Fall market soup with bacon, beans, sweet potatoes, and kale

Some of the best soups are happy accidents. This is especially true when you get most of your produce and meats from farmers markets: Ingredients available one week may be gone the next, and the chances of that perfect convergence of vegetables and fruits ever happening again are slim. That's the case with this soup, which is a rich, warm, filling, and nutritious concoction that is just what you want on a chilly fall evening (in fact, I'll be going back for seconds soon), but it may be a long time before I can replicate it precisely because I probably won't have all these ingredients again at the same time.

But that's OK. Making this soup was an act of discovery, an exploration of flavors and textures. It was also an act of building something, adding component to component until it all came together with a toss of chopped kale at the end. Kind of fun to make, really. Furthermore, I experienced that moment when I had added just enough salt and pepper, the vegetables had mellowed and released their sweetness and savor to the stock, and the test spoonful exploded into my mouth, forcing me to do a happy dance and to shamelessly proclaim how good I am. It was a great soup.

I make a lot of these soups, the ones where I add this and that until it's done, but they don't always succeed. In fact, I've made some real disasters (beets and pumpkin do not, I repeat, do NOT go together). But most of them are pretty good, some are outstanding. There are a few lessons I've learned from building soups like this:

• Always use a good stock, preferably homemade.
• Give the onions that you will start almost every soup with plenty of time to mellow, at least 10 minutes. Don't rush soup.
• The stock should slightly cover the vegetables, not drown them. If you have too much stock, your soup will be watery. If don't have enough stock, the soup could be mushy, more like a vegetable stew or porridge. 
• Aim for balance of flavors: sweet vegetables combined with bitter ones. (Like sweet potato with parsnips.) 
• If you include a lot of root vegetables, like sweet potatoes, potatoes, parsnips, and so forth, try dicing an apple and adding it to the soup. You'll be surprised. In a good way. 
• If you have some greens on hand, try chopping them up and adding them in the last few minutes of cook time. 
• Add salt and pepper at the end of the cook time to avoid oversalting. (The stock will cook down a little, which will concentrate the salt if you add it too early.)
• Above all: Have fun, be inspired, see what you find at the farmers market, and taste, taste, taste. 

Now, even though the ingredients for this particular soup may not be easy to come by, here's the recipe anyway because you can use it as a starting point and replace or drop ingredients as you like. If you don't have fresh Dragon Tongue beans, which you probably don't (beautiful things, I wish I had thought to photograph them), you can replace them with cooked pinto beans. (If you use cooked pinto beans, drop the overall cook time by 20 minutes.) If you don't eat bacon or meat, you can use olive oil to soften the onions and replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock. Try different kinds of greens. And if you don't have butternut squash puree just hanging around the refrigerator (which I did), you can either eliminate it or use some plain pumpkin puree from a can (just go for the good quality stuff though).

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon, chopped finely
• 1 onion, chopped finely
• 2 cups fresh (shelled) Dragon Tongue beans
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 2 small potatoes (yellow or white), peeled and diced
• 1 medium-large sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 1 apple, cored, peeled, and diced
• 1 cup butternut squash puree
• 2-3 cups chopped kale
• salt (to taste)
• white pepper (to taste)
• 1 tsp thyme

Directions

1. Cook the bacon in a large soup pot over medium heat until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pot and let it drain on paper towels.
2. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the onions. Let them cook slowly until they are soft and shiny. Give the onions a good 10 minutes to mellow. 
3. Add the beans, the stock, and the thyme to the pot. Bring the stock to a boil, and then lower the temperature to a simmer. Let the beans and stock simmer for 20 minutes (if you are using cooked beans, skip to the next step).  
4. Add the potatoes and the apples to the stock. Let them cook for 10 minutes. 
5. Add the sweet potatoes to the stock (sweet potatoes cook faster than regular potatoes). Let them cook for another 10-15 minutes (check that they are soft). 
6. Add the chopped kale and the bacon. Taste the soup, add salt and pepper to taste.          

Butternut squash and tomato soup: Celebrating all things orange for #SundaySupper

I've left the windows open for a few weeks now. I wanted to be done with the air conditioning (although a few days of lingering heat did cause me to doubt my decision). But tonight chill air creeps in through the window, curls up around the house, and goes to sleep like the fog in T.S. Eliot's poem "The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock." The mornings and evenings are getting darker, and a quiet, interior life is starting to settle in, a life of reading, dreaming, knitting, sewing, and, of course, cooking.

