Variations on Cooking

This is usually in my fall recipe rotation, it is an easy soup to make with an optional kick to it. Ingredients 3 pounds of butternut squash, peeled and cubed. I usually get two packages from Costco of the pre-peeled and cubed butternut squash, it is much easier. 1 cup of baby carrots 2 medium onions rough chopped 3 tablespoons on unsalted butter 1/2 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped and stems removed 1 jalapeno minced - optional 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground mus

I received an email requesting this recipe. I served this once at a dinner party. I never really like split pea soup, due to the ham it was always too salty. So a few years ago I started playing with making my own split pea soup. Hope you like it. Ingredients 1 32oz box of either Chicken Broth or Veggie broth 1 package of Andouille Sausage, sliced and quartered 1 yellow onion, diced 4 carrots diced 4 stalks of celery diced 1 lb package of Yellow split peas 1/2 cup of chopped

This a twist on your traditional Potato soup: Traditional Cream of Potato soup is great but I thought it needed something more, a kick. Ingredients 8 links of Andouille sausage, 1/4 inch slices that have been quartered 6 cups of water 1/4 cup olive oil 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 8 medium potatoes peeled and cubed 8 small red potatoes, cubed 2 medium tomatoes, quartered and seeds removed 1 large onion, diced 2 stalks of celery, diced 1 red pepper, diced 2 leeks, cleaned and

This a light soup that is perfect for early fall. This does not freeze all that well so I reduced the recipe to four servings. Ingredients 5 large parsnips, peeled and chopped 2 cups of chopped leeks, the white to light green parts 2 apples peeled, pored, and chopped 1 cup of chopped potatoes 2 cups chicken or veggie stock, low salt 3 cups of water 1/2 cups half and half 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepp

More soups, it has been quite chilly here in the evenings which makes me want to make soups. This recipe is pretty simple, I had a version of this soup at a place in NYC and I went home and recreated it. Now you can do the long way, by buying the beans, soaking them, then simmering them to get them ready for the soup. Or you can just buy the cans of black beans and have this nice soup in a few minutes verse hours Ingredients about a cup of roast pork leftover from another mea

Here is another great soup, it is very easy, there is just a lot of stuff in it. Ingredients Broth 2 large yellow onions quartered 6 celery stalks cut into 3-inch pieces 6 carrots cut into large slices 10 stalks of Italian Parsley 6 sprigs of Thyme 6 sprigs of marjoram 12 cups of water 1 tablespoon of salt 1 tablespoon of peppercorns, black or pink 1 tablespoon of yellow mustard seeds pinch of Saffron Soup Note: you want a large dice for the veggies below 2 tablespoons of oli

Ingredients 1 pound of Cremini or Chanterelles mushrooms 1 pound of a small button or Morels mushrooms 1 pound of Stiitskes or Enoki mushrooms 3 tablespoons of butter 2 tablespoons of olive oil 2 tablespoons of minced garlic 2 medium lemons, zest and juiced 1/2 cup of diced shallots 4 to 6 sprigs of fresh thyme 4 bay leaves, fresh if possible 1 quart of half and half 1 1/2 cups of veggie or chicken stock, low salt 2 tablespoons of flour 1/2 cup of fresh Italian Parsley, chopp

Next recipe in the canning series. Now this is sort of a relish and it is a bit on the spicy side, you can omit the chilis when creating the relish. Ingredients 2 lb carrots, cleaned and cut into match sticks 2 Onions, cut in half and thinly sliced 3 lemons, quartered 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar 4 cloves or garlic, minced 3 Anaheim chilis, seeded and cut into match sticks 2 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced 2 tablespoons of olive oil Salt Water Brine 2 cups water 1 cup apple c

I have received several emails requesting recipes for canning. While I have only been canning for about 3 years, I did not research and have made a lot of mistakes, a few explosions, but I have also have come up with a lot of great recipes that give you the taste of Summer in the Winter. This is going to be a series of posts with a few of my favorite canning recipes. They are simple and you will not have any surprises in the later months. Corn Relish Makes about 8 pints of r

Now mushrooms are usually available all year round, but we have a local grower and she said the fall and spring mushrooms have the most flavor. Marinated Mushrooms Makes about 6 pints Ingredients 6 pints of assorted mushrooms, cleaned, large ones sliced 1 small onion, cut in half and thinly sliced 3 tablespoons of lemon juice Olive oil Brine 1/2 cup of white balsamic vinegar 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar 1/3 cup raw sugar 1 cup of water 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 teaspoon s