Welcome to week 14! The weather is so amazing and we really enjoyed the ride this morning to pick up our market basket of goodies from Stoneybrook Farm. Today's items included winter squash, tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant, okra, basil, arugula and mesclun greens and a quart of fresh pressed apple cider!
John was so excited and proud of what they had just harvested for all of us who join in this CSA when we chatted with him today. In fact he said most of what they had provided us today were only about ½ hour out of the field!! A quick look-up in a dictionary for the word ‘mesclun’ and a general description will be read: a salad made of greens and herbs. In fact reference to these greens in today's market really refer to baby lettuces and fresh herbs grown together and harvested early. While many of the greens in the mesclun mix can be grilled or sautéed and served warm when grown larger, the key to mesclun mixes are that they are grown and cut as small leaf lettuces making them more tender and less bitter than their full grown counterparts.
Dinner one night this week will certainly include a great salad featuring the fresh greens accompanied by a hearty soup....and of course I have a favorite recipe to share! This recipe will take advantage of the winter squash as well as incorporating the fresh pressed cider.
Cheryl's Butternut Squash Soup
INGREDIENTS:
1 large Vidalia or Yellow Onion, chopped
2 packages of pre-peeled butternut squash, usually comes in cut pieces
1 granny smith apple peeled, seeded and chopped
2 cups white wine
1 cup apple cider
4 cups chicken broth
8 fresh sage leaves
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons brown sugar (you can use the Splenda Brown sugar if you like)
salt and pepper to taste
HOW TO:
Use a soup pot for the entire dish...
On med-hi heat melt 1 tablespoon butter in about 3 tablespoons of olive oil
Add onions and saute till tender
Add squash and apple, stir and cook for a couple minutes
Add white wine and cook for a couple minutes
Add cider, chicken broth, sage, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar
Simmer till the squash and apple fall apart
Remove sage and throw it away
Using a blender run the contents of the soup pot till all of it is smooth and then return to the soup pot.
Add about 1 Tablespoon of kosher salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper, simmer a couple min.
Taste...you might need more salt or pepper. If you think its too thick, add more chicken broth (you can't add too much)
OPTIONS:
You can kick this up a little – add ¼ Teaspoon Cayenne, top with a dollop of crème fraiche, garnish with a crispy sage leaf, serve in a hollowed out mini pumpkin or a great mini boule....use your imagination!
ENJOY!
Cheryl
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