Fall is my favorite time of year, for many reasons. The trees dress in their brightest finery, their last party of the season, the world dances with liquid light and reflected color, and streams and rivers run dark with leaf tea. And when the rains come, the chilly air carries the smells of fire and dry leaves, and the urge to bake with rich spices or slowly braise a stew takes hold. And of course, this is the season for soups: warm, satisfying soups that take advantage of a harvest of winter squashes, root vegetables, and the last of the summer vegetables.

This butternut squash and tomato soup is one of my favorite fall soups, which I've adapted slightly from Crescent Dragonwagon's Dairy Hollow House Soup and Bread Cookbook, the first cookbook I ever fell completely heads over heels in love with. Warm and filling, the soup is sweetened with some maple syrup. Serve it with a piece of crusty bread for dipping and perhaps with a glass of cider for a simple fall meal. Or it could be a perfect starter later in the season for Thanksgiving.

Ingredients

• 2 large butternut squashes (alternatively, you can use 4 cups of canned pumpkin instead, just make sure it's good quality)
• 3-4 Tbsps olive oil or butter
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 cups homemade chicken stock (or for a vegetarian soup, use a well-flavored vegetable stock)
• 1 28-oz can of whole or diced tomatoes
• 2-3 Tbsps maple syrup plus extra for drizzling
• salt and pepper

Instructions

FOR BUTTERNUT SQUASH PUREE

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Wash the butternut squashes and split them in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and discard (or you can clean them off and roast them like you'd roast pumpkin seeds). 
3. Drizzle the cut sides with a little maple syrup and place the halves cut side down on the parchment paper.
4. Bake the halves in the oven for 50 minutes to an hour. Poke them with a fork to make sure they are soft and cooked through. 
5. Let them cool enough to handle and to reabsorb some of the liquid that will leak out.
6. Scoop out the flesh and mash it with a big spoon. (Note: If you double the number of butternut squashes, you can make a lot of extra puree to freeze for other uses. You can use butternut squash puree as a replacement in just about any recipe that calls for pumpkin.) 

FOR THE SOUP

1. In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook slowly until they are soft and shiny, about 10 minutes. Try to avoid browning the onions. (Take your time with this step.)
2. Add the stock to the onions, bring it to a boil, lower it to a simmer, and then let it simmer for about 15 minutes. 
3. Add the tomatoes and their juices, 4 cups of butternut squash puree, and 2 tablespoons maple syrup to the stock. Let the mix heat up again. Then use a hand blender to puree the whole mixture until it's very smooth. (Alternatively, you can use a blender, but you will have to do that in batches.) Add salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle a little more maple syrup on top to serve.  

This is just one of many recipes celebrating fall and one of the most prominent colors of fall, orange (also my favorite color), in this week's All Things Orange Sunday Supper event. Here are all the wonderful recipes and don't forget to join in the Twitter chat using the hashtag #SundaySupper at 7 p.m. Eastern (U.S.) time.

Sunrise (Breakfast and Brunch)

• Paula from Vintage Kitchen Notes is bringing her Orange Ricotta Pancakes
• Erin from Dinners Dishes and Desserts is baking up some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Heather from Girlichef is bringing Pumpkin Doughnuts with Spiced Buttermilk Glaze
• Nicole from Daily Dish Recipes is making Pumpkin Donut Puffs
• Patti from Comfy Cuisine is bringing  Classic Orange Marmalade
• Sunithi from Sue’s Nutrition Buzz is making Spiced Pumpkin Ricotta Muffins with Craisins and Walnuts
• Wendy from The Weekend Gourmet is cooking up some Pumpkin Maple Oatmeal
• Jamie from Mama Mommy Mom is bringing Butternut Squash Butter
• Chelsea from Chelsea’s Culinary Indulgence is bringing Pumpkin Spiced Donuts with Chai Icing
• Kris from In The Kitchen With Audrey and Maureen made Sweet Potato Pancakes 

High Noon (Soups, Salads, and Sandwiches)

• Renee from Magnolia Days is serving up some Butternut Squash Soup
• Beate from Galactopdx is bringing her Carrot Ginger Soup
• Jen from Juanita’s Cocina is making some Curried Sweet Potato Salad With Cranberries and Pecans
• Megan from I Run For Wine is making Skinny Roasted Butternut Squash and Italian Sausage Soup
• Sarah from What Smells So Good is filling our bowls with some Spicy Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup
• Alice from Hip Foodie Mom is coming with her Roasted Carrot and Red Quinoa Salad
• Susan from The Wimpy Vegetarian is making Cider – Spiced Sweet Potato Soup
• Tora from Tora’s Real Food is bringing Butternut Squash and Tomato Soup
• Melanie from From Fast Food to Fresh Food is making Monty’s Pumpkin Soup
• Lyn from The Lovely Pantry is bringing Roasted Pumpkin & Coconut Soup
• Kim from Cravings of a Lunatic is whipping up some Mandarin Chicken Salad

