Saturday Soup and Big Chewy Cookies

It's been a blur of activity these last few weeks. Each day has collapsed into the next one in a steady flow of chaos and confusion and life. Between work and this blog and photography with my wife it seems that I can't catch up. And sometimes, I like it that way. The two of us. Living life.

As much as I love being busy, I do miss the down time that comes with a lack of promises and commitments and allows me the chance to fall back into life at home with my wife, sharing food and conversation. Only her and I, with nothing on the horizon, nothing planned.

This week seemed to never end, but that stems as much from last Sunday's wedding shoot and starting my week a day earlier than any one thing that happened this week. It just felt prolonged, pressed out. And I couldn't wait to run through the line that ends Friday and walk through my front doors and vanish from the world. For one night.

We love summer but nothing compares to autumn in this house. And, little by little, we're starting to see the first signs that appear right before fall does. We sit outside at night and feel the temperature drop, as if from a cliff, right into that perfect spot where the breeze is soft and slightly cool. And the weekend should be the same.

The next couple of days are relatively free for us. No big wedding shoots, but there a couple of family photo sessions. One each day for a couple of hours, where we get the chance to catch a family interacting as only a family does. And then we get the evenings to ourselves. The perfect way to spend a weekend night.

Knowing that we have the next couple of nights alone, I figured it would be the perfect time to bring out a big pot of soup to share. Soup is my go-to meal in the fall and winter and, although I've made cooler seasonal soups since spring, I've been waiting for the time to bring our a comforting, hot soup. And this was the time.

Slowly but surely the new season is coming. My favourite season. The winds of change are swirling about and with it comes the foods that comfort us, hold us and forever have a soft spot locked deep inside of us.

Like this soup. And these cookies.

I made this batch of soup with brown butter because it brings another level of flavour to the bowl. We sat outside just before the sun set when the winds had started up and the noise had died down. Not a sign of life anywhere. We sat at the back table in the yard and talked. About life, love and the weekend ahead. And we enjoyed this.

A couple of hours after that I made a batch of tea and we sat on the front stoop with these big, chewy cookies and watched the world drive by, one car at a time. It's been a bit of a ritual for us, the two of us out on that front porch with a pot of tea and cookies in the summer and fall.

These are the moments I cherish. An evening to slow down, wind down and catch up. Plus, food for two and waiting for fall to be ushered in. All this and a bowl of soup, glass of wine, a handful of cookies and cup of tea. And the two of us. Living life.

From my kitchen to yours, happy eating!


Sweet Potato Soup with Brown Butter and Goat Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
• 1 litre of chicken stock
• 50 grams goat cheese
• 4 tbsp. butter
• watercress sprigs, to garnish

Prep:

1. Heat a large pan over high heat. Add in the onion and sweet potato and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the onion is tender. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Once the potatoes are tender, puree the soup in batches in a food processor. Return to the pot.
3. Using a saute pan, set to high heat. Once hot, add in the butter and swirl the pan over the heat to brown the butter evenly. As soon as the foaming settles down and the butter is browned, add it to the pot of soup, reserving a tablespoon.
4. Ladle the soup into the bowls and top with goat's cheese and watercress. Drizzle the brown butter over top and serve. Serves 4.