Fall Favourites

Well the weather in BC cannot let us be in denial that summer is over. The kids are back to school, Halloween decorations are already out and it is COLD. I hate that; we typically have at least a few weeks left in September full of beautiful sun on the west coast, but not this year. I noticed the food trends for fall starting a bit earlier too. The summer fruit and herbs have mostly disappeared from the grocery store, and have been replaced with a bounty of squash, apples, and potatoes…..yipee! OK so I’m pouting I know; but there is a good side to the changing seasons and the oncoming cold crisp weather. Fall food is so comforting and delicious; and can still rival the colourful dishes of summer. One mistake people often make though, is associating comfort food with fattening food; food that sooths the soul doesn’t always have to be full of calories.

One of my fondest memories of my childhood was coming home from school, particularly in the fall, and smelling the wonderful aroma of dinner wafting from the kitchen. At the time, my parents were together and they, my sisters and I lived in an old home in Delta, BC, where the trees were huge, the lawns were well manicured, and kids and families ate at the kitchen table together. What ever happened to those nostalgic days of community and family, and coming together as a family to sit and enjoy a meal together? Oh yeah, modern life : ( Life just seems so hectic and the opposite of those traditions now. Parents are working different shifts, kids are off to different practices, the TV and video games have taken over the family conversation, and unfortunately dinner gets stuck in a similar rut. Whether one is single or has a family, people are resorting to takeout and pre-made foods more than ever before; but in doing so, they are eliminating that sense of comfort when one walks through the front door and smells those familiar fall- food aromas, and most of all of having a full stomach without a huge sense of guilt.

With a little preparation, creativity and planning you can re-create those feelings for you and your family any day of the week. Life cannot be perfect of course and I am certainly not suggesting that it was; but olfactory senses or sense of smell is a link to memory and preferably good ones. Why not create those memories for you and your family, fall dishes do not have to be difficult, but meal planning and prepping in advance can help you put a satisfying and healthy dish on your table every night. In the next few weeks I will be adding some of my favourite fall recipes, derived from memories of my childhood and practical recipes I have created along the way. I was so lucky to have a mother who for the most part of my life, was a stay at home mom. Did I mention she was also an amazing cook! For those of you who were not as fortunate to have a parent impress you nightly and inspire you in the kitchen, this is where you can self indulge in your own talents. My methods are always easy, and I try my best to blog about recipes that are realistic, that you can entertain or feed your family with, and has an eye on health aspects of each meal. I hope you enjoy my fall favourites and add them to your repertoire.

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients
2 medium butternut squashes- large dice
1 large carrot- small dice
1 large celery stock- small dice
1 small onion- small dice
8 cups of chicken stock or 8 cups of water with 2-3 chicken bouillon cubes
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper- to taste
Heavy Cream- ¼ cup ***Optional
Parmesan Cheese-grated for top of soup ***Optional

Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
2. Dice the squash, coat with a couple tbsp. of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and lay evenly in a roasting pan. Roast for about 45 minutes, or until the squash is caramelized and fork tender.
3. In a saucepan sauté the diced carrot, celery and onion in 2 tbsp. of olive oil and salt and pepper until veggies are softened.
4. Add the stock to the veggies and bring to a simmer
5.In a blender add some of the squash with some of the stock and veggies and puree. If your blender is to small, you can do this step in batches.
6.Strain the blended mixture through a fine sieve and add the cream if you desire.
If the soup is too thick, simply add some more stock or cream.
7.Serve hot with lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese. All of my soups growing up were served this way and it is absolutely delicious.

Tips: If you are making your own stock, be sure to add a leftover parmesan rind to the stock as it simmers. This adds immense flavour and really gives a personal, homemade touch to the mix. I do this with all my stocks, soups and minestrones; then I top the finished products with parmesan cheese YUMM! If you do not have any stock but want to make soup of any kind; no sweat, just dissolve some bouillon cubes in hot water and poof you have some stock. In this case, be careful how you season your dish as bouillon is very salty, so taste as you go! For this particular recipe if the homemade stock or water with 2 bouillon cubes is not flavourful enough, feel free to add another bouillon cube to give it a stronger flavour. You can also use vegetable stock or bouillon.