In Seattle, now that fall is here, it means it starts raining. The days grow increasingly darker and the clouds rarely take a break from hanging out above the city. As a native, of course I’m sad to see the sun go for months on end, but honestly there is a big side of me that is excited to spend all evening roasting winter vegetables and drinking red wine, while a game is on in the other room. The wind and cold rain whipping leaves from the trees forces me to stay inside and convince me that it’s okay to not do anything, but cook comfort food, feed it to my favorite people and not feel guilty about staying in my sweats all day long.

Cheers to Autumn!

Here are 10 Fall Dishes We Can’t Wait to Cook

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Categories:	Baked Goods • Beverages • French • Holiday • Soup • Vegetarian • desserts	6 Comments
Tags:	autumn food • comfort food • fall food

Last summer I was on a gazpacho kick, whipping up a batch about every week, another summer it was a refreshing chilled melon soup with a hints of jalapeno. This summer my new favorite is sure to be this delicious chilled avocado cucumber soup that Barnaby made the other night. It’s creamy, yet light, with a slight lemony tang and bit of a chipotle kick. And so easy all you need is a knife, a blender, and a table set and ready in your backyard.

Here’s the easy recipe:

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Categories:	Soup • Veggies	3 Comments
Tags:	avocado • avocado soup • chilled soup • chipotle • cucumber • cucumber soup • Summer

Long ago when we were part of a (very low budget) film crew shooting in Germany and Austria I discovered the pleasures of goulash and goulash soup. The difference between the two being essentially a matter of the liquid proportions. Cheap, hearty, and invariably warming in the depths of a European winter, this is a meal worth sopping up with bread (externally) and of course, beer (internally).

These days we are eating mostly vegetarian so I made this version sans beef. Using an intermediate amount of liquid and with no flour thickener, the result was midway between stew and soup: perfect for serving with rice. The key to authentic taste is the Hungarian paprika; get the real stuff, and avoid the tasteless brick dust sold under many domestic labels.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lg white or yellow onion, chopped
2 leeks, washed, trimmed and chopped, including a bit of the green top
4 ribs celery, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1-2 red or green peppers, seeded, pared and chopped
3-4 med potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ cubes
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped fine
1 12 oz can diced tomatoes together with their juice
2 tsp caraway seeds
6-8 tbs sweet Hungarian paprika – or adjust to your taste
3 tbs canola or other mild vegetable oil
4 cups vegetable or other stock, or water
Salt and pepper to taste

optional: 1 cup firm tofu cut into 1/2″ cubes

TECHNIQUE:
In a non stick or other stockpot:

Heat the vegetable oil until hot
Add and sauté the onion, leeks, and celery until soft and the onions are translucent
Stir in the paprika, caraway and garlic, and heat through 1-3 minutes
Add the carrots, green peppers, onions, potatoes, tomatoes and their juice
Add 4 cups stock or water
Bring to the simmer and heat at a low simmer for 45 minutes.
If using tofu add in the final 15 minutes of cooking.
The goulash is ready to eat when the vegetables are tender.
Longer cooking will improve taste: add extra stock or water as needed or leave as is to reduce for a thicker version
Taste and adjust seasoning

Serve with rice or rye bread. Rye croutons would be aces with this dish.

Click here for a printable version of the recipe.

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Categories:	Cooking tips • European • Seasoning & Spices • Soup • Veggies	4 Comments
Tags:	goulash • hungarian • paprika • Soup • tofu • vegan • vegetables • Vegetarian

The genesis of this soup was a trip to Costco, our first in a long time, resulting in wide eyes and a cart full of mega packages of delicious things to be used up…somehow. Even with three adults on the eating roster, that pound and a half container of lovely Italian brown mushrooms was going to last awhile.

Then suddenly it was a rainy Sunday — soup weather! I came up with this recipe after cobbling together ideas from several cookbooks. I am not a big fan of over thickened floury “cream” soups or those testing the arterial limits with scads of butter and cream. So for shortening I used a combination of non-hydrogenated margarine and grapeseed oil. Where traditional recipes called for thickening with cream or with a true butter based béchamel, I used a microwaved white sauce with a base of skim milk. The huge volume of flavorful mushrooms is what made this all work.

INGREDIENTS
1 lb fresh Italian brown or other mushrooms, washed, stems removed, chopped medium fine
1/2 cup white or yellow onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped fine
4 Tbs tbs non-hydrogenated unsalted margarine (or substitute butter)
3 Tbs mild cooking oil such as grapeseed, olive oil not recommended
1 C skim milk
2 tbs white flour
4 cups chicken stock, unsalted or low salt
1 C cooked brown rice
salt and pepper

TECHNIQUE
Heat 3 Tbs of margarine and 3 Tbs of oil in large heavy saucepan or stock pot
Add garlic, onions and mushrooms
Sauté for 15 minutes adjusting heat as needed to keep contents from browning
Sprinkle with 1 Tb flour, stir in, then add 4 cups of stock
Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer for 20 minutes

Make 1 cup of thin white sauce in microwave as follows:
melt 1 Tb margarine in microwave safe bowl
Stir in 1 Tb flour and mix to a paste
Heat 30-60 seconds in microwave until the mixture looks grainy – do not let this brown!
Add 1 C skim milk and whisk until incorporated
Heat in microwave for 1-2 minutes, stopping to stir occasionally, the sauce should come to a boil as this helps cook and remove the “floury” taste
NOTE: you could skip this step and instead use cream or half and half

Add white sauce to soup pot, stir, and heat through
Stir in the cup of brown rice (optional, but adds nice body) and heat to just below simmer
Taste and add salt and pepper as needed

Serve and get ready to receive compliments!