Sunset (Dinner and Main Dishes)

• Sarah from Crispy Bits & Burnt Ends is offering up some Pumpkin Ravioli
• Shelia from Pippis In The Kitchen Again is serving her Roasted Squash and Ricotta with Honey
• Pam from The Meltaways is making Spooky Stuffed Peppers
• Patsy from Famfriendsfood is bringing her Carrot Souffle
• Laura from Small Wallet Big Appetite is bringing Chicken and Sweet Potato Fritters
• Mehereen from Chattering Kitchen is making Sichuan Orange Glazed Chicken with Toasted Sesame Seeds
• Tammi from Momma’s Meals is making Hearty Pork Stew
• Kristin from Kwistin’s Favorites is making Orange Chicken
• Soni from Soni’s Food For Thought is cooking up some Rigatoni with Pumpkin Ricotta Sauce
• Shelby from Diabetic Foodie is cooking up some Moroccan Vegetable Stew
• Dara from Generation Y Foodie is bringing Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
• Brandie from Home Cooking Memories is sharing a DIY Baked Sweet Potato Bar
• Amber from Mama’s Blissful Bites  is bringing Rice and Fig Stuffed Mini Pumpkins
• Valerie from Val’s Food and Or Art made Double Stuffed Roasted Acorn Squash

By the Bonfire (Sweets, Snacks, and Sips)

• Brie from Brie’s Bites is making Peanut Butter Pumpkin Bites
• Carla from Chocolate Moosey is making Pumpkin Tiramisu with Pumpkin Butter Caramel Sauce
• Heather from Hezzi D’s Books and Cooks is offering up some Pumpkin Cake Truffles
• Shelia from Cooking Underwriter is bringing Sweet Potato Bacon Beet Salsa
• Anne from Webicurean  is making some Drunken Pumpkin Bread
• Karen from In The Kitchen With KP is making Oven Baked Sweet Potato Chips
• Leslie La Cocina De Leslie is making Sweet Potato Atole
• Seet Fei from My Trials in The Kitchen is bringing Sweet Potatoes Mini Balls
• Tara from Noshing With The Nolands is bringing Oranges En Suprise
• Susan from The Girl in The Red Kitchen is making Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scone with Pumpkin Glaze
• Conni from Mrs. Mama Hen is making Orange Glazed Poundcake
• Isabel from Family Foodie is baking up Moist Pumpkin Bread
• Cindy from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings is baking up a Vegan Pumpkin Orange Cake
• Brenda from Meal Planning Magic is whipping up some Creamy Pumpkin Dip
• Laura from Family Spice is making some Unprocessed and Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread
• Kathya from Basic and Delicious is baking up Butternut Squash and Carrot Bread
• Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake is serving up Pumpkin Roll with Cream Cheese Filling
• Stephanie from The Cookie A Day Challenge is whipping up some Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwiches
• Katie from She Like Ruffles, He Likes Truffles is bringing Pumpkin Harvest Cookies
• Nancy from Gotta Get Baked is baking up some Orange Macadamia Dark Chocolate Cookies
• Angie from Big Bear’s Wife  is bringing Orange Soda Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes
• Katy from Happy Baking Days is bringing Carrot Cake with Orange Glaze
• Sandra from Midlife Road Trip is bringing Orange ya glad it’s fall! Hungarian Apricot/Walnut pastries

Root vegetable chowder with bacon

I don't even remember the last time I posted, but then again most of the last week and a half are lost in a haze. I've been sick with a virus that went into the lungs and became bronchitis. For seven days, my temperature would cycle up to 103.5 degrees and then back down to a "normal" of around 101. I alternately froze and shivered like a naked person in Siberia or poured out sweat like Niagara. It wasn't fun. But it's starting to clear up now, and for that I am grateful.

The last thing I cooked before I went down for the count about a little over a week ago was a root vegetable chowder with bacon. It surprised me how delicious it was because it started with the inauspicious need to clean out the larder a bit. We just had too many wrinkly roots lying around, and something needed to be done with them before they went bad. I ended up using a combination of potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, and small white turnips.

