Chocolate-It's What's for Dinner

Ignore that smudge of soup on the edge of the bowl I had a butternut squash sitting on the counter and some homemade creme fraiche in the fridge. I thought the two would go rather nicely together. Roasted Butternut Squash Soup 1 butternut squash, cut into 1" cubes 3 T olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 3 sage leaves 4 sprigs thyme 1 celery stalk, diced 2 carrots, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 c white wine 3 c stock - either chicken or vegetable 1 c heavy cream 4 T parsley, chopped salt/pepper Serve with Toasted pepitas  and Creme Fraiche Mix squash with 2 T olive oil and salt. Roast in a 400 preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes. Meanwhile, saute onions, sage, thyme, and salt over a low flame in a dutch oven. Cook for a good 20 minutes so that onions become golden brown (you can add a pinch of sugar to help them along). Add celery and carrots and cook until carrots and celery start to brown - about 10 minutes.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add...

Pepitas (pumpkin seeds) are such a nice addition to salads and as toppings on soup.  What really brings out their flavor is toasting them. They are also really cool because when you toast them, they puff up and try to pop out of the pan. See how they puff up I usually use my little cast iron pan and put in enough to cover the bottom - no fat required.  Once they start to try to escape from the pan, puff, and are lightly toasted remove from heat. I usually let them cool right in the frying pan.  If you let them get a little too dark, don't let them cool in the pan. They will continue to cook in the hot pan a little. This is my little cast iron pan - guess you can't really tell because there is nothing to show its scale

I don't usually read Woman's Day magazine but it was a long wait in the chiropractor's office today. This recipe caught my eye. It interested me because there were no eggs in it. They also used a technique of dissolving the baking soda in boiling water and then adding it to the batter. That was intriguing. I assume that this activates the baking soda but I'm not sure why it needs to be activated in this way? If anyone knows why, please post in the comments section because I would like to know. Oatmeal Cookies (Adapted from Woman's Day ) 1/2 c whole wheat flour 1/2 c flour 1/4 sugar 1/4 brown sugar, packed 1 t cinnamon 1/2 t salt 1 c oatmeal (not instant) 1 c unsweetened shredded coconut 1/2 c raisins 1/2 c dried cranberries 1/4 c pepitas 1/2 c butter 3 T flour 1 t vanilla 1/2 t baking soda 3 T boiling water In a large bowl, whisk together flours, sugars, cinnamon, and salt.  Add oatmeal, dried fruits, and pepitas. Set aside. In a small saucep...

I'm sure you are all much relieved that this is the last Easter Brunch entries. These were quite easy to prepare and different than regular stuffed mushrooms - there are no breadcrumbs to be found in there! Pepita Pesto-Stuffed Mushrooms (adapted from Cooking Light ) 20 cremini or white mushrooms, stems removed 2 T olive oil 6 T pepitas - toasted 1 c parsley 1 c cilantro 2 oz parmesan cheese zest of 1 orange 2 T fresh orange juice 1 clove garlic minced 2 T olive oil hot pepper flakes to taste salt/pepper Heat a large skillet and add a little olive oil.   Place mushrooms in stem side up.  Cook for about 5 minutes.  You will start to see a little liquid gathering in the caps.  Flip over and cook another 5 minutes or so.  Place stem side down on paper towels to drain. Place 4 T of peptias and the remaining ingredients, except olive oil, into a food processor. Pulse until ingredients are chopped.  With food processor running, drizzle in ol...