I’ve got a beautiful Autumn soup recipe to share. It’s filled with meltingly tender butternut squash, silky swiss chard, hearty pinto beans, a little zip of chili powder and lime. Topped with cornmeal dumplings that steam right in the pot with the stew, it’s a perfect one pot meal. I think you’ll like it.
It’s been a crazy busy, pressured week/month/season at work for me. My eyelids are a bit droopy as I write this. The craziness lately has gotten me thinking a bit about why I cook. I could have Thai food delivered. Or buy frozen soy cheese ravioli dinners. Or get great take-out sandwiches from the vegetarian food truck in my neighborhood. And occasionally, I do just that. But most nights, even when things are busy, I find myself drawn back into my kitchen.
There is something therapeutic to me about cooking. I particularly like the first steps–entering the kitchen, chopping an onion. I take out my trusty cutting board and favorite super-sharp chef’s knife. Slice the onion in half, and then make the cross-hatch cuts that will give me a beautiful dice every time. Warm some oil on the stove and in minutes our whole apartment is enveloped in the most wonderful smell in the world: frying onions.
