Best of Autumn Bisque

Its officially Fall...

For most this would mean the weather turns crisper, leaves start to change colors, apple orchards open and maybe even jackets and hats would be donned...

I live in Arizona. Fall is a lie. A big fat lie.

For me Fall means temperatures hover in the low 100s, maybe even dipping into the 90s and evenings are 70s-80s. We still get our pumpkins but we do it in shorts and tank tops. We may even open windows and cook soup, while cranking the air to 70, it's normal here.

Today I did just that, I opened the windows to get some somewhat tepid air flowing through the house...it was only 90 after all, and found myself staring at a butternut squash I scored from the local farmers market and the half of the canned pumpkin in the fridge. What could I do but make soup. I first closed those windows, turned the air down, put on a tank top and covered myself with a damp towel in preparation, but darn it, I was going to make soup!

...And not just soup. Hearty, filling, but still good for you healthy bisque.

 

Yes, she's beautiful...and yes it's a she :) Hearty, filling, a meal in a bowl that leaves you satisfied... while still being whole, real food, healthy, figure friendly and amazing tasting. Best of all worlds!

 

Best of Autumn Bisque

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes

2 small shallots, or 1/2 of 1 large sweet onion
1 medium apple, peeled and cut into cubes
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
1 large stalk celery, cut into chunks
2 cloves garlic, sliced or chopped (not minced or it will burn)
3/4 cup pumpkin puree - plain pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mix
3/4 cup half and half
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
2 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped (or 3 teaspoons dried)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 2 teaspoons dried)
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper

2 tablespoon coconut oil, divided into 2 1 tablespoon portions

1 tablespoon butter

 

Roast cut, peeled butternut squash for 40 minutes at 350 degrees with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, 1 tablespoon fresh sage (or 1.5 tsp dried), 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper

 

During last 10 minutes of squash roasting, combine remaining coconut oil plus in a heavy skillet, cast iron if you have it.
Add in carrot, celery, shallots (or onion), oregano, thyme, sage, salt and pepper. Sauté 7 minutes.

Add in apple, cinnamon and garlic, sauté 3 minutes (watching garlic to make sure it doesn't burn)

Remove butternut squash from oven and add it, plus oils and herbs, directly to the pan.

 

 



Add in pumpkin.

 Add chicken stock, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium low

 

When mixture is reduced to medium low, add in half and half plus yogurt and give it a good stir. This is a good spot to taste the soup. Re-season with salt pepper and additional herbs if you would like.

 



Cook about 5 minutes, stirring every minute or so, and then transfer to a high speed blender to puree. You can also do this with an immersion blender, but I would cook this soup in a stock pot instead so it is deeper. You can also use a food processor, but the soup will be a bit more chunky, not a smooth puree.

 

Add in maple syrup, and blend about 5 full minutes on high speed, stopping it and checking every minute or so and stopping when you have reached your desired level of smoothness.

 

 

Taste, re-season if desired and then serve directly into bowls. You can also cool this down and freeze in individual portions at this step, this bisque freezes very well.

 

Garnish with Greek yogurt and maple syrup, if desired, and ENJOY! Enjoy the cooler fall temperatures, or if you live in Arizona turn your air down and pretend it is cooler outside :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Eating!

 

 

The F Word

The F word.....

Hey, get your mind out of the gutter now, I'm talking about the F word 'Fat'.

When I was younger I really did not understand what calories truly were. In my mind they were just something to eat less of so that I wouldn't gain weight. I never really thought of them as what they truly are - energy.

Much like a car, our body needs fuel to run. Also like a car, it we put inferior or poor qualify fuel into it we will see an impact in they way it runs. Our body works very similar, we can put good fuel into our bodies and have energy and feel great or we can put inferior fuel into it and feel sluggish and cruddy.

The energy our bodies use comes from the energy in calories from our food. I used to think that the low calorie things had to be healthy because they were low calorie. I was so wrong. There are things that are low calorie and healthy - i.e. fresh fruits and vegetables, but in general the manufactured processed low calorie items are so terribly bad for us. They are usually full of sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors and colors and a whole host of fake ingredients to trick our taste buds into thinking it tastes good, but offer no real nutritional value or energy for our body.

This isn't a post on why I eat the way I eat or why I believe in whole, real foods and stay away from the processed junk, even if it seems that way ;) Just a little background on the upcoming "recipes" (yes I just used air quotes - you will see why in a minute).

I have been working on meal planning lately and it has helped with my grocery shopping and making sure I am using what I have and not wasting food. My problem is that I often forget to meal plan for breakfast for myself.

If I don't eat breakfast, I am a mess the rest of the day. I feel constantly hungry, and always eating, finding food that is less than ideal, filling up on sugar, etc... I need that meal in the morning to set my day on a good path, I need to fill up on quality fuel so that I can get where I need to get. I need FAT! I need fat to feel full while eating only what I need to meet my needs. If I have good, healthy, natural fat (not the processed junk fat), I feel satisfied, full, and focused so I have the energy to get through my always full days.

