Winter Squash & Pear Soup with Sage

We got a beautiful Autumn Crown squash from our CSA recently. It looked like something out of an old Dutch masters still life and was almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

I'd never tried this variety of winter squash before and am happy to report that it has sweet, orange flesh and makes one hell of a delicious soup.

I also had a few lovely pears from Migliorelli Farm that I thought would go nicely based on a similar soup that chef Curt Robair made at the farmer's market last week - I loved that it was both sweet and savory. And warm! Last week was the first time this fall it's been chilly at the market so I was very grateful for the little cup of hot soup I was clutching in my paws.

I did not have time to roast the squash so I peeled, seeded and cubed it, instead. It cooks quickly in the broth for the soup.

I knew I wanted to use sage in this soup as I think its aromatic, earthy flavor is a perfect complement to the sweetness of the squash. I would have used fresh sage but our plant died this summer because I failed to water it thinking that it would not mind - wrong! So I got out the jar of sage I'd dried last fall, instead.

I sauteed onions and garlic in olive oil and added the dried sage before dumping in the cubed squash and pears.

Then I added vegetable broth and let it simmer for 10 or so minutes until the squash was cooked through and perfectly soft. I added a little half and half to amp up the creaminess but you could skip it or use coconut milk, instead if you do not eat dairy. Then I busted out my trusty wand blender and made quick work of turning the mixture into a beautiful, orange, velvety smooth soup.

I topped it with a generous dollop of sour cream - the rich, tangy flavor is a perfect foil for the sweet, savory soup. I finished my bowl and immediately went back for more.

-- print recipe --Winter Squash & Pear Soup with Sage
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

* 1 large winter squash (butternut, autumn crown, kabocha, sugar pumpkin, etc.,)
* 1 medium or large onion, diced
* 2 large cloves garlic, minced or pressed
* 1-2 pears, cored and diced
* 2 Tbsps dried sage, crumbled or 5 leaves fresh, chopped
* 1 quart vegetable broth
* 1/2 cup half-n-half, heavy cream or coconut milk (optional)
* Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
* 2 Tbsps olive oil

Directions

1. In a large pot over medium heat, sautee the onion in the olive oil until translucent (2-3) minutes, then add the garlic and sage and cook for another 1-2 minutes until it begins to smell amazing but before it starts to brown. Add the cubed squash and pear and sautee for another 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes, until the squash is cooked through and soft when poked with a fork. Turn the heat off, add the cream or coconut milk and puree the soup using an immersion hand blender. If you do not already have one of these wonderful tools (more on why I love mine), please get one! In the meantime, you can either puree the soup in batches in your blender (which is a pain, in my opinion) or just mash it with a potato masher if you don't care about having a really smooth soup.

3. Serve warm topped with a dollop of sour cream (though that is optional if you do not eat dairy, of course!) Especially nice when accompanied with some brown rice or some toast with butter.

You might also like:

• Quick Curried Butternut Squash Soup
• Red Pepper & Sausage Stuffed Butternut Squash
• Butternut Squash Ravioli with Browned Butter, Sage & Pine Nuts

For more delicious recipes, gardening ideas, foraging tips, and food-related inspiration "like" the Garden of Eating on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter and Pinterest.

Hooked On A Frieling

I managed to go through two French presses in the past year. My husband dropped one and the other just cracked for no obvious reason as I was pouring boiling water into it. If you're not a coffee drinker, it's probably hard to appreciate the potent combination of dread and despair one feels upon realizing that there will be no coffee in the morning. I never want to feel that way again.

So after months of research, I've upgraded my caffeine delivery system from a glass Bodum to this swanky, stainless steel Frieling French press.

I had three main reasons for saying buh bye, Bodum and hallo, Frieling:

1. Indestructible - after all the broken glass, I wanted something that can take some hard knocks;
2. Insulated - the double walls keep your coffee hot for a long time; and
3. Classic good looks - I love the clean, simple design - like something out of Mad Men.

I also love that there is no plastic anywhere as I'd just as soon skip mixing potentially toxic plastics with boiling water I'm about to drink. And the fact that it's all stainless steel also means it can (and does!) go right into the dishwasher.

The one downside is that it was not cheap - it's about twice as expensive as one of the Bodum deals of a similar size. But after having two of the glass ones break on me, I was (finally) willing to spend a little more for greater longevity and the ability to handle it without fear.

In short, I Friel great about the change.

Please note: Some of the links above are affiliate links which means that I'll earn a small commission if you buy something through those links. No one is paying me to write this post (sadly :)) and the opinions are my own based on my own experience. If you have questions about this, just ask!

