The Queer Hipster Kitchen

I keep seeing photos of friends who are experiencing the first snow of the season.  We aren't there yet - thankfully - but it is definitely crisp outside.  You know, that magical time of year when you don't know what coat to wear, and your skin is furious despite your best attempt at moisturizer, and the static electricity is pure and strong radiating off all your sweaters... I actually like this fall/winter time, despite my grumblings above (and the annoyances of Daylight Savings Time).  As a family that does a lot of batch cooking, it gets easier at this time of year for one simple, delicious, reason: It's soup time. Soup is the ultimate easy, quick meal.  It's endlessly versatile.  Almost any soup can be made in a crock pot or pressure cooker.  And we have dozens and dozens of soup recipes, carefully curated and waiting. (There's also one recipe for a really terrible soup, lurking in one of my cookbooks.  I made it once and we hated it, but I forgot to ma

This one is literally, actually the easiest soup we make.  It's a never-fail soup that could be hearty enough for lunches or make a fancy starter at some looming holiday meal. The Ingredients: 1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed 6 c. veggie stock 1-2 T spice of your choice: good options include cayenne, chipotle powder, ancho chile powder for the spicier crowd, or milder options like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg for a sweeter approach 3 cloves garlic black pepper The Process: Put all of it in a crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours or until the squash has gone totally soft. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup.  Adjust both spice and stock to taste: that is, if you need more heat, add it; if it's too thick, add more stock and let simmer a bit. That's literally it.  6-8 servings, depending on how hungry you are. Pro Tips: If this is lunch for the week, we will use 2 squashes, double the stock, and make it in the Great Big Crockpot. You can also add o

After various adventures, we've finally had a nice, quiet weekend that allowed us time to "nest" - to spend time together, at home, doing stuff around the house.  And while today is warm (and wet!), this week is scheduled to be crisp and fall-like, and the veggies have gone from lettuce and tomatoes to root veggies of various kinds. We do most of our cooking on the weekend, and this week was definitely no exception.  But since we had time, we used it! The week's menu includes: a roasted local chicken with creamed greens (a new recipe for me) and roasted root veg; a butternut squash, kale, and goat cheese skillet pie; and pressure cooker aloo gobi. And then there's breakfast and lunch.  It's finally soup time!  There's Ukrainian ancestry in my family, and we had some beets to use up, so I made a batch of crock pot borscht (which I will share once it's officially dad-approved, though regardless, it's delicious).  And for breakfast: well, for brea