When I started this site, I was so excited about cooking. I wanted to try everything, especially if it was a classic and required technique and presented the greatest challenge. I enjoyed cooking dishes from my childhood, Jamie Oliver and Julia Child. But 6 months of cream, butter, creme fraiche, and homemade pasta have caught up with Johnathan and I. Alas, it is a new season for my cooking, but I promise to keep it interesting. There will be a lot less butter, if any at all, and I’m learning the miracle of fewer ingredients, frozen vegetables and canned tomatoes. In the article previous to this, theres a great recipe for veggie chili that’s chock full of good things. Here I’ve also created a warm comforting tortellini soup that blows Rachel Ray’s 30 minutes out of the water. This is something I’ll take to work and reheat and feel a lot better about rather than joining my boss in her BLT binge to cope with the economy. Here’s to a happy and healthier new year!

Quick Tortellini Soup

Serves 4-6

3 Cloves of garlic minced

1 carton of Chicken Stock (32oz, about 4 cups)

1 package of frozen tortellini - mine was 14oz

1 package of frozen spinach, thawed

1 can diced or stewed tomatoes (14.5oz)

Dash of fresh oregano

the usual suspects - Olive Oil, Salt and Fresh ground pepper

1. In a large saucepan or stock pot, heat about one teaspoon of olive oil on medium heat. Add the garlic and brown. Add the chicken stock and frozen tortellini. Cover and wait for it to boil. Uncover and simmer for about 5 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes, oregano, and spinach and simmer uncovered for about 5 more minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

This is great for a fast lunch if you make the broth ahead of time. This recipe makes 8 servings, so I made all the broth and put the rest in the fridge. Make sure you heat up the broth before you pop it in the oven to let the cheesy goodness melt. I used a super easy classic recipe from The Joy of Cooking. I’ll write it below. This is the perfect cozy fall meal, and this tastes just as good as the $13 soup from Pastis!

Makes about 8 cups

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

5 medium onions, thinly sliced

Pinch of dried thyme

2 tablespoons dry sherry or cognac

3 1/2 cups (almost one carton) unsalted or low-salt beef broth, or veg broth for a veggie dish - but the beef is classic, and tastes better.

1-3 slices per person of toasted bread - I used a baguette

Gruyére for the top - however much you want!

1. Heat in a soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and butter and cook until the butter is melted. Add the onions and thyme and stir to coat. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally and making sure the onions don’t scorch. As soon as they start to brown, about 15 minutes, reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook, covered, stirring, until they are a rich brown, about 30-40 minutes.

2. Stir in Cognac or sherry (I have a bottle of sherry on hand for cooking). Increase the heat to high and cook, stirring constantly, until the sherry has evaporated. Stir in beef stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Place your ovenproof soup bowls or crocks ona baking sheet. Ladle the hot soup into the bowls and top each with your toasted bread. Sprinkle each bowl with Gruyére or Swiss. Broil in the oven until the cheese is melted and brown. Call Pasits and cancel your reservation because you just made the best French Soup at home.

Price Breakdown:

Bag of Onions - $.99

Organic Beef Broth - $2.29

Fresh Baguette - $1.49

Gruyére ( I used about 1/4 of it so far) - $4.99

I had a butternut squash that had been in the fridge for a bit, and wanted to use it, and this soup is super simple, and I already had everything else in the pantry. This is a classic Martha recipe I use a lot, and it’s perfect for a cozy Sunday afternoon when it’s just starting to get cold. You can adjust the heat to your liking, but I put in just a tad more crushed chili than is called for and the heat balanced with the sweetness is great. If you don’t have palm sugar ( I had bought some in Atlanta at an Asian grocery store) just use brown sugar, about a tablespoon. If you make it a bit too spicy, add some sour cream to cool it down. Since this isn’t made with heavy cream, it’s a great veggie (use veg broth), wheat free, gluten free, dairy free dish you can serve for your most difficult eaters. Bon Appétit!

