Honestly, who needs to do bicep curls at the gym when similar results can be achieved by picking up and lugging home some winter squash from the farmers’ market? A couple of three-pound butternut squash, or even the lighter weight acorn squash, work perfectly well as arm weights, with the added plus that they’re delicious… Read More

I tend to overbuy when the farmers’ market is brimming with summer vegetables, especially all the delicate summer squashes. I especially can’t resist the cute pattypans. For an attractive presentation, I slice the zucchini and yellow crookneck, straight neck, or cocozelle squashes on the diagonal, and cut the pattypan squashes horizontally so the slices look… Read More

With all the heavy eating and entertaining around the holidays, I need to have a hearty, vegetable-packed soup on hand after the holidays as a digestive break from the rich foods, meats, and sweets. This is the thick, rustic soup I make. If I’m organized, I make this soup on a quiet Sunday, eating half… Read More

Delicata squash, as its name implies, is a finely flavored, richly sweet winter squash with a nearly fibreless flesh. Cylindrical in shape, with elongated ridges, this squash has yellow to pale orange skin with green striations. Its beautiful yellow flesh and delicate flavor make it perfect for this puréed soup.

I developed this warm wintertime party dip one day while cooking ahead for Thanksgiving dinner. Intending to make soup, I roasted squash, onion, and garlic drizzled with olive oil. I puréed the roasted vegetables, added some spices, a little crème fraîche, and took a taste. Dunking a crisp pita chip in the mixture, I found… Read More