Pasta & Lentil Soup

My wife and I were sitting around the other day and talking about new ways to introduce healthier foods in our routine. It's always a great idea supplementing your daily meals with healthy, fresh ingredients, especially when you're induldging in baked goods made for the house and put on the blog. So we talked about our favourite ingredients that we don't use as often as we should. Things like legumes and root vegetables.

I love legumes. I especially like lentils and yet I've completely neglected them recently. It wasn't that long ago when I first fell in love with them and seemed to be experimenting with them all the time. I used them as a side dish with herbs and a yogurt sauce to accompany salmon. I've made them with chorizo in soups and added them in salads. It's time to bring it back again.

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Leek, Potato & Bacon Soup

It was early afternoon and the wind outside was cold and gaining momentum. I heard a loud noise that was quickly followed by another. Some of our chairs were toppled by the strength of the wind. The air was equally cold and quickly turned the remaining snow in our driveway into a hard patch of ice. It was a day meant for staying inside huddled by the fireplace. It was the perfect day for soup.

I told my wife that I was going downstairs to make a batch of soup to keep us warm. I opened up the kitchen curtains to shine some light in and quickly started peeling vegetables. Making soup takes time and can't be rushed. It's as much about the process for me as it is the food. Stripping and washing the vegetables and chopping in an almost rhythmic beat.
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Rustic Vegetable Soup

When I was a kid I used to live at the hockey arena. I'm Canadian, it's our birthright. I would wake up at the crack of dawn and slide my skates through my stick, throw it over my shoulder and start walking towards the local outdoor rink. When the rickety caged fence would open up I'd be the first one through it. I would nod at the the gate keeper like I was on my way to to work. Once inside I would skate and play until my toes threatened to fall off.

I used to spend hours upon hours honing my skills and working on my game. Most kids dream of being a firefighter or policeman but in this country everybody dreams of being in the NHL. One day my dream would be crushed but that didn't stop me from spending the better part of my youth on a sheet of ice playing with strangers who quickly became friends.

It didn't matter how cold it was or how harsh the winds were, I would be there. You could set my $2 watch by it. My toque (yes, that's what we call a hat) would cling to my ears as if my bigger brother protecting me from the weather. I didn't care about the wind chill or frost warnings. I didn't care about anything back then. I had an ace in the hole.

A big pot of soup.
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Root Veg Soup with Crisp Onions, Yogurt and Parsley

The Roots. No, not the jazzy electric hip hop band with Black Thought and ?uestlove famous for infusing live instrumentals into classic hip hop beats. This is about the medley of root vegetables-including carrots, leeks, celery and potatoes-that bestows a refreshing sweet something to this soup. Cooking these roots together until soft creates the perfect harmony of flavours and allows them to be easily pureed into a creamy and smooth union.

Surprise, surprise. I'm rockin soup yet again in my homage to the holidays and the cold weather that keeps us inside our warm houses spending time with the people that matter. I'm busting out another recipe that brings flavours to another level and ends with a mouthful of sweet delight promising warmth and happiness to all that eat it. Ok, maybe not happiness but definitely warmth. I can deliver that much at least.
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Creamy Tomato Soup with Pesto

I've been on a bisque and soup kick lately and it's not even winter yet. 'Tis the season, right? The frigid mornings have come en masse recently and a thick layer of frost covers my lawn as each day is proclaimed the coldest one yet. The sad thing is it's only going to get worse. The really sad thing is this is only the beginning.  Thank goodness for soup days like these.

The marriage of all the wonderful flavours is the secret to this Creamy Tomato Soup with Pesto. Each ingredient fittingly enhanced when paired with another. The intense plum tomatoes lend to the richness of the soup. Everything else comes together and is beautifully balanced and the pesto at the end adds a lovely tang to the finish. It really has a great depth of taste!

Making soup also gives you the flexibility to garnish and tailor it for a dinner party or you can go really simple and serve it as is for an afternoon dish. The best of both worlds switched up quite easily. As someone who loves hosting a dinner party but feels equally comfortable sharing a bowl of soup on a lazy Sunday with my wife, this is my kind of soup. It satisfies all my cravings.

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Sweet Carrot and Chardonnay Soup

The end of summer is a time to celebrate in my house. Although I tempt fate and wish away the end of summer, I'm not doing it because of my love of autumn or winter weather. It's my deep-down fondness for  soup that draws me in. The kind of soup that whisks me away to a different time, a different place. And this Sweet Carrot and Chardonnay Soup is just one of the ways to lose yourself in the moment.

The first spoonful was hypnotizing. I caught myself dreaming as the flavours vaulted off my tongue. The carrots came to life with the wine and perfect amount of seasoning. The honey rounds out and smooths the flavours. Sometimes ingredients battle for notoriety and you're left with a muddled concoction where not one ingredient stands out. This soup is the opposite of all my worst fears. It was smooth, aromatic and vibrantly colourful.



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Grilled Cheese with Roasted Squash & Apple Soup

When I was growing up my mother would always find a way to keep me warm on a cool fall day with a hot bowl of soup and a fresh-pressed sandwich. Even after all these years I love having simple, comforting lunches. There is no parallel on a cold afternoon than making a pot of seasonal soup and my version of grilled cheese.

The combination is a classic example of comfort food. A piping hot cup of roasted vegetable soup and a sandwich with melting aged cheddar trapped inside thick slices of golden buttered toast. Gone are the slices of processed cheese and plain white bread instead replaced by aged crumbling cheddar and country-fresh bread. A dish straight out of my Canadian childhood made with a modern twist.

