Autumn Delights

Autumn kinda snuck up on me this year. 

It seemed we went from the warm summer days to suddenly it's Fall...oh so quickly. Maybe it is because there were travel days that took us to other areas with different climates. Hmm... YES Colorado, Phoenix, then Long Beach and San Jose then back to the mountains of Alpine, thats what it was. 

Well now I find myself trying to savor the last bits of color, SIGH.

Part of the enjoyment of Fall for me is the last bits of the garden, recounting what I have put aside, seeing the beauty of the changing colors, homemade soups, fall recipes of every kind and pumpkin everything. 

The end of last month we  were able to take several days to enjoy the beautiful Alpine Loop, Sundance and Park City since we had family (Tom's brother Lee and his wife Kay) who came for several days. We crammed in a lot of site seeing in those few days and made some great memories. The first day and evening we spent around our house. We hiked to Lambert Park is a foothill area on the edge of the national forest.

In the evening we kicked back and had some really delicious Butternut Squash Soup and Spinach Pear Salad with wine and  cheeses.  The recipe for the soup was shared by my friend and pastor Greta Novotne. It turned out as yummy as I remembered it. 

There is a "law" when quoting someone that the first time you give them credit, the second time it is a random association then finally it becomes yours. Well apparently that's what happened with the soup, hence the name on the cute recipe card. 

 If you try the soup let me know what you think. 

Roasted Squash & Pear Soup

Ingredients:

4 cups butternut squash, peeled and seeds removed, roughly chopped

3 tbsp. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 leeks, halved and washed, chopped

4 tbsp. sage, chopped

2 pears, cored, peeled and diced

1 tsp. grated nutmeg

4 cups chicken stock

1 tsp. chili pepper flakes (optional) 

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

3 slices of bacon, chopped

Prep:

1.                Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.

2.                Add the squash, pears, 2 tablespoons of sage, nutmeg and 1 tablespoon of oil in a large bowl and mix to combine. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and empty the bowl out into a single layer. Roast for 25 minutes. 

3.                Using a saute pan, add one tablespoon of oil over medium heat and add the bacon, cooking for five minutes or until slightly crispy. Remove from pan and place on a paper towels.

4.                Using the same pan, add the final tablespoon of oil over medium heat and add the leeks and garlic, cooking for 3 minutes or until softened.

5.                Working in batches, transfer the leeks, onion and squash mixture to a food processor and puree until smooth.

6.                Pour into a large pot with the stock and simmer for 25-30 minutes.

7.                Meanwhile, toast the breadcrumbs and remaining sage in a small fry pan over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add in the bacon and stir to combine. Set aside.

8.                To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with bacon &  breadcrumb mixture. Finish with chili pepper flakes.

9.                Serves 6.

Baby Spinach with Pears, Pecans, Goat Cheese and Bacon
(hoping to a picture in the near future.) 

Yields: 4

The Goods:

…for the dressing:
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/3 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and cracked fresh pepper

…for the salad:
4 cups baby spinach
2 medium ripe pears
3/4 cup pecans, toasted
pinch cayenne pepper
2 tbsp. honey
pinch salt
4 bacon slices, cut in thirds
3/4 cup crumbled goat cheese

Prep:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine honey, salt and cayenne and toss in the pecans until coated. Spread on a lined baking sheet in a single layer and bake until toasted, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

2. In a small bowl combine the cider vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and sugar and whisk. Slowly add in the olive oil and whisk until emulsified. Season and set aside.

3. Pan fry the bacon for a few minutes per side until golden brown. Drain and reserve.

4. Toss the baby spinach with most of the dressing in a bowl, reserving about a quarter. Plate the spinach. Halve and core and cut the pears into thin strips and toss the pear slices with the toasted pecans in the same bowl the spinach was tossed in.

5. Add the pears and pecans to the spinach and place bacon strips on top. Drizzle with the remaining dressing and place crumbled goat cheese over top.

6. Serve.

The Spinach Pear salad was an adaptation from one the one above. I'll definitely be making it again! 

(FYI, what I really did was  toss in the spinach, pears and pecans dressed with a bit of olive oil and a Lime Pear Balsamic vinegar and cracked pepper and sea salt.)