Roasted Sweet Potato Mash

Roasted Sweet Potato Mash

Another attempt at finding a different way to eat traditional Thanksgiving sides.  In addition to sweet potatoes, this mash has golden beets, carrots, and gala apples.  The combination was tasty, but the consistency wasn't as silky as I would have liked.  The next attempt at combining these flavors will be in a form of a hash with the addition of onions.

Stir Fried Green Beans

Stir Fried Green Beans

The Guinea Pig is a fan of green beans.  I, generally, am not.  Take bacon, shallots, garlic, and mushrooms and add them to green beans and all of that changes.  I couldn't get enough of this dish.

Roasted Figs

Roasted Figs

 I can't remember if I've ever had figs in my life before now.  I've had fig newtons, but that's not the same thing.  I came upon them in the store while shopping for other food and decided that it was time to give figs a shot.

First impression was definitely wanting.  The Guinea Pig refused to try it until I did.  I guess the best way to describe their taste is interesting.  Not necessarily in a bad way, but definitely unusual.

So now I have these figs sitting on my counter and I can't see myself wanting to eat one again.  What am I to do?  Roast them like I would apples and hope that turns out better than eating them raw.  Figs get cup up and go into ramekins.  There they are covered in cinnamon, cardamom, and all spice, butter, and honey and go into the oven to bake.

For the next half hour I sit wondering how they would turn out and if I just wasted my time.  Turns out they came out not too bad at all.  I think I needed just a bit more honey in the mixture, but overall I improved our fig experience and we demolished them while they were still bubbling hot.

Spiced Coconut Butternut Squash Soup

Coconut Butternut Squash Soup

This soup is super simple and oh so satisfying.  The ingredients are coconut milk, onion, garlic, butternut squash and spices.  Chop, saute, roast, puree, and season.  It leaves a nice warming sensation without killing taste buds.  Even Guinea Pig liked the spice level.  Coconut milk adds a nice richness to the mix.  Replace squash with pumpkin and it'll make an awesome thanksgiving starter.

Leek and Potato Soup

Leek and Potato Soup

Simple dishes are great!  They're quick and easy to make after a long day at work and delicious to devour.  This is definitely one such dish.  The ingredients are simple:  leeks, potatoes, butter, water and seasonings.

The one thing to screw up, which I did, is the amount of water.  I added a few cups too many.  The soup still turned out good and was enjoyed, but next time I am definitely going to cut back to make it more hearty.

Spaghetti Squash with Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms

Spaghetti Squash with Caramelized
Onions and Mushrooms

For a while now I've been seeing spaghetti squash all over the internet.  Of course, that meant that I had to try this gourd out for myself.

I baked the squash and scraped it out with a fork, but the flesh came out in chopped pieces.  Not at all like the long strands that I was seeing in pictures.  I found out later that I scraped the squash out all wrong.  You're supposed to do it crosswise, I did it lengthwise.  No wonder I ended up with something resembling vermicelli more than spaghetti.  Good thing looks didn't affect the taste of the dish.

As I was looking at different recipes online, a lot of people seemed to think that the squash was rather tasteless on its own and required lots of help from a flavorful sauce or the like.  I opted for a tried and true mushroom and onion addition.  I made sure to season it on the heavy side to account for the bland-ness of the squash.  Unfortunately, it turned out that the squash had plenty of flavor all of its own.  Next time, I am definitely going to go easier on the seasoning.

I was pretty impressed by the spaghetti squash and would definitely try my hand at it again.  At one point, I'd like to try to make a baked dish using the spaghetti squash.  Maybe a baked "pasta" with meat sauce is in the future.  Although, The Guinea Pig might kill me for that one.  He's been dying for a pasta dish.

Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

It feels like fall outdoors.  That means it's time for hearty soups.  I wanted a smooth and creamy soup while at the same time trying something new.  I settled on seeing what a carrot and sweet potato soup would taste like.  I wasn't disappointed.

I came up with a relatively simple blend of carrots, sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, chicken stock, water and salt and pepper for seasoning.  The result was tasty and satisfying.

I was going to use water for the soup, the way I usually try to keep vegetarian soups vegetarian, but something nudged me in the chicken stock direction.  I'm not sure if it were a good nudge or not.  The flavor wasn't very noticeable.  Although, there is something to be said for subtlety.

While at the market, I picked up a loaf of sourdough.  I was going to just slice it up and serve with the soup, but in a stroke of inspiration, I made croutons instead.  I'm glad I did!  The croutons provided a much needed crunch and texture to the soup.

As I was finishing up the seasoning, The Guinea Pig asked me why I chose to use black pepper instead of white pepper.  The funny thing is, I was just thinking to myself that the soup would go well with either.  I guess I just wasn't feeling like it at the time.