November has been down right nasty here in Seattle. Its been windy. Its been rainy. It is the kind of weather that makes you want to crawl back in bed and not get out until June or maybe even July considering Seattle’s track record. But alas that is not a possibility. Instead, when the weather turns dismal, I turn to making beef stew. Beef stew with red wine to be exact. Its full of tender beef, veggies, beef broth and red wine. It is a combination that will warm your home as well as your bellies.
After yesterday’s heavy but heavenly Cheesy Baked Mashed Potatoes, I thought I’d lighten things up a bit with this flavorful Thanksgiving salad. It has all kinds of goodies like spinach, peppery arugula, crunchy walnuts, sweet cranberries and tangy goat cheese. Then all of these goodies are tossed in a quick cranberry vinaigrette. It is the perfect way to get your Thanksgiving cranberries in “non-log” form.
Its cold. Its rainy. You notice a person coughing next to you on the bus and you contemplate getting off and waiting 20 minutes for the next one. When you finally get to work the office is quieter because so many of your co-workers are out sick. The news is stressing the importance of getting your flu shot but lines for said shot stretch around the block. All of these things could only mean one thing, cold and flu season is officially upon us. While we can buy medicine to make us feel better, to me nothing quiets the sniffles and soothes the sore throat pain like a nice hot bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup.
Its been pretty dark and dreary here in Seattle the past couple of days. On days like this I just want to say in the house, curl up with a good book and eat a childhood favorite, grilled cheese and tomato soup. There is just something about that gooey cheesy sandwich being dunked into hot, steamy homemade tomato soup. To be more precise, I mean homemade tomato soup that is loaded with fire roasted tomatoes, fresh basil, white wine, garlic and a little half and half for good measure. You’ll be surprised at how easy it actually is.
I’ll admit that, aside from zucchini, it has taken me a long time to embrace squash. And for a very silly reason: I am slightly intimidated by the odd shapes, colors and sizes. And when I do feel adventurous enough to bring one home, I sit there staring at it trying to decide what to do with it before ultimately using it as a decoration. However, after listening to a friend rave about butternut squash soup, I decided that it was time to conquer my fear of the unknown and pick up one. What I discovered is that Butternut Squash Soup is velvety, slightly sweet and the perfect supper on a cool autumn night.
Is it just me or are many of the salads we see on restaurant menus today filled with a plethora of ingredients and doused with dressing? Not to say that I don’t enjoy a good cobb salad, sans blue cheese (I’m a ranch kinda girl), every once in a while but I also enjoy simple salads that get their wonderful flavor from a few select ingredients. This simple salad is one of those. Peppery arugula is tossed with earthy mushrooms, salty Parmesan and drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil. Quick. Easy. Delicious.
After yesterday’s tummy warming comfort food, Meatballs in Mushroom Cream Sauce, I thought I would share something a little lighter for those of you still enjoying the hot summer weather. All you need for this quick and easy salad is a couple ripe tomatoes, a cool cucumber, salt, pepper and good quality extra virgin olive oil.
We’re experiencing quite the heat wave here. Forecasters are saying that today may be the hottest day Seattle has ever seen. A whopping 101 degrees is expected. It may not sound too hot to some of you but man oh man we just aren’t used to this kind of heat in Western Washington. It is because of this hot weather that I bring you this soup recipe. But don’t worry its not a hot soup, its a cold soup filled with all kinds of fresh veggies and topped with grilled shrimp and avocado. Perfectly refreshing for a hot summer day.