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Categories:	Pasta & Grains • Soup	6 Comments
Tags:	Food • foodista • mushroom soup • mushrooms • rice • Soup

On cold winter nights in Tokyo I loved nothing more than sliding my legs under the warm kotatsu table and enjoying a big pot of nabe. Nabemono (or simply nabe) is a  Japanese dish that is also known as “one pot” food. It can consist of a variety of ingredients: fish, meat, chicken, tofu, vegetables, noodles, or a combination of all. Probably the most well-known types of nabe here in the U.S. are sukiyaki and shabu shabu.

For a teacher on a meager salary in blindingly expensive Japan this was a fairly economical meal to prepare, yet it seemed so expensive and exotic. I’d go into the basement of the Sogo department store (where all the foods were) and pick a bit of vegetable here, a little tofu there, some thinly sliced beef, noodles, and whatever else looked good. All got thrown into the pot with either a dashi or soy sauce-based broth. Perfect with hot sake or an ice cold Kirin beer.

With a houseful of family here for the holidays we decided to put together a nabe meal, something everyone could enjoy cooking together at the table. In the center we placed our little portable stove with our nabe pot, and put out platters of paper thin pork, brisket, and beef short rib; mizuna (Japanese mustard greens), fish cake, eggplant, and sliced shiitake mushrooms; vegetable tofu and little tied bundles of konnyaku noodles (a yam-based noodle); tender scallops and shrimp.

I know everyone is happy when their hashi (chopsticks) are click-clicking away and their sake cups are frequently in need of refilling.

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Categories:	Entertaining • Fish & Seafood • Japanese • Meat & Poultry • Sauces • Shellfish • Soup • Veggies	2 Comments
Tags:	foodista • nabe • nabemono • one pot cooking • shabu shabu • Soup • sukiyaki • yosenabe

For as long as I can remember we’ve always had crab cioppino on Christmas Eve. It was a tradition started by my Grandma Ida, and one that I have vowed to continue in my own home since she passed away last year. I’m working on perfecting the recipe, though I know it will never be quite like hers. It’s not a difficult recipe, by any means, and ours last night was beyond delicious, but there are some things that will just always taste better when prepared by a loved one. Especially a grandma.

Grandma Ida lived in a hilly town on the peninsula just south of San Francisco. Being a traditional San Franciscan dish I’m fairly certain we’re not the only family that eats crab cioppino during the holidays. It’s also known as San Francisco cioppino, California cioppino, or just plain cioppino. If you’re a native (or a transplant who’s been there long enough) and you hear “cioppino” you’ll know exactly what seafood is in it: Dungeness crab, scallops, shrimp, clams, and some type of white fish. All simmered in a tomato sauce flavored with garlic, onions, white wine, and fresh herbs.

Because you use your fingers (as well as a spoon) to eat this Grandma Ida always supplied us with flour sack bibs and finger bowls with warm water and lemon. Big slices of toasty garlic bread always helped sop up the delicious soup too.

Crab Cioppino

4 pounds freshly cooked Dungeness crabs (approximately 2 lbs each)
2 dozen clams, well scrubbed
3 cups dry white wine
⅓ cup olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
3 ounces tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped
1 tablespoon basil, finely chopped
2 pounds fresh white fresh white fish, cut into large pieces
¾ pound scallops
¾ pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
Chopped fresh parsley

Remove the legs and claws from the crabs and break the body in half, reserving as much of the “crab butter” as possible (the yellow-colored center).

Set crab pieces aside and force the crab butter through a sieve into a small bowl. Set aside.

Place the clams in a pan, add 1 cup of wine, and steam, covered, over medium heat for 5 minutes or until clams open.

Remove clams and discard any that do not open. Strain the stock through a cheesecloth and reserve.

In an 8-quart saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onion and garlic and sauté over medium heat until soft, but not browned.

Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and remaining 2 cups of wine, pepper, herbs, and clam stock. Partially cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the fish, scallops, shrimp, crab, and crab butter. Simmer for approximately 5 minutes or until all seafood is cooked; do not stir or the fish will break apart. Add the clams and heat for 1 minute.

Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately from the pot.

Serves 8.

