Soup Season

Fall is here!

Warm cozy sweaters. Tall boots. Falling leaves. Smell of colder air. Rosey cheeks. Mittens and scarves. Shorter days, longer nights. Fire side. Sipping hot drinks. Brisk walks and crunching leaves under toe.

Chilly weather means hearty foods that warm you up from the inside.

Here is a round up of the soups I have made over the last year and will be making again soon as we dive deeper into fall.

Enjoy!

Tomato Soup with Lentils

 Sausage, Bean and Spinach Soup

 Loaded Potato Soup

 Spicy Coconut Chicken and Rice Soup

 Chicken Noodle Soup

 Broccoli Cheddar Soup with Mustard Croutons

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Brown Butter Icing

Today we are welcoming the first day of fall with arms wide open!

There is a chill in the air, the wind is twirling the first fallen leaves around and it is definitely a day for a jacket and scarf.

To celebrate the new season, I made cupcakes, because every celebration is better with cupcakes.

And not just any cupcakes, pumpkin cupcakes with delicious brown butter icing smeared over top, because nothing says fall like pumpkin... and sugar!

Whole Grain Bread

I am still new to the whole bread thing.

However, I am an expert at the smothering it with butter and eating a whole loaf of crusty bread in one day thing.

The whole activating yeast, rising and kneading process is still new to me, but it has become a great learning experience.

Mmm.. nothing smells better than fresh bread

With cooking I can adjust the flavours, throw some more sauce in, add some more spice. With bread measurements need to be exact and you need time and patience to let the yeast do its thing.

Don't let this intimidate you though, just take your time, know that the bread needs a little more attention than, say, cooking a stir fry would.

In the end, I think you'll be surprised at how simple it is to create, from scratch, a beautiful loaf of whole grain bread. Even if the bread is a little dense, has some brunt sports on top or didn't rise as much as you hoped, it is totally satisfying to eat something that you created with just a few ingredients.

Potato Salad

This is nothing new

Nothing fancy.

Everyone has a potato salad recipe.

But it's summer and summer equals salads, specifically potato and pasta!

Green salads are a staple year round but for some reason potato and pasta salads are best in the summer. They are easy to take along to picnics, parties and making ahead for a week of lunches!

Either you like it mayo or vinegar style.
I am a mayo girl.
If I am eating french fries, you better believe I am dipping them in mayo.
Don't give me that look! I'm half dutch, what do you expect?

Spicy Coconut Chicken and Rice Soup

It is hot today, like summertime hot!! Fun, flow-y summer skirts and sandals kind of day. Naturally, on a day like this I would be grilling something on the BBQ and making a salad on the side so we can stay nice and cool.
Well, today was a bit different.
Today I made soup. Spicy hot Thai like soup... it totally makes sense, I know!

My fiance is sick. Crazy cough, stuffy nose, sleep deprived kind of sick! Boooo! The poor baby wanted soup so baby got soup!
We sweat the sick out of him hopefully!

All-Natural Spring Cleaning

Spring is here! Hurray! 

Winter has melted away into warm breezes, longer days and sun shining through my windows... my filthy, filthy windows.

There is something about spring that reminds us how dirty everything got over the winter. My shelves are that dusty?? My windows are THAT dirty!? Goodness, winter's grey skies really hide a lot don't they?

Baked Falafel

These are not your traditional felafel's.

I love felafel's but dislike that they are deep fried. I am trying to stay away from deep fried food (it's hard.. everything tastes so good deep fried!) so when I came across this recipe I was super psyched to try it out!

Macaroni and Cheese

OK, so this may not fall into the "healthy" category of my lifestyle but I do feel strongly about the right to indulge every once in awhile! When the mood for comfort food hits, mac and cheese is the winner! Creamy, cheesy, goodness on a cold winter day... now that is comforting!

No-Knead Bread

There once was a time that I was afraid of dough. Maybe it was yeast or all the kneading that was required to form the dough... then what happens if it doesn't rise? What happens when you bake it and take it out then it falls flat? I just spent all that time kneading and letting it rise and I don't have anything to show for it!?!!!

These were all the reasons why I did not go near recipes for homemade bread, pizza, begals... anything that required yeast and kneading, I steered clear of from the beginning.

Then one day I found this recipe, I looked at my bag of flour and then myself in the mirror and said "Let's DO this!!"

Tomato Soup

Today was gloomy. Grey skies and rain were just begging me to come home, put my PJ's on and relax.
Unfortunately I have a lover who is under the weather and needed some comforting. What better way to sooth an achey soul than a bowl of homemade soup! This tomato soup is easy to prepare with items you would typically find in your pantry. It is ready in no time and so comforting on a cold fall day.
As the days grow shorter and the rain just won't stop, try making a pot of this soup and you will begin to warm up the moment you take your first sip.