Butternut Squash and caramelized leek soup

Butternut squash soup is the ultimate comfort food. And why not? It's scrumptious, easy to make, deceptively impressive and wholeheartedly satisfying - all while ensuring your daily dose of vitamin C, what more can you ask for as winter gallops closer? Butternut squash soup is a little overdone, I'll admit, but this slight spin on an old classic revamps it and adds a certain je ne sais quoi that's enough to cause me to fall in love all over again. Simple leeks do the trick. My friend Anais is a butternut squash aficionado and even she conceded that this one was a keeper. Try this and I promise, your appreciation for butternut squash will never be the same again...

Butternut Squash and Caramelized Leek Soup

• 1 medium/large butternut squash
• 1 medium onion
• 4-6 cloves of garlic
• 2-4 tbs olive oil
• a few sprigs of thyme or rosemary
• 4 leeks
• approx 2 cups white wine
• approx 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• salt
• pepper
• Tabasco
• nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375-400 degrees F. Cut off stem and base of squash and halve squash lengthwise (careful not to cut yourself! It slips...). Scoop out seeds.

Peel and halve onion, crush garlic and peel. Place on baking pan and rub inner flesh of squash with 1-2 tbs olive oil, some salt and pepper, and remove thyme or rosemary leaves from sprigs and sprinkle over inside of squash. Place half of onion and a few cloves of garlic in each inner bulb (where the seeds were), turn squash over, and bake 45-60 minutes or until very soft when pierced with a knife.

Cut off the stem 

Cut it down the centre (as evenly as possible) - Sometimes I give it a nice THWACK! against the counter to make it easier, careful not to cut yourself!

Scoop out seeds/guts

Halved onion and coarsely chopped garlic

Butternut squash with onion, garlic, oil, lemon thyme, salt and pepper (flip them to be cut-side-cown while baking)

While squash is baking, cut white and light green portions of leeks in 3-4 mm disks. Heat 1-2 tbs of olive oil in a pot and add leeks, cooking until browned (keep at a lowish heat to caramelize!). Add about 1/3 cup of white wine after about 7 minutes, scraping up brown bits, and allow leeks to cook at low heat for several more minutes until soft and fragrant.

Leeks - use white and very light green portions

Cook leeks and olive oil over medium or medium-low heat until caramelized and soft

Deglaze pan with white wine and cook down

 Scoop out squash, garlic and onions adding to pot. Add about 1 cup of stock, and puree in food processor in batches, or with handheld mixer in pot until smooth (if using handheld mixer, you might need to add a bit more stock).

Scoop out soft squash, onions and garlic

Scooped goods back in pot 

Return soup to pot. Add remaining 3 cups of stock, about 1-1 1/2 cups of wine, a splash of Tabasco and about 1/4 -1/2 tsp of nutmeg. Stir, and let cook until alcohol evaporates and soup is warmed through, about 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pureed soup returned to pot. Adding the good stuff (wine!)

Of course, SALT!

 Garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro. Serve! Always delish with a fresh baguette and stinky Quebecois or French cheeses.

Finished product with a garnish of parsley

Spiced chickpea nibbles

Perhaps I'm on a new-snack-recipe kick, but the kale chips prompted me to do a little more fun-and-easy snack searching. My friends and I were going to the 10 PM special at Lemeac - a fantastic deal for anyone who hasn't yet discovered it (and one of my favourite restaurants in Montreal, deal or not, but I'll leave the review to Val's Bits and Bites) so I wanted to serve little munchies that go well with drinks, but nothing to take the place of the tantalizing tartares, soups, short ribs, and calamari to come. Kale chips were a go-to, especially since they were already on my mind, but what other deceivingly easy snacks could I come up with? Spiced chickpeas! Healthy (they're baked) and sassy (spices lend the usually-boring chickpea some zest), they're perfect pre-dinner nibbles.

Spiced Chickpeas

1 15 oz can of chickpeas

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

a total of about 3-4 teaspoons of mixed spices of your choice, but here is my suggestion:

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (or less, for those who don't love spice)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Many spices! I didn't actually land up using them all

Preheat oven to 375 F. Drain chickpeas and rinse with cold water until there is no more foam. Place on paper towel and gently roll to dry with another paper towel.

Mix spices together in a small bowl (I skipped this step, but it's a good idea to ensure even distribution of spices over the chickpeas). Toss chickpeas with olive oil and spice mix. Spread in a single layer on baking sheet and bake for 40-50 minutes or until they are slightly browned, a touch crunchy, but not as hard as little pebbles! Serve warm or cooled.

Rolling chickpeas to dry

Spice mix, olive oil, and chickpeas

Toss to mix

Roasted chickpeas

A simple, easy, and yummy little amuse bouche!

Kale-i-fy your life

In no way do I mean do be condescending by starting off with relatively simple recipes but a) I'm studying for a physics midterm which kind of makes me want to bang my head against the wall and cry, b) I want to use the tail-end of summer's bounty before it disappears in the Houdini-esque manner that defines fall, and c) these babies are good! Plus, unless you're actively trying to find ways to burn your money, there's no reason to pay upwards of $5 a box for a pathetic amount of kale chips anyways (and we both know that when you do that, essentially you're paying for the plastic box they come in). So, kale chips! Perfect for snacking on with wine, a healthy fun-to-eat snack, and good nibbles while you're studying, in the kitchen, on long drives, or anywhere else where your adventures take you.

Kale Chips

- Kale (a bunch! However much you want)

- a few tablespoons of olive oil

- seasonings (salt, lemon or lime juice, lemon salt, garlic salt, chili powder, sugar...)

Preheat oven to 375ᶱF. Wash kale and pat dry (or spin, if you have a salad spinner). De-stem kale leaves by cutting out the thick, fibrous backbone. 

Washing and spinning kale

Cutting out stem (you would have a second hand there to help you cut, but alas, I needed to take a picture!)

Kale once de-stemmed

Wet hands with olive oil and moisten each individual leaf with oil. Note: do not cut corners and douse the leaves in olive oil – they will burn in the oven at this high a temperature! 

Kale leaves in olive oil

Moistened leaf, not too oily!

Place leaves in a single layer on a baking sheet. Do not over-pack or they won't crisp properly.

Season as desired! I like a hefty amount of salt (surprise, surprise), and a squeeze of lemon is good too. One of my good friends likes the mix of sweet and salty – a touch of sugar and a bit of salt. A smidgen of chili powder is always good with salt too...feel free to mix and match! Bake for about 10 minutes or until leaves are crisp, but not brown/burnt (keep an eye on it, everyone's oven is different). Remove from oven. Let cool slightly and arrange leaves in glass.

I went upstairs and my leaves are a little on the crispy side!

Yummmm! Perfect decorative munchies.