It all ended up being a rich, warm, deeply satisfying soup that's thickened by the starch in the potatoes. Good enough that two grown men (Mike and Uncle Dave) stood around the nearly empty pot after dinner scraping with their spoons to get every last bit. That's a real compliment to a cook.

I suspect you can use any combination of root vegetables you have available as long you think about balancing sweet and mild with bitter. And hell, throw in some thinly sliced greens at the end of the cooking if you have them. 

Make sure your root vegetables are all cut to even sizes. This is a good way to practice your knife skills!

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 5 slices thick-cut bacon, sliced thinly
• 1 and 1/2 medium yellow onions (or 1 large), diced finely 
• 3 yellow potatoes, peeled, 1/4 inch dice
• 2 small-medium sweet potatoes, peeled, 1/4 inch dice
• 1 parsnip, peeled, 1/4 inch dice
• 4 small white turnips, peeled, 1/4 inch dice
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 4 cups chicken stock (homemade preferable, but a good organic broth will do just fine)
• 1 cup half and half
• salt and white pepper

What to do

1. Melt butter in a large stock pot. Fry the pieces of bacon in the butter until the bacon is brown and crispy. Take the bacon out of the pot, set it aside to drain on paper towels for the time being. 
2. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the onions to the pot. Let them sweat for about 10 minutes, stirring from time to time. Don't let them get crispy. They should be soft and translucent. (They will probably pick up some brown from the bacon fat, but don't worry about that.)
3. Raise the temperature to medium. Add the vegetables to the pot. Stirring from time to time, let them soften and brown a bit, about 10 minutes.
4. Add the stock and the crushed garlic to the pot. Bring the liquid up to a boil and then lower the temperature to a simmer. Let it cook for 20-30 minutes, until the vegetables soften and some of them start to fall apart a bit. If the stock isn't a bit thick at this point, let the vegetable cook for another 5-10 minutes to get more starch into the water.  
5. Add half and half and salt and pepper to taste. Bring the temperature up but don't let the soup boil again (if you do, the half and half can curdle, which won't kill you but definitely ruins the texture of the soup). Add the reserved bacon back into the soup and serve. 

 

Chicken braised in sherry and red wine vinegars

One of our best friends, Dave, came over for dinner last night. We ate chicken braised with sherry and red wine vinegars over mashed potatoes (homemade, of course) and a side salad. I'd never made it before. I was riffing off the idea of a coq au vin, but I didn't have any wine on hand, so I replaced the wine with vinegars, stock, and a little cider syrup for sweetness.

I was very happy with the results: tender, fall-off-the-bone chicken with a dark, rich sauce. The tanginess from the vinegar set off the richness of the mashed potatoes to perfection. It was one of those warm, hearty meals that you love to eat on a cold fall day.

Dave was also happy with the results. After a second helping, he announced he envied our future selves because they would get to eat this chicken again. So why not make others envy you and try making this dish?

You will need about half an hour to prep ingredients and then an hour to let it simmer.

Ingredients

• 4-5 lbs of chicken pieces (bone-in breasts, legs, thighs, wings; if you don't have these, you can cut up a whole chicken into eight pieces)
• all-purpose flour (about a cup)
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 3-4 large shallots, minced
• 2 Tbsp sherry wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp apple cider syrup (if you don't have this, use some maple syrup instead)
• 1 1/2 cups stock (I used a beef stock, but chicken will be good too)
• smoked paprika
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp dried thyme

Steps

1. Rinse the chicken pieces well with cold water and pat them dry with paper towels. 
2. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken pieces with salt and lots of smoked paprika.
3. Dredge the seasoned chicken in AP flour. Shake off the excess and set the chicken aside for now.
4. Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. 
5. When the butter starts bubbling, add the minced shallots. Cook for four to five minutes until they soften. 
6. Add the chicken pieces to the pan with the shallots and let the flour on the chicken cook to a nice, dark (but not burnt) crust on all sides (start with the largest pieces so they have a little more time to cook). (You are basically building a roux here.)
7. Mix the vinegars, stock, tomato paste, apple cider or maple syrup and pour the mixture over the chicken. Scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan up into the braising liquid. Stir in the thyme. 
8. Bring the heat down to low, cover the pan, and let the chicken simmer for an hour. Stir from time to time. 
9. After an hour, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve over mashed potatoes. Enjoy. And then maybe sneak some seconds a little later.