Wow! This recipe is just a lot of fun. I’m a sucker for using foods in alternative ways, i.e. using the pumpkin as the bowl to bake everything. I bought 2 smaller pumpkins, thinking Johnathan and I would each eat one. We only got to one, and we were stuffed. I’m going to put the rest of the other pumpkin innards in a baking dish and reheat for lunch tomorrow. I made sure I bought pumpkin pie pumpkins from the Farmer’s Market, and the settle flavor that baked into the soup was amazing. The recipe calls for chicken stock, but you could also use beef or veg broth - I like using a meat broth, it’s heartier. I also scooped out all the pumpkin seeds, and toasted them to make a yummy snack for us during the week - just wash, dry, lay out on a baking sheet, bake for a couple hours at 250F, then season with salt and pepper - I used a little nutmeg too. This is a great way to get a lot out of your food. I got this recipe from the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Cookbook. It’s a great guide to seasonal produce, how to buy, store, and cook with what you buy. Here’s the recipe:

1 or 2 pumpkins - about 8-10 pounds for single, or divide for smaller pumpkins

1/4 lb unsalted butter room temp

3 leeks, white part and 2 inches of green, cut into 1 inch thick rounds

6 slices country bread, each 1 inch thick, torn into bite sized pieces and toasted (I toasted the bread as the oven was preheating)

1/2 teaspoon ground sage ( I used fresh, because I had it - adds more flavor)

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 cups shredded guryére cheese

About 5 cups chicken stock (or veg or beef)

2 bay leaves

1. Preaheat oven to 350F - Toast the bread as the oven is heating, checking often to make sure you don’t burn it.

2. Using a large, sharp knife (we used a serated), cut off the top of the pumpkin, creating a lid about 4 inches in diameter. Set the lid aside. Using a large metal spoon, scoop out any seeds and strings. Rub the cut side of the lid and the inside of the pumpkin with the 1 tablespoon room temp butter. Season the lid and the inside of the pumpkin with salt and place the pumpkin, cut side up, in a good deep baking dish or pan.

3. In a skillet, melt the remaining 7 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring, until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the toasted croutons and sprinkle them with the sage, nutmeg, and a little salt and pepper. Stir well and remove from heat.

4. Spoon a layer of the seasoned croutons into the pumpkin. Sprinkle a layer of the cheese on top of them. Repeat the layers until you have used up all the croutons and cheese. Pour in stock to within 1 inch of the rim. Lay the bay leaves on top, and then fit the lid onto the pumpkin.

5. Bake until the pumpkin begins to soften and brown on the outside and the stock bubbles on the inside, about 1.5 - 2 hours. Carefully remove the baking dish from the oven. With a long-handled spoon or ladle, gently scrape the flesh from the bottom and sides of the pumpkin into the soup, being careful not to puncture the walls. Ladle soup, including tender chunks of pumpkin flesh, into warmed bowls and serve.

Mushroom soup didn’t sound great to me, it didn’t have any cream, and it made a pea soup like color which I’m very adverse to. But the hazelnuts sounded appealing, and why not try something new? It tastes better than it looks, and the garlic bread I put with it was great too. The recipe tells you to transfer the soup to a food processor to blend it, but I have a hand blender which is a great tool, and transfering hot liquids sounded like guaranteed disaster. I also just bought a pre-cut stir fry mushroom package, and didn’t need to make and pay for another 12 oz of mushrooms we didn’t need. But if you’re making it for 6, buy the whole extra 12 oz. Gremolata is a fancy word for chopped garlic, parsley, and lemon - ooooooo…….. This one adds hazelnuts, which are a nice contrast to the mushy soup. This isn’t my favorite, but I’m glad I tried it, and now I know what gremolata is.

AMAZING, if you’ve got a WHOLE day to cook this sucker. The tomatoes roast at 200F for 8ish hours. The actual soup only takes about 30 minutes, if not less. It makes your kitchen/apartment smell fantastic for the day though. This is not for the time conscious, or after work meal, unless you’re reheating. However, it is a fun thing to learn and experiment with, and the results were well worth it. Apparently you can freeze roasted tomatoes for the winter, but we didn’t have any left over. So, next time you have absolutely nothing to do on the weeknds, try this one!

4 lbs ripe tomatoes, halved

6 sprigs fresh herbs

3 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup finely chopped onion

2 teaspoons minced garlic

3 cups chicken stock, veg stock, or water

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup fresh basil leaves

1. Preheat the oven to 200F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Place the tomatoes cut side up on the prepared baking sheet. Distribute herbs evenly over th etomatoes, drizzle with the oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until the tomatoes are shriveled but still plump, about 8 hours. The tomatoes can be frozen at this point: place them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and freeze for 2 hours. When frozen, carefully transfer them to sealable plastic freezer bags and store in freezer up to 4 months.

3. Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is softened and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

4. Stire in the tomatoes, stock, and bay leaf. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer gently for 30 minutes, occasionally mashing the tomatoes with a wooden spoon

5. Remove the bay leaf. Using a food mill or blender, puree the soup until smooth. Return the soup to the pot; add the cream and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm over low heat.

6. Stack the basil leave stem-end toward you and roll cigar-style. Finely slice the leaves to create attractive ribbons. Ladle soup into 4 bowls, sprinkle basil over top and serve.