What with all the hot and sticky weather, cooking hasn’t been happening as much.  Some sauces, some quick chicken meals, etc.  Some of them may have warranted posting but I neglected to do so.  But I’m back now, and despite the warm weather I’m back to soups!

The other day I threw together another butternut squash soup — first of the season! — and I did it a little different than before.  If you’re familiar with the butternut squash soup I’ve made in the past, you know that I love to put some apples and leeks in there.  This time, with no apples or leeks in the house, I changed it up by upping the onion content and adding garlic.  It really came out very savory and delicious.

• 3 onions, chopped

• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped

• 2 celery stalks, chopped

• one butternut squash, peeled and chopped (or you can use pre-chopped squash.  I used about a 20 oz package)

• 4 cloves of garlic, minced

• 2 to 3 cups of chicken broth

• 4 tablespoons of olive oil

• some pinches of salt, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg

Get the olive oil heating over some medium heat and once it’s warm add the garlic.  Let that heat up and then add the onions, celery and carrots.  Stir often until the onions are translucent.  Add the broth and butternut squash, bring to a boil and then lower the heat to low (or a touch higher), loosely cover it and let it simmer until the butternut squash is soft.  Remember to stir occasionally, too.

When the butternut squash is soft, grab a hand mixer and carefully (watch you don’t splash yourself with hot soup!) puree the soup to desired consistency.  I left it pretty smooth but with some larger chunks of vegetables, which is pretty easy to do with the hand mixer.  If you want it perfectly smooth, use your blender!

Season to taste with the salt, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg and either let it keep simmering for later or enjoy now!  If you let it simmer for later, be sure to check in on it once in awhile to stir it and make sure it’s not cooking too hot.  You don’t want to burn it.

This makes enough soup for a couple of servings today and leftovers for at least a day or two, making it a great meal for couples.  Get home from work, get the pot of soup on the stove and in twenty minutes or so you’ve got a great homemade soup to enjoy.

Last night we served it with a tasty tomato-basil salad with bread.  Delicious!

Last week our Boston Organics fruit and veggie delivery included a couple of leeks.  This quickly made me crave my butternut squash and leek soup.  Unfortunately, as April rolls around so too does the end of winter squash season, so I was convinced I would have to wait drooling until October or maybe September.  But my sojourn to the market was successful — there was a nice selection of good looking Central- or South American squashes.  I wonder how long I’ll be able to find them at the store.

Since our veggie delivery also included parsnips, I thought I would substitute a parsnip for the carrot I would normally include.  Parsnips are a close relative to the carrot and are even higher in nutritional value!

So here’s my new variant of my Butternut Squash and Leek Soup.  I hope you enjoy it!

• 1 butternut squash, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 parsnip, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 leek, chopped finely
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon, herbes de provence
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Warm the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat.  Add the garlic, celery, parsnip, onion and leek, cooking and stirring often until everyone is tender.  Add the broth, butternut squash, salt, pepper and herbes de provence.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer on low.  You can simmer it just until the squash is soft, but I let mine simmer for about an hour to really let those flavors mingle.  Stir occasionally either way.  Use an immersion blender to puree the soup to desired consistency.  I left some chunks.

Serve!  Makes about six servings.

Tonight we’re having pasta.  Everyone’s got their tomato sauce they like to make.  Some of us simply go with jarred sauces.  I used to do that myself.  I was particularly fond of the Classico brand of sauces.  But no more.  It’s too easy to make something much better. This sauce is tomato-y and very garlicky.  We love garlic over here.  Check it out, here’s all you need:

• 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 medium sized onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 can (28 oz) Pastene ground peeled tomatoes
• two teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon parsley
• 2 teaspoons oregano (I used Mediterranean oregano)
• 2 teaspoons basil

Warm the olive oil over medium heat and then add the minced garlic; then add the onions.  Stir occasionally..  Once the onions are translucent, add the can of tomatoes, parsley, basil, oregano, salt, pepper and sugar.  Tonight, I added a couple of shakes of garlic powder here, too.  Stir, drop heat to low, loosely cover and simmer, stirring occasionally.  You can let it simmer for 10 minutes or a half hour or a little longer, just revisit it once in awhile and stir it.

Serve over your favorite pasta!  Much better than jarred, guaranteed.  And garlic is really good for you.

