Squash and Apple Soup with Horseradish Cream

It was my girlfriend Clare's birthday so my friend Michelle and I decided to throw her a luncheon since a birthday on December 28th often gets overlooked!  We have received quite a dump of snow lately and the cold northerly winds were blowing...so I decided to make soup for lunch!  This has quite a few flavours which work beautifully together, and if you have the time, make the horseradish cream for the top - it awakens the soup!

SQUASH AND APPLE SOUP WITH HORSERADISH CREAM

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced

1 cooking apple, peeled, cored, and diced

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1 onion, finely chopped

2 tsp curry powder

4 cups vegetable stock

1 tsp chopped fresh sage (or 1/2 tsp dried)

2/3 cup apple juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Lime rind for garnish (optional)

Horseradish Cream:

4 tbsp 18% cream

2 tsp horseradish sauce

1/2 tsp curry powder

•   Heat the butter in a large pot.  Add the onion and saute, stirring until soft (approx. 3 to 5 minutes).  Stir in the curry powder, and cook to bring out the flavour.  Stir constantly for 2 minutes to prevent burning and sticking.
• Add the stock, squash, apple and sage.  Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until the squash and apple are soft.
• Meanwhile, make the horseradish cream by beating the cream until it has frothed up, fold in the horseradish sauce and curry until well combined.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Puree the soup in a blender, food processor, or using an immersion blender.  Add apple juice, season with the salt and pepper.  Reheat gently without boiling.
• Serve the soup in bowls topped with a spoonful of the horseradish cream and sprinkled with lime zest!
• ENJOY!

Maple Strawberry Smooch!

The strawberries grown at "Cooper's CSA Farm & Maze" are awesome and plentiful this year! As soon as they opened up their fields to u-pickers, the kids, some of our friends and I were over there filling our baskets!! Since I still have PLENTY of jam from last year, as well as Peppery Strawberry Salsa, I turned to my Bernardin book to see what else can be done with these luscious berries....and NOTHING sounded more decadent than this simple recipe for a dessert sauce ~ I can already taste it drizzled over ice cream, cheesecake, or in my morning oatmeal!!!

MAPLE STRAWBERRY SMOOCH

Ingredients

4 3/4 cