Herbed Green Pea Soup

Sauté ½ cup diced scallions in 2 T butter. Add 2 T fresh minced tarragon, 2 T fresh minced dill, 1 lb frozen peas, ¼ t nutmeg, 3 cups vegetable broth; boil for 2 minutes. Purée lightly (leaving some chunks). Stir in 1 cup half-and-half and 2 T honey; heat for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4.

Peanut Pineapple Soup

Sauté 1 diced onion and 2 cloves minced garlic in 2 T olive oil. Add 1 cup diced potatoes and 2 cups vegetable broth; bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add 1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple and 3 cups sliced Swiss chard; simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in ½ cup peanut butter, 1 T chili pepper sauce, and ½ cup fresh minced cilantro; heat for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste. Serves 6.

My mom has been busy helping Nanny during the final stages of recipe testing for Nanny’s upcoming book. And if my mom’s been busy, my nanny has been even busier! So I thought it might be useful if my sister and I helped Nanny with her chores yesterday.

We love little Charlie! We could watch him for hours when he runs around and plays.

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The three soups I featured recently were so popular, I decided to share a few more recipes.

Moroccan Carrot Soup

Sauté 1 diced onion and 2 cloves minced garlic in 2 T olive oil. Add 3 cups diced carrots and 3 cups vegetable broth; bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add ¼ cup minced parsley. Purée. Stir in 1 T honey, 1 t lemon juice, ½ t ground cumin, and 1/8 t ground allspice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4.

The delicate peels of Satsuma oranges make this marmalade a snap to prep. It is easy to remove the peel and not the pith with just a vegetable peeler, and after the peel is removed, the pith peels right off! It is typical for orange marmalade recipes to have more sugar than fruit by weight. This recipe is a reduced-sugar version, and uses my ChillOver Powder to set up, rather than relying on the natural pectin in the oranges.

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I could live on butternut squash. I have my Airstream’s floor covered in our winter’s supply. (I keep my Airstream just a few degrees above from freezing, tucked away in the back of my barn—perfect for storing squash.)

How about you? What’s your favorite winter squash? My mother’s was “old mother Hubbard” squash. I remember her breaking them open during the winter with a small axe. She was probably growing what is now called the Blue Hubbard Giant Heirloom Squash. The hubbard she grew were huge—much bigger than a baby! Once she opened one up, it lasted for several meals. We often ate a section after it was baked with just butter, salt & pepper.

Butternut Squash Soup

Sauté 1 diced onion and 2 cloves minced garlic in 2 T butter. Add 4 cups cooked butternut squash and half a Granny Smith apple, diced. Add 3 cups vegetable broth, 1½ cups apple cider, 1 t minced fresh thyme, 1½ t salt, and ½ t black pepper; bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Purée. Serves 6.