What you’ll need:

• 1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons parsley
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/4 pounds sea scallops

Set your oven to Broil to preheat.  Line a pan with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick spray.  Combine all ingredients but the scallops in a large bowl.  Add the scallops and toss to coat well.  Place scallops in the foil-lined pan in a single layer — do not overlap them — and place in the oven about 4 inches from the heat.  The amount of time before they’re done will vary with the size of the scallops — the recipe says about 4 minutes, but mine took about 12.  Best bet is to set your timer for about 4 minutes and check on them, placing them back in the oven in 4 minute increments to avoid overcooking them.  When they are white in color and slightly firm, they are done.

We served the scallops with a nice salad of mixed greens and tomatoes with a homemade balsamic vinegar and olive oil salad.  For you Weight Watchers people, the scallops serve 4 and are only 4 points notwithstanding the side.

I’m not Irish, not a bit. I’ve always wanted to visit Ireland, though, and I find the accent (like most in the British archipelago) to be utterly charming. And when the brogue is delivered in a soft voice by a fair-haired woman, well, my heart can skip a beat or three.

So for no other reason than the association of Ireland and potatoes, here is my delicious Potato Leek Soup. For this soup I omit the cream that will boost the fat content of the soup, opting instead to let the veggies do the talking. There’s plenty of flavor there, and if you puree the soup it’ll have a nice, creamy texture that will leave you wanting more.  I found this tasty recipe online and did little to modify it.

Soup:

• 4 cups potatoes, diced
• 3 to 3.5 leeks, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch of green onions (scallions), chopped
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 4 to 6 slices of bacon, cooked, drained and then crumbled.
• salt and pepper

Garnish:

• 0.5 to 1 leek, cut in strips
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Combine all soup ingredients in a slow cooker, leaving a small bit of leeks aside for the garnish (see below).  Cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours.  Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.  Transfer to blender and puree to desired consistancy.  I like to make it pretty smooth but with small chunks, which is easy to do by pureeing in stages — transfer some soup to blender, puree, transfer to another pot; repeat.  Then on one stage of pureeing, puree for a touch less.  Once you mix it all up, you’ll have a nice, smooth soup with the occasional chunk of delicious potato.

About ten minutes before serving, heat up the olive oil in a small pan and crisp the strips of leek.  Stir them around often to avoid burning them; they should be browned and crisp but take care not to burn them!

When you serve the soup, garnish with a few pieces of crisped leek.  This will improve the presentation a touch and definitely add a pop of additional leek flavor to an already-delicious soup.

This serves 4 to 6 people.

Enjoy!!

The secret to this beef stew, I think, is the Angus stew beef, which cooks to such a delectable tenderness that it virtually melts in your mouth.  You can stretch your dollars a bit more by going with a cheaper pack of beef if you like, and you’ll still enjoy the stew a great deal. This is my own variation of another slow cooker beef stew I found online.

What you’ll need:

• 2 lbs Angus beef for stewing, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 to 4 medium potatoes, diced
• 1 large or 2 smaller onions, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 small package of frozen cut green beans
• 1 small package of frozen sweet peas
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon herbes de provence
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth

Start off by blending the flour, salt, pepper and herbes de provence in a small bowl.  Place the beef cubes in the slow cooker and pour the flour mixture over the beef, tossing until everybody is coated in the flour mixture.  Stir in the rest the vegetables, spices and broth.

Cover and cook either on low for 10 to 12 hours or high for 4 to 6 hours.  I prefer the longer cooking method, but that requires having it all in the slow cooker by 8 or 10 am or doing the overnight cooker.  The last few times I made it I got it going by 1:30 pm on high and dinner was ready by 7 or 8.  One of the other benefits of this meal is your place will smell divine.  Make sure you’ve got food to sate you for the afternoon if you’re going to be home — the aroma of the slow-cooking stew will drive you crazy if you’re hungry (or even if you’re not)!

Now, those frozen green beans and peas?  Feel free to substitute here — fresh green beans/ peas, some corn, even mushrooms all add a great deal.  I’ve nixed the peas for more green beans, and I’ve also done the reverse.  Some sort of green vegetable, though, is ideal for nutrition as well as making the stew really pop visually.

Enjoy and let me know if you’ve tried this recipe and liked it.  Also feel free to post any variations you might come up with!