Butternut Squash Soup

With the fall season comes a blast of new flavours that are readily available from your local grocery store.  Pumpkins, squash, and other root vegetables are a plenty this time of year in Canada.

To welcome the new season, I decided to make a simple squash soup.  The ingredients are simple (shown below).  Instead of heavy cream, I chose to use coconut milk to accomodate my wife who is lactose intolerant.

Ingredients:  coconut milk, squash, cinnamon, thyme, ginger, brown sugar, bay leaves

Once all the ingredients are cooks, the soup is pureed in a blender to give it the smooth, creamy texture.   Serve it as an appetizer or as a main meal with a side of bread or crackers.

Ready to serve butternut squash soup

Bite-sized Meatballs

These meatballs are a great appetizer for any party.  I make my meatballs from scratch by mixing the meat with my special blend of spices and then adding some diced vegetables.  The result is a flavourful ball that fits perfectly in your mouth.  

Meatballs topped with my garden blend

Chicken Stir Fry

This stir fry takes minutes to make and tastes great.  You don't need any special sauce, just the right blend of spices brings the chicken and vegetables to life.  Serve it with rice or noodles.

Chicken Stir Fry Recipe (coming soon)

Tasty Beets

I love beets.  My mother made them often so I grew up knowing them as part of my regular meal.  They're healthy too - a great source of phytonutrients called betalains.  To cook beets, I use a simple recipe that adds a flavour that anyone would love.

Cooked Beets

Cooked Beets Recipe

• Peel skin off 3 regular-sized beets and wash them thoroughly
• Place beets in pot with enough water to cover the beets
• Add a 1/4 teaspoon of vinegar
• Add a teaspoon of brown sugar
• Add 1 stick of cinnamon and 4 cloves
• Boil for 5 minutes then turn off stove.  Let the pot sit on the stove for 5 more minutes.  
• Serve warm or chilled.  

Garden Delight Marinade

This year I planted a vegetable garden to allow me to experiment with fresh foods on the fly.  It has been a great experience.  I think everyone should grow at least herbs - nothing beats fresh herbs.

Garden fresh from my own backyard

I use vegetables and herbs from my garden to create a flavourful marinade that can be used a dip or to flavour meat.  I make a batch once a week and we use it with almost anything.  We eat it with chips, in stir-frys, and to quickly flavour chicken breasts and beef.

Alan's Garden Marinade

Baked Chicken Breast Recipe
Prepare chicken breasts and place in an over-safe pan.  Add 1/4 cup water to avoid sticking.  Pour the marinade over the chicken breasts, flip the chicken and pour some more marinade.  Cover the pan with foil and put it in the oven for 25 minutes.  Serve with vegetables or your favourite starch.

Get your free sample and try it! 
I'm offering free samples of this marinade so people can try it.  So far the feedback has been great and I want to share it with as many people as possible.  To get your sample, send me an email, give me a call, or leave a comment.

Battered Mushrooms

Mushrooms are one of those foods that people either love or hate.  My wife hates them because of their texture and that has prevented her from eating them for years.  This was an experiment in an attempt to overcome the texture issue.  It worked!

I used the familiar button mushrooms to create this appetizer.  I added some spice to the mushroom to give it a bit of a kick and then dipped them in a seasoned batter.  The result is a fluffy ball that masks the texture of the mushroom.

Chickpea Bundles

As I was making some curried chickpeas, I had an idea:  wouldn't it be convenient if the dumplings and the chickpeas were bundled together?  So, I tried it.   First I tried boiled dumplings bowls and stuffed them with a spoonful of chickpeas.  That tasted pretty good, but I wondered if it would taste better baked.  I baked dumpling bowls using mini cupcake holders until they were cooked and brown.  Then I stuff them with the curried chickpeas while they were warm.  That tasted even better! Go ahead, try it.  

Boiled dumpling with curried chickpeas

Whole wheat baked dumplings with curried chickpeas