winter is just about here, which means…

squash.

winter squash.

b u t t e r n u t squash.

i searched my recipe books, and wasn’t able to find a recipe comprised of food in my larder–most squash recipes had cream or some such ingredient i don’t keep on hand. i finally found one on epicurious with cannelloni beans (had some soaking in the fridge for the past few days), rosemary (chopped a bunch from sandy’s bush to root for our garden), and tomatoes (had some from last week’s pizza sauce), and some of the finest bacon ever from the santa cruz farmer’s market.

the result?healthy delicious! nothing bad, harmful, or unhealthy in that soup, and the modicum of bacon just served to spruce it up a bit.

Butternut Squash and Canneloni Soup with Bacon

cooking is experimenting

we spent this sunday morning at the delightfully sunny santa cruz farmer’s market. while there, i bought one of my favorite foods in a form i’d never beheld: fresh cannellini beans in pods. i love these opaque and shiny beans, especially the way the italians serve them up: with garlic, olive oil, and plenty of rosemary. to jumpstart my musings on these little cuties, i searched my old saveur magazines, and found what i was looking for: a feature on florence that included a cannellini bean recipe!

the photos of trattorias and osterias filled me with longings for siena, but the recipe didn’t fulfill my mental yearnings. i continued my search, and found a recipe in a book we borrowed that included tomatoes and potatoes, two staples staking their claim in our larder.

this recipe was almost right, with one major problem: once the beans were cooked, the herbs, potatoes, and tomatoes were to be discarded.

discarded?

i’m a big waste-not-want-not fan (my college mantra–thanks pattie!), and the idea of tossing this goodness out was hard to imagine. so i decided against it. i also found that as the beans cooked, the subtle broth was a bit too watery for my tastes. it needed some thickening, so a took about a half cup of it and gave it a whirl in the food processor (such a great trick!) and re-combined it into the pot. things were starting to look up, except the broth still was a bit too much on the subtle side. when done, i added fresh ground pepper, salt, and olive oil, and served it in dishes i brought home from both spain and italy. coupled with delicious braised greens, a baguette, cheese, and red wine: a feast!

what i have is pretty good

today is cold and blustery, and after sitting outside the library reading, the sunbreaks were too few and i got chilled. i started walking back into the library, when i decided what i really needed was a warm room with a comfy couch and hot food in my tummy.

i wandered through a market on the walk home for inspiration and bought some soft cheese and spied some white bean soup. aha! i have cooked white beans in the freezer, ready yo thaw into something delicious.

i returned home and had a slice of bread with cheese to provide immediate energy, and started thawing the beans and some chicken stock on the stove.

into the brothy beans i tossed some rosemary, pinch of salt, and a splash of white wine. later, i chopped up some basil and half a tomato, let it warm up, and mmm mmm!

i feel so much better.