Halved acorn squash make perfect single-serving bowls. These make a great vegetarian main course for any day, but they're also a festive accompaniment to turkey, chicken or roast duck.
(This post has many beautiful photographs - enjoy them!!!)
Showing posts with label Autumn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Autumn. Show all posts
Baked Acorn Squash with Chestnuts, Mushrooms & Quinoa, also a Story about Horse-Chestnuts!
Garlic Bread with Fresh Herbs Baked in Flower Pots
There are few things more pleasurable than the aroma and taste of freshly cooked home-made bread. These flower pot loaves are flavored with fresh chives, sage, parsley and garlic. You can use any selection of your favorite herbs. These are the most visually stunning breads and the are perfect for entertaining.
First November Snow
There is no recipe today, just beautiful pictures of first November snow and happy colors. Take a walk with me around my neighborhood. Enjoy!
Taste of Bucks County: Peddler's Village & Homemade Bumbleberry Pie
Bumble-berry pie is an old-fashioned name for a pie made with several varieties of berries. Once you bake your first homemade pie you will never again eat the one bought at the store.
Rustic Chocolate & Vanilla Bread
As the familiar sweet aroma fills the house, no one will be able to resist a slice of this dense, chocolate bread. Breakfast time? Serve the bread at room temperature or toasted, with butter or, for a special treat, with your favorite jam.
Purple Autumn: Black Lentil Stew with Beets & Fig Balsamic Vinegar
What a beautiful evening it is outside tonight as I write this! The air is still warm enough to be comfortable, but a cool breeze is coaxing the still-vibrant summer vines to dance tonight under the almost full moon. Katydids and crickets are busy making "a little night music" while toads, from tiny to plump, jump from sidewalk to lawn, entertaining our little dog as my husband I stroll with her on our evening walk.
Favorite Apple Dessert Recipes Round Up
I love everything about fall - from kids finally going back to school to the turning leaves and the crisp air. Of course, I look forward to visiting various pumpkin patches, farmers markets, but mostly I'm excited to go apple picking at some of our local orchards that offer over 30 varieties of apples. I will be reporting back on those in the next few weeks, but to help you get you in the Autumn mood right now, I have highlighted some of my favorites fall recipes.
Green Tomato Marmalade With Orange Peel & Vanilla
Green Tomato With Orange Peel & Vanilla is very unique marmalade for using the last tomatoes of early fall that just never seem to ripen. This dark-green, sweet and citrus marmalade is delicious served with a selection of well-flavored cheeses and biscuits or bread, or with cold roast meats such as ham, turkey, tongue or lamb.
Beet Soup with Sweet Potato & Meatballs
Thanksgiving is a wonderful Holiday full of family, friends, love, and lots and lots of delicious food! This year, I am planning to create these wonderful postcard invitations for the people I love. I would love to hear your opinion. Every comment is welcome!-)
Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque with Almonds
Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque with Almonds is a fragrant, creamy and delicately flavored soup. I hope you will enjoy this soup as well as we are.
Rolled Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cranberry Jam, Grand Marnier Syrup & Cream Cheese Filling
Inspiration for this cake came from American holiday traditions. All favorites (pumpkin, cranberries, cream cheese and liqueur) in one cake. It's a wonderful dessert for a holiday party and can be made a day ahead of time.
Still Life with Pumpkins - Autumn Collection
“Run into the garden, and bring me a pumpkin.” Cinderella went immediately to gather the finest she could get, and brought it to her godmother, not being able to imagine how this pumpkin could make her go to the ball. Her godmother scooped out all the inside of it, leaving nothing but the rind; which done, she struck it with her wand, and the pumpkin was instantly turned into a fine coach, gilded all over with gold".
Have a magical weekend my dear readers!
Apple Dumplings with Maple Syrup & Pistachios - The End of Summer Lunch
Aromatic sweet apple dumplings are packed with dried fruit and drizzled with maple syrup. Perfect for the end of summer lunch or dessert.
Spicy Cream of Pumpkin (Red Hubbard) Soup with Crispy Prosciutto
"September is like no other
It's days change color and weather
No other month can say quite the same
For every day, I can feel the change
It's cool breezes start out warm,
Changing to cold throughout every storm
The leaves change and fall
As the Summer leaves and Autumn kisses us all
September maidens feel the change
Like the blue of the sky
Yet the color so deep
Unbelievable beauty..."
by Jessica Millsaps
Red Hubbard, Orange Hokkaido or Uchiki Kuri. A great sized mini Hubbard weighing 4-5 pounds. Deep orange colored skin and sweet, smooth, dry flesh. Originally from Japan. Last year I posted Blue Hubbard Jam with Raisins and Vanilla Bean recipe, take a look. This year I have cream of pumpkin soup with crispy prosciutto from Hubbard family. I hope you will enjoy my photos and the recipe!
