winter recipe. Warm, beefy soup with onion and cheese... total comfort food. I was lucky enough to receive actual French onion soup bowls as a gift a few years back, with handles on the sides, but as long as you have oven-safe bowls you can put them on a tray in the oven, I would assume. This recipe is adapted from the Joy of Cooking, p. 95 of the 1997 ed.

The first step is to caramelize the onions - which takes patience, so don't speed it up! In a large pot, melt 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add 5 medium onions, thinly sliced (have some Kleenex handy for that job), and a pinch of dried thyme - the classic winter herb. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, and they'll start to brown. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and cook about 40 minutes more. Don't forget to stir frequently! Yes, this means you have to stay nearby but grab a phone, book or laptop and you'll be fine. It's worth the wait - the onions cook down and get all sweet and sticky.

Stir in 2 Tbsp bourbon - the recipe calls for sherry or cognac but who has that in the house? Once the alcohol has cooked off, pour in one carton of beef stock and 1 cup chicken stock (it was in the fridge, begging to be used). Simmer for about 20 minutes, partially covered, until it smells fabulous. Add salt and pepper. I also added a dash of Worcestershire, just for fun. And that's about it for the soup part - pour into oven-safe bowls, turn your oven's broiler on and move the top rack to its highest point.

Now for the best part! I sliced up some whole wheat baguette and placed one slice on top of each bowl. Then cover with grated Gruyere cheese (yes, splurge on Gruyere for this recipe) and stick under the broiler. The soup will warm back up, the bread will toast slightly and the cheese will bubble and melt and brown and cover everything. Is there anything better?! The soup is rich, salty and a little boozy, and the baguette and cheese elevate it to something a little luxurious. Treat yo'self.

Beef Stew

This may be only the second time beef has made an appearance on this blog! But with the cold weather comes the need for comfort food - or I was just really low in iron that day. Whatever the reason, we passed by the stewing beef in the grocery store and immediately decided to make a stew for supper - it was a Sunday afternoon, after all. While we usually do a lot of cooking with beer, this time we followed the classic recipe from the Joy of Cooking. Don't mess with the classics.

One big change at the get-go: we only bought 1 lb of stewing beef, half of what was called for in the recipe. So it wasn't going to be as beefy as usual. First we seasoned the beef (already cubed) with thyme, salt and pepper, then dredged it in flour. Shaking off the excess flour, we browned all sides of the pieces in our Dutch oven in some veg oil. We even did it in two batches so as not to crowd the pan - patience is key. After removing the beef and adding more oil in the pan, it was time for the first batch of veggies: 2 diced carrots, 1 diced celery stalk, 1 diced onion and 3 diced garlic cloves.

Cook the veggies for about 5 minutes, then throw in a couple bay leaves and some thyme. We added 1 cup red wine and 1 cup chicken stock and threw the beef back in. We left it simmering, covered, for about 1.5 hrs - to get the house smelling good, of course! Once the beef is tender, it's time to throw in the chunky vegetables: we had 2 carrots, 5 turnips and 4 small white potatoes. Cover and cook again about 45 minutes - we added extra wine to have enough liquid to cook all of our veggies.

And that's it! It takes time, but it's a fun activity to do if you've got a free afternoon - especially when you're drinking the wine you're cooking with. It's classic and homey and perfect for wintery days.

Cranberry Lemon Muffins

My local grocery store had a sale on bags of frozen fruit - so of course I'm going to stock up! They are perfect for my work muffins. Blueberry was gone so I had to stick with festive cranberry. I actually prefer frozen cranberries while baking, luckily. I googled around for a simple cranberry muffin recipe and came across this Cranberry Lemon Muffins recipe from a local grocery store, Fiesta Farms. Perfect for a cold afternoon. Here's my adaptation.

First mix the dry ingredients: 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup white sugar (down from 1 whole cup in the original recipe), 3 tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt. Add the zest of one lemon. Then cut the lemon in half and juice it, so that you get 2 Tbsp of lemon juice. Stir this into 1 cup milk, and let it sit - the milk will get sour, and in fact quite clumpy, but this is a good thing - like using buttermilk it will help the raising and give it a lemony kick. Meanwhile, beat 2 eggs in a small bowl, then mix in 1/3 cup oil and the soured milk.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until almost incorporated, then throw in 1 1/2 cups cranberries. Mix gently. Pour into muffin tins - it made a good 16 so have two ready. I topped mine with Swedish pearl sugar and cooked @400 for about 20 minutes - maybe a bit longer since the cranberries were frozen. The tops were exploding with cranberry goodness and they were faintly lemony, but not too strong. I may add more zest next time to up the citrus flavour. Perfect with coffee, tea, jam and clotted cream - if you're lucky enough to have some!