You might also like:

• Five Kitchen Tools That Changed My Life
• The Best, The ONLY Way To Grease Your Waffle Iron
• The Plastic Pot Scraper - Wicked Cheap & Wildly Effective

For more delicious recipes, gardening ideas, foraging tips, and food-related inspiration "like" the Garden of Eating on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter and Pinterest.

Cardamom Plum Sour Cream Muffins

The days are getting shorter. The colors keep getting brighter and more beautiful - the peak is coming pretty soon - a few more days, I think. The weather has been so beautiful - Indian summer at its finest. I've been thinking about the fleetingness of life.

My baby, who recently turned two, spent his first two mornings without us at his little Waldorf nursery school, much to his dismay. His teacher, Miss Nancy, who is very sweet, held him the whole time. I got there early to pick him up and when he saw me, he reached for me and began that hiccupy kind of cry that happens when you've already been crying for a long time. "I want go home. Let's go home, mama, let's go home," he said. When I put him down for his nap a little later, he processed the experience by saying, "It's hard. Nancy pick me (up). Mommy Daddy always come back," over and over again. Heartbreaking is putting it mildly. Thank God his dad is willing to handle dropping him off - I am not sure I could do it. His babyhood is coming to a close.

But to put this little heartbreak into perspective, my beloved aunt, Maggie, who I've written about before, just found out that her lymphoma has come back again a third time. It's not good. My mom-in-law went to be with her and brought back a big bag of plums that they'd picked together at an orchard near Maggie's house.

What to do at a time like this? All I could think to do was bake. And it somehow felt right to turn Maggie's plums into something comforting and delicious.

I set up on the picnic table on the deck because I needed more space and light than our little kitchen offers. Also, it was a warm, gray, fall afternoon and I wanted to be outside with the smells and the crickets chirping and the leaves falling. The kids "helped" me pit the plums for a little while before losing interest and heading off to their respective tricycles.

I decided to add cardamom (it's the sort of gray looking spice in this photo, the browner one is cinnamon) because I think the flavor goes beautifully with the sweet-sour of the plums.

The recipe calls for browned butter - I'm not sure if I really browned it but it definitely smelled nutty and wonderful and I was in a rush, as usual.

I love sour cream in baked goods - it adds a wonderful softness and richness to them. And I needed to use up the container we had because our fridge is on the fritz and has developed this charming habit of freezing everything.

Once the batter was all assembled, I folded in the plums and mixed briefly to distribute them.

These took longer to bake than I'd expected and I was late to dinner as a result but the delay was worth it the next morning when I devoured one of these lightly toasted muffins with my coffee. Soft, spiced, just the right amount of sweetness and with a lovely fruity, slightly sour flavor from the plums.

Make a batch of these and tell the people you love that you love them. And then give them a big squeeze while you can.

This recipe is loosely adapted from the recipe plum poppy seed muffins in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook- Deb has lots of great things in there if you're looking for inspiration.

-- print recipe --Cardamom Plum Sour Cream Muffins
adapted from Deb Perelman's recipe for plum poppy seed muffins in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

* 2 cups pitted and diced plums, any variety
* 6 Tbsps unsalted organic butter, melted, browned and cooled, plus butter for muffin cups
* 1 large egg, lightly beaten (try to get pasture-raised eggs from a farmer near you)
* 1/4 cup granulated organic sugar
* 1/4 cup packed organic brown sugar
* 3/4 cup organic sour cream (you can substitute full fat plain yogurt but the sour cream is better)
* 1/2 cup organic whole wheat flour
* 1 cup organic white flour
* 3/4 tsp baking powder
* 3/4 tsp baking soda
* 1/4 tsp sea salt
* 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
* 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
* 1/2 tsp ground cardamom

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease your muffin tin well with butter (I really hate when my muffins get stuck and I have to mangle them to get them out.)

2. Whisk the egg and the sugars in a large bowl. Stir in the butter and then the sour cream. In a separate bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg, then stir them into the wet ingredients until it is just combined and still a bit lumpy. Fold in the plums and stir briefly to distribute them.

3. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin - you should have enough to fill each cup to the top, more or less. Bake for 18-25 minutes (Deb's original recipe calls for just 15-18 minutes but mine took more like half an hour so check around 18 minutes just in case but don't be surprised if it takes longer), until the tops are golden brown and a clean knife or toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the tin for a few minutes then gently unmold them and let them cool fully on a wire rack and enjoy. These are especially delicious toasted with a little butter or cream cheese.

You might also like:

• Apricot Ginger Scones
• Rustic Plum Tart
• Melt-In-Your-Mouth Banana Nut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins (Gluten & Dairy-Free)

For more delicious recipes, gardening ideas, foraging tips, and food-related inspiration "like" the Garden of Eating on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter and Pinterest.