Ingredients:
- 6-8 slices of prosciutto
- 1/2 medium Red Hubbard pumpkin, about 2 lb ( Big thank's to Styer Orchard Farm)
- 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1 yellow onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 4-5 cups chicken broth, plus more if needed
- 1 tsp curry
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp orange zest or valencia orange peel
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- fat free Greek yogurt for serving (optional)
- dry dill for garnish
Directions:
Preheat an oven to 350°F.
Arrange the prosciutto slices in a single layer on baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 20 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let the prosciutto cool completely.
Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat add the Red Hubbard, carrots, onions and the broth. Add the spices. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 -20 minutes.
Using a blender, puree the soup in batches until smooth. Return the soup to the pot and add more broth if needed to reach the desired consistency, adjust the seasonings. Ladle the soup into bowls. Serve with Greek yogurt and the prosciutto. Garnish with dry dill and spices.
Sizzling Smashed Potatoes with Garlic, Dill, Curry and Smoked Paprika - Great Appetizer!
Inspired by White on Rice Couple
Note: To preserve the nutritional value of potatoes, they should be cooked in their skins, or scrubbed rather than peeled. When choosing potatoes, make sure they are firm and well-shaped with smooth tight skin, preferably organic.
Ingredients:
- 2 lb. small white potatoes (Baby Yukons or other fingerling potatoes), washed and scrubbed
- 1 tsp salt for boiling potatoes
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 2-3 shallots, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 2 tsp dry dill or 2 Tbs. chopped fresh dill
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup yogurt or sour cream, for serving
- fresh mint for garnish
Directions:
In a small bowl, combine together curry powder, dill, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Put the potatoes and salt in a medium pot, add water to cover the potatoes by 3 inches and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and gently cook the potatoes until they are tender when pierced with a fork, 15 minutes. Drain well and let it cool.
After potatoes have cooled enough to handle, smash them with the flat side of a chef knife. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, add the olive oil. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté about 3 minutes. Gently arrange potatoes in hot pan, season well with curry-dill mixture and sear each side of the smashed potatoes for about 2-3 minutes, or until they are golden and crispy.
Serve immediately with fresh mint leaves and sour cream or yogurt.
Spiced Apple Cider - Have a Sweet Weekend!
"It was the sight of apple blossom
on the tree outside the kitchen window
that set me to begin a book.
I didn't know then what I saw
or what it was I did
but hope was there, full as buds.
and now I eat the apples
and the book feeds me.
Yesterday
I dragged the ladder out
and climbed the tree,
its branches circled my waist
as if we where about to dance.
I plopped the apples down,
they made the beat of music"...
Kate Llewellyn
Ingredients:
- 6 cups apple cider
- orange juice from one orange
- brown sugar to taste
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 whole cloves
- cardamom to taste
- 2 small pieces of peeled fresh ginger (optional)
Mix all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer mixture 15 minutes to blend flavors. Strain cider into mugs, and serve hot with a pie crust tops.
Salmon Vegetable Soup with Barley
In all the branches of cookery, I don't think there is anything more fun than making soups. Because the flavor builds up gradually as the elements cook together and blend, it is usually a fairly slow process, but one which leaves room for much experimentation and invention.
You must taste as you go along and probably will want to correct the seasoning with a touch or two of your own.
I love making soups, it's like making a magic potion, stirring, mixing, adding different herbs and spices, tasting, stirring again. My daughter loves watching me cooking soups, she is always saying: "Look, mommy is doing her magic again" and I always smile. :-) Salmon soup was created especially for my kids; they are picky eaters but they like soups. Wild Salmon and barley - it is the symbol to me how the ocean meets the earth - balanced and harmonious. The softness of vegetables and texture of barley are a delicious combination. I hope you like it too.
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 quarts fish stock
- 1 leek (white parts only), thickly sliced crosswise and washed
- 1 cup potatoes, peeled
- 2 middle sized carrots
- 1/2 cup pearl barley (in this recipe, the tiny grains are used to thicken the soup, resulting in a pleasantly chewy texture)
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 1 Tbsp of melted butter
- 1 lb. skinless boneless salmon fillet, cut into 1" cubes
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 peas black pepper
- 1/2 cup white vine
- 1 cup low fat cream (if you are using)
- freshly ground pepper, to taste
- salt, chopped dill, green onion
Directions:
In a large soup pot over high heat, bring the stock to a boil, add pepper and bay leaf. Add the barley, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until almost tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
Cut potatoes and carrots into cubes, add to the boiling stock. Boil for 15 minutes on low heat.
Preheat the melted butter, stew the leek add up to the stock.
Pour in the white vine, add salt and ground pepper, and boil for 5 minutes.
Put broccoli pieces and cut into cubes salmon fillet into the soup, bring to boil, reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes. If you using cream in the soup, pour in cream and bring the soup to boil one more time, and then remove from heat.
Ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Serve with chopped dill and green onions.
