Thayer in the Kitchen

This is a great soup that uses local seasonal ingredients (mostly) and is easy as well as delicious. 1 tablespoon oil 1 cup chopped onions 1/2 - 1 cup chopped celery 3 cups (about) sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed 2 cups (about) ripe pears, cored and cubed (no need to peel) I used pears from Future Fruit 3-4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (depending on how thick you like your soup) 1/4-1/2 cup dry sherry or vermouth (optional but tasty) 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest 1 cinnamon stick 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste) 1/4 teaspoon black pepper Plain yogurt or sour cream (optional) Thin slices of pear as a garnish for the soup Chopped fresh parsley if you have any Heat the oil and saute the onions and celery until tender but not brown (about 10 minutes). Add the sweet potatoes, pears, broth, sherry, cinnamon stick, orange zest, thyme and nutmeg. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 30-35 minutes ...

This salad has a nice contrast of colors and flavors. 1/2 jar of pickled beets or you could start with fresh beets and cook them. Beets aren't in season right now, at least in Wisconsin. Besides I happened to have a jar of pickled beets in the refrigerator. Bunch of arugula If it looks as though you won't have enough arugula, add some salad greens--preferably local 2 pears, peeled and sliced--I know pears are not in season in Wisconsin now either. I got a couple of pears at Whole Foods and felt slightly guilty for a very short time 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese--yes it was local! 1/4 cup cups toasted pecans For dressing you can either use some raspberry vinegar & olive oil or Annie's Raspberry Vinaigrette Adapted from hormel.com

I took a bit of a break from cooking--nice once in awhile. Thursday, November 13, the Women Who Dine (myself and 3 friends) had dinner at Sardine here in Madison. www.sardinemadison.com/ We shared seared scallops with potato purée and mushroom sherry cream sauce as an appetizer. Then I had a delicious cream of mushroom soup. For my entree I had: Roasted Arctic char over crispy potato purée, wilted spinach and horseradish cream sauce. Char is similar to a very mild salmon. For dessert a couple of us shared chocolate pot de creme; plus we had a couple of bottles of a nice Argentine wine. Great meal. Friday, Arthur stopped by to pick up some leftovers and go to his second job. He'll be home Saturday around 11 PM. I made some great soup which we had with some bread I bought at the indoor farmers' market on Saturday morning. Roasted Pear-Butternut Soup With Crumbled Stilton (adapted from MealsMatter.org) 2 Ripe pears, quartered and cored 2 pounds Butternut squash, peeled, ...

I got home later last night because I went to a jewelry party with my daughter, Victoria. They had a lot of snacks at the party, but I decided I better make some food for Arthur since I didn't cook either Monday or Tuesday nights. I went out to dinner for SLA (Special Libraries Association) functions both evenings. Plus I need to get busy using our veggies. We also belong to a fruit CSA called Future Fruit. We get delicious organic apples, pears and plums from this farm. I had some ripe pears so I decided to make a salad with celeriac, pears and hazelnuts from a recipe in our HVF newsletter. It was good (not fabulous). Celeriac Pear Salad Creamy Dijon Dressing 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon honey 1/2 teaspoon table salt 3 tablespoons canola oil 3 tablespoons sour cream or more if needed In medium bowl, whisk together lemon juice, mustard, honey, and salt. Whisk inoil in slow, steady stream. Add sour cream; whisk to combine. ...