Hearty Pumkin Soup

2 teaspoon olive oil
5 cloves of garlic
1 medium bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
2 cups dutch potatoes
1/3 cup dry white wine
15 ounces pureed pumpkin, canned is fine
1 14 ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes
1/2 cup cilantro
1 tablespoon tamari
About 3 cups vegetable stock (you can add more if you like a thinner soup)

Saute all of the aromatics in olive oil until tender (onion, peppers, garlic), about 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the wine and cook down a bit, then add tomatoes, pumpkin puree and stock.

Reduce heat to medium and cook for about half and hour until potatoes are tender. Add chopped cilantro and tamari, along with the salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a nice crusty loaf of french bread...yum!

Butternut Squash Risotto

The crazy Louisiana heat left me very uninspired this past summer. At one point I swore off cooking anything and resorted to gazpacho, salsa and salads every night. Thankfully the weather is cooling down here and I can reacquaint myself with my stove.

For the rest of this season I will post my favorite recipes for Fall! All of my long time standbys and some newly discovered goodies. Here's a good one...

Butternut squash Risotto:

5 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 onion, diced

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 butternut squash

1 1/2 cups Aborio rice

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. sage

olive oil

First cut the squash open long ways and remove the seeds. Peel the squash and then cut into 1" cubes. Toss onto a cookie sheet with salt, pepper, sage and olive oil until well coated and spread into an even layer. Don't be shy with the olive oil, it will give the squash its golden caramelized color. Roast in a 425 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until golden and tender.

Bring the stock to a boil in a small saucepan. In a separate saucepan saute onion in olive oil until starting to brown slightly. Add the rice, stirring to coat with the oil. Add the wine. Stir until the wine is absorbed. Now start adding the hot stock stock 1/2 cup at a time. You will need to stick around and stir continuously for about 20 minutes. Keep adding stock 1/2 cup at a time.

When you have about 1/2 cup of stock left, add the roasted butternut squash to the rice. Stir well then add the remaining stock to finish cooking. Add the Parmesan cheese at the end. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with a nice green salad!

Enjoy!