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Maple Butternut Squash and Sage Soup

There is something beautiful about early mornings in the days that creep between fall and winter. The air snaps and the sun has to fight harder than ever to be noticed, especially between dawn and early morning rush hour. These are the days when I take solace in the warm and luxurious meals that we get lost in. Saturday morning outside running the errands that never seem to end while my mind is elsewhere thinking about a bowl of soup that I'll be able to sit down and enjoy with my wife in a few short hours. This is my ode to Autumn.

My love of food is deep and it stems from and was fostered by the different seasons and the different produce that's available for a few short months each year. Every couple of months a new vegetable hits the market and I instantly fall in love all over again. A few months to play with it, create with it and be awed by it and than it's gone. Vanished. All too soon.

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Grill Pizza, Grill

What a great Saturday. The Market is open for a few more weeks so I hopped over and talked to the farmer Dan from Simcoe who always has the best selection of potatoes, tomatoes, leeks and mushrooms. It just so happens that they were key ingredients for parts of our dinner that night. Extended family addition.

Where most people might say spending a few hours during the middle of a beautiful Saturday in the kitchen is a waste, I say it's a retreat for my senses. An escape, of sorts. When the pot hits the stove and the ingredients hit the pot, there is an immediate aroma that fills up not only the room but the entire house. If I wasn't already prepared to cook, which I am, I certainly would be now.  It doesn't take long before I have soup simmering away on one burner, a strawberry sauce resting comfortably on another and the tomato sauce base for a grilled pizza filling yet another.  I call this kitchen therapy!

Last night we had some of our favourite family members over so I had to make sure I was particularly on top of the food and the preparation. A keen eye for details and the cooking process. While the stove had it's company of heavy pots and saute pans the fridge was filled with my pizza dough, lemon cream and the appetizers.  Luckily it ended up going according to plan. Timing being everything, we were right on the clock last night. Once we finally sat down the courses ran smoothly one after the other.

We started the evening with a Spicy Hummus Dip while I was doing a last-minute sauté of the ingredients for one of the grilled pizzas. I had to quickly flour and roll out and stretch the dough and then slather all the ingredients that I was sautéing on top of the first pizza. The second pizza was already finished and ready for the oven so in they both went together. While the pizzas were grilling, we were sitting down.

We sat down for the soup and I quickly plated everything before we ate. Potato Leek Soup with Toasted Crouton and Smoked Salmon. Delicious and just hot enough to warm us from top to bottom. The palette and the soul. This soup begins with garlic and onions and potatoes and thyme, before adding the potatoes and stock and simmering until the potatoes are soft and tender. I then add my finely sliced leeks and allow to simmer until cooked through. I use my hand blender and purée everything until I have a smooth consistency and add my cream. After seasoning to taste, I'm all done and we're on the dinner table enjoying everything and everyone in front of us.

Potato Leek Soup with Toasted Crouton and Smoked Salmon

When we were finishing up the soup I went to check on the pizzas. Tonight we were having grilled pizzas-2 ways. Grilled Pizza with Sautéed Onions, Mushrooms, Red Peppers with Mozzarella and Arugula and Parmigiano was made with sautéed garlic, onions, mushrooms and red peppers, mozzarella and grilled before adding fresh arugula and slivers of Parmigiano Reggiano showered over top. The Grilled Pizza with Buffalo Mozzarella, Italian Sausages, Crushed Tomatoes and Basil was rolled out into a oblong shape and layered with fresh tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, Italian sausage and fresh torn basil. Two completely different pizzas with two equally fantastic results!

Grilled Pizza with Crushed Tomatoes, Buffalo Mozzarella, Sausages and Basil

Grilled Pizza with Mushrooms, Red Peppers, Onions, Arugula and Parmigano

We took a break after dinner for some Limoncello and talked about their impending vacations. That's the beauty of having people over for dinner. It's the perfect combination of good food and great conversation. You can't live without either one. You don't want to live without either one.

After we finished up and our stomachs were ready for the sweet finish I went back into the kitchen to quickly toast up some crumbled pound cake pieces before adding the finishing touches to my Strawberry Lemon Pudding. This is all about lemon curd whipped cream, strawberries in lemon syrup and buttery fresh pound cake all layered together and topped with the toasted crumbled pieces of cake. There's only one word for this dessert. Yum!

Strawberry Lemon Pudding 

The Battle Reigns

Our food cravings are so ostensibly connected to the weather that in September it may change from day to day. It wasn't long ago that I was making gazpacho, watermelon granita, fresh herb salads with goat cheese and green salads with cool refreshing citrus vinaigrette.  Now as we enter the heart of September when the weather fluctuates to something cold and unwanted and the wet days of Autumn approach, we start to crave full, hearty meals. Meals to keep us company and  to keep us warm. But are we ready for the changes?

As the markets we visit wrestle with varying produce on their tables I wrestle with the transition. As I see the last of the summer berries lining baskets in front of us I also take notice of the pumpkins, squash and plums. I am torn. I feel lost somewhere between two seasons and slightly out of touch with each one.

Do I continue with the recipes created this summer and embrace the last of what the summer has to offer or do I move on towards the unfamiliar and the secrets that lie within? As I stand in my kitchen using up the last of the berries for desserts, the sounds of the windows closing are punctuated by rain drops chasing after them. The cooler air will surely mean the end of the foods we've loved for three months. It also means the beginning of a new love affair. Fall temptation.

My confusion gives way to clarity. I let it all soak in and I move forward with the season. I think back to the days of my youth and the memories of mushroom soup, apple sauce, roast chicken and sweet potatoes. As I grow older I always hark back to my younger days for foods that comforted me, only this time I make them with a twist. Same basic context, different style.  I dream of recipes like field mushroom soup, baked apples with brown sugar and custard sauce and roast chicken with autumn fruits.

These are some of my absolute favourite fall foods.  I'll be cooking plenty in the near future with a plethora of images and recipes. Enjoy!