Potato Leek Soup

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
3 large leeks, cut into 1cm rings (all of the white part and some of the green)
2 medium cooking onions, chopped
7 medium potatoes, quartered
salt and pepper, one large pinch of both

Add all ingredients to large pot and sweat the vegetables over medium or medium-high heat, stirring often for 5 minutes.

8 cups water
3 tbsp Bovril liquid chicken stock

Add water and chicken stock to pot, give it a stir and cover with a lid.  Let it come to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium heat or a slow boil for 30- 40 minutes, or until all the vegetables are soft.  At this stage, before blending, I often add another tablespoon of both olive oil and butter, but this is optional.  Turn off the burner and blend to a nice smooth and creamy consistency with a hand blender.  Taste test the soup and decide if you think it could use more salt or not.  Personally, I would rather add salt at the end, or let someone add it as they'd like, rather than making it to salty from the start.  Remember, you can always add it, but you can't take it away!

I realize that this soup could have milk or cream in it, but being lactose intolerant I became used to cooking without either, but that's not to say you couldn't use it.   I have in the past added either a drizzle of cream or milk to my bowl as a garnish.  Or you could always go with the old faithful dab of butter in
the center of your bowl as my mother always insisted!  Healthy or less healthy, that is the question!

Enjoy!

Best Banana Bread

Enjoy this perfectly moist family favorite!

1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (about 2 bananas), or thawed frozen bananas
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (light tasting), or vegetable oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt (sour cream or milk with 1 tbsp white vinegar added)
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, sifted (unbleached)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt

Optional:
3/4 cup chocolate chips or
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In large bowl, combine bananas, sugar, oil, yogurt, and eggs. Mix well. In separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Add dry ingredients bit by bit to banana mixture, stirring until combined. Then mix in your berries or chocolate chips if using.

Pour into greased 9x5 inch (2 L) loaf pan. Bake for 1 1/4 hours or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before turning onto rack to cool completely. I just leave mine in the loaf pan and remove slices as I like. Slice to serve.

Easy Hearty Chilli

I know this recipe may seem daunting due to the seemingly large list of ingredients, but these are items we should always keep on hand because they are the basis for almost anything you want to cook.  So, don't be scared if your a beginner, this is more of a "throw-it-in-a-pot" and forget about it recipe!

1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, chopped
2 large celery sticks, chopped
3 bay leaves
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
6 tsp chili powder (or to taste)
28 oz can diced tomatoes
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
28 oz can red kidney beans, rinsed
19 oz can chick peas, rinsed
1 Aurora beef bouillon cube, crumbled
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

In large pot brown ground beef with onion, garlic and oil over medium high heat.  Break up large beef chunks.  Add carrots, celery, bay leaves and spices to pot, allow to cook for a few minutes stirring regularly.  Then add the kidney beans, chickpeas, and both cans of tomatoes as well as the salt, pepper and bouillon cube. Give this a good stir cover and let cook at a gentle boil over medium heat (or lower) stirring regularly for an hour.  After an hour or so remove lid and continue cooking just above simmer for another half hour to allow it to thicken a bit.  Stir a few times during this period.  Serve with rice and enjoy a comforting fall meal.

2 cups basmati rice, rinsed
4 cups water
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp Bovril liquid chicken stock

Bring water to a boil, add rice, butter and chicken stock.  Reduce heat to just above simmer and allow to cook for about 12 minutes.  You can stir it once during the cooking time.  Once cooked, fluff with fork and voila, perfect rice every time!


We ate this with some cheese we had on hand which was baby Fruillino, a so called Italian cheese (mild tasting, similar to mozzarella) which we have since decided is perfect melting cheese. Needless to say we allowed some slices of cheese to melt atop the chili on our plates and it brought my chili to another level!

Butternut Squash Soup

8 cups butternut squash, cut in 2" cubes (one large squash)
4 medium Yukon gold potatoes, cut in quarters
2 carrots, cut in 1" pieces
2 medium sized onions, chopped
10 cups water
5 tbsp Bovril liquid chicken stock
2 bay leaves
high quality sea salt to taste
2 pinches ground pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp butter

Saute onions in 1/2 cup water until clear.  Add squash, potatoes, carrots and bay leaves cook for a few minutes.  Add water, chicken stock and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium and continue to boil until all vegetables are soft.  Reduce heat to simmer, add oil and butter and blend until very smooth with a hand blender.  Add salt if necessary. Serve and enjoy with fresh baguette and Oka cheese to make a meal of it!

Wine: Peller Estates 2008 Cabernet Merlot
This wine went very, very well with the soup!

This soup was a bit watery I would have added a cup or 2 less.  Sometimes I like this soup thick (8 cups water), and sometimes I prefer it like it was this time.  I supposes this depends on the weather and if you intend the soup to be a meal or one course or just a starter.

You don't have to be very acurate with the measurements with this soup, for instance, if you have more than eight cups of squash use it!  A good rule of thumb when making any pureed vegetable soup is once you have all your veg in the pot, add enough water to cover the veg plus a cup.  This will usually provide you with a good consistancy.