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Categories:	Fish & Seafood • Holiday • Shellfish • Soup	4 Comments
Tags:	california cioppino • cioppino • crab cioppino • dungeness crab • foodista • san francisco cioppino • Shellfish

We just may have a white Christmas after all here in Seattle. It snowed last night and the streets are covered in a beautiful thin blanket of white. It probably won’t last so we’re enjoying it while it’s here.

After frolicking in the snow at least one thing is required: something hot. If it’s late enough in the day I prefer a hot mug of Chambord spiked cocoa, but it’s still a bit early so a nice bowl of soup satisfies and takes the chill off. One of my all-time favorite soups is this recipe for Curried Butternut Squash, adapted from the Silver Palate Cookbook.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

4 tablespoons sweet butter
2 cups yellow onions, finely chopped
4 teaspoons curry powder
3 pounds butternut squash
2 apples; peeled, cored, and chopped
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup apple juice
Salt and pepper

Optional: crème fraîche for topping

Melt the butter in saucepan. Add chopped onions and curry powder. Cook covered over low heat until onions are tender (about 25 minutes).

Meanwhile, peel the squash ( a regular vegetable peeler works best). Scrape out the seeds and chop.

When onions are tender pour in the stock, add squash and apples, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until squash and apples are very tender (about 25 minutes).

Puree soup in the pot with a stick (hand) blender or transfer to a food processor and blend. Add apple juice. Also, add additional stock, if needed, until desired consistency is reached.

Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add a dollop of crème fraîche.

4-6 portions

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Categories:	Seasoning & Spices • Soup	6 Comments
Tags:	butternut squash • creme fraiche • curried soup • curry • Food • foodista • Soup

I can barely think of food today. After our Thanksgiving feast yesterday I am still.so.full. You’d think after feeding 18 people there would be no more food left over, but oh contraire! Our two refrigerators are still as packed as my belly.

The perfect light meal that knocks out some of that left over bulk is the classic day-after-Thanksgiving meal: Turkey Soup. I promise, a nice warm bowl of this will calm that overstuffed tummy.

Turkey Soup
You could also substitute chicken. Want it even lighter? Make it without noodles.

1-1/4 pounds boneless turkey meat
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoons dried thyme
1/4 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 quart homemade broth from turkey carcass
1 cup water
2 carrots cut into thin rounds
1 cup small pasta (such as shells or bowties)
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Handful of fresh spinach
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat butter and oil in large pot and add the onion, garlic, thyme, basil and rosemary.  Saute on medium heat until onions begin to brown, about 5 minutes.

Increase heat to high, add broth and water and bring to a simmer.  Add carrots and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the pasta and celery and cook until just tender, about another 5 minutes.  Then add turkey meat and spinach.  Stir in parsley and lemon juice.

Makes 6 servings.

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Categories:	Holiday • Meat & Poultry • Soup	2 Comments
Tags:	chicken soup • left overs • leftovers • Soup • Thanksgiving • Turkey • turkey soup

Photo: Dr. Florian

Before sending your little goblins out tonight for trick-or-treats, fill their bellies up with something yummy and warm.

Pumpkin Bisque
10 minutes preparation time
45 minutes cook time

1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tablespoon butter or margarine
1 16 ounce can pumpkin puree
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup half-and-half or light cream
1/4 cup dry sherry
Grated nutmeg

Saute the onion and garlic in the butter until they are soft and transparent.

Add the pumpkin, stock, ground pepper, allspice, sugar, and sherry. Bring to a boil and cover. Simmer the soup for 30 minutes. Place the mixture in a blender and puree until smooth.

Return the soup to the pot, add the half-and-half, and simmer until heated. Garnish with the nutmeg and serve.

Yield: 4 servings

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Categories:	Soup	2 Comments
Tags:	bisque • Food • foodista • pumpkin • punpkin bisque • Soup

Normally if someone tells me something is diet food I wrinkle my nose and say, “no, thanks.” But the other day I had this creamy, hearty soup. When I asked my aunt what it was she told me, “Creamy potato cheese soup.” Holy cow! Three of the most fattening things I love most! I immediately felt my thighs growing, but didn’t care one iota, it was that good. Then, what she said next astounded me, “it’s a Weight Watchers recipe.” A what!? Really, it’s diet food. And you’d never know the difference if someone didn’t tell you. By the way, if you are on Weight Watchers it’s 3 points per serving.

Creamy Potato Cheese Soup

1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, coarsely grated
3/4 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 pound red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
29 oz vegetable broth
1/2 cup fat-free half and half
8 oz low-fat cheddar or Colby cheese

Coat a nonstick medium pot with cooking spray and set over medium heat. Cook onions until they just begin to color. Add carrots, salt, pepper, paprika and mustard. Mix well and continue to cook until carrots begin to soften.

Add potatoes, broth and half-and-half. Increase heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add cheese and stir to melt; puree in batches in a blender.

Yields about 6 heaping 1 cup servings.

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Categories:	Soup	4 Comments
Tags:	Cheese • creamy potato cheese soup • Food • foodista • potato • Soup • weight watchers