Now to the FOOD!! lol - "Recipes" follow - air quotes because there is little to no cooking involved!

Full Fat Greek Yogurt
mixed with chia seeds, raw almonds, bananas and a tiny drizzle of 100% pure organic maple syrup

Homemade Oatmeal

1/2 cup of raw oats simmered with 1/2 cup almond milk plus 1/4 cup water, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp 100% pure maple syrup, 2 teaspoons apple, 2 teaspoons chopped raw almonds, 1 teaspoon coconut oil and 2 teaspoons chia seeds. This takes about 10 minutes to become creamy and cook the oats.

I topped mine with just a little chopped banana, apple, raw almonds and a drizzle of pure almond butter. So creamy, filling, tasty, healthy, simple and yes full of fat :) The good kind!! The kind that our body needs to run effectively (we NEED fat! Our bodies NEED fat to function - choose the good, healthy, natural kinds!).

Other Ideas

1 banana topped with almond butter, chia seeds and raw nuts
1 apple topped with natural peanut butter, raw honey, chia seeds
1 egg and 1 egg white scrambled with veggies, spices/herbs, and just a pinch of full fat cheese
1 slice 100% whole wheat bread (with NO sugar added) topped with 1/2 avocado, mashed, a pinch of salt and lemon juice, sliced tomato and a small side of fruit
Sweet Potato Crusted Mini Quiche with a side of fruit (cook the quiche the night before for a fast breakfast the next day or make it on the weekend if you have more time
Morning Power Smoothie
Other Smoothies - just make sure it's not all fruit - that's just way too much sugar (even the natural healthy kind can be too much when it's all we eat - we need full fat to help offset the sugars)

There are a million different combinations you could eat and feel full, energized, satisfied and you will know that you have started your day in an amazing way!

Happy Eating :)

Potato Cakes with Feta Dressing

I have learned a very life lesson.... I should not be left alone for 2 weeks with the kids... I gained 6 pounds in 12 days?! Who does that?

I would make the kids dinner but I needed to do a million other things so I would wait to eat until way late at night, which is a big no no, and of course I had to have dessert...at all times of the day :) I am used to cooking enough food for the 4 of us plus enough to have leftovers the next day...minus a person eating 2 of those portions equals a woman right here who eats like a full grown trucker :/

I've slowly started getting back in the kitchen now that I am adjusting to our new life routine...i.e. the start of school, carpools, moms meetings at church, events, classes, etc... it took me a while to figure out a new routine, but I'm on the way :)

I really have been trying to be mindful of using everything I have in my home and not just popping out to the store for an ingredient or two. I do not normally use regular white potatoes, they are not the nutritional star that sweet potatoes or yams are, but I had one lonely one and I wanted to use it.

Hello lovely potato cake...YUM!

100% 'Real' Food - all real, whole ingredients. I read labels like textbooks, so check yours to make sure your cheese is just cheese and no fillers or preservatives, same with your yogurt. I always use organic eggs and dairy products and fruits/veggies on the dirty dozen list. I want to make my meals as wholesome and nutritious as I can without having to rely on preservatives, fillers or junk. I save those things for when I hide in my closet at midnight sneaking desserts ;)

Ingredients
1 large russet potato, peeled
1 small sweet onion, peeled
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 large egg, beaten
2 tablespoons feta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons scallions, roughly chopped
1 tsp granulated garlic
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp dried rosemary

Using a food processor's shredding disc, or a box grater, grate the potato and onion directly into a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth. Squeeze out liquid, set aside.

In large bowl combine spices and flour

Add egg, feta and scallions and mix until an almost batter like consistency

Squeeze potato and onion mixture again over the sink to remove remaining moisture and add to egg/flour/spice mixture

Refrigerate for approximately 5 minutes, or the time it takes to heat a small cast iron pan over medium high heat with oil until shimmering. You can use a different heavy pan, but cast iron is 100% the best option for this and produces the absolute best results.

Preheat oven to 220 degrees F

When oil is hot, add half of the potato mixture and use the back of a wooden spoon to spread out mixture the diameter of a pan, about a 5-6 inch circle.

Cook about 4-5 minutes or until the potato mixture is set and golden brown on the bottom. Carefully flip and cook on second side until golden brown about 4 more minutes. Transfer to oven, add more oil if necessary and wait until it is back to shimmering. Add remaining  potato mixture, spread and cook on both sides. Remove from pan, let sit 3-4 minutes.

While potato is cooling, mix up feta dressing/dip in a magic bullet, blender or small food processor

Feta Dip (makes about 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup feta cheese
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tablespoon scallions

Process all together and serve.

These are great for any meal! You can top with an egg for breakfast, some pulled pork or barbecue chicken for lunch or dinner, cut into wedges for a light lunch with a salad or as a side dish. Hot or cold, these are Fabulous!!

**Note, to reheat do NOT use the microwave - they will be a soggy mess :( Use the oven set to 350, and bake on a baking sheet about 7-10 minutes or until hot. **

Look at these babies!!!

Crisp and golden on the outside but fluffy and moist on the inside! YUM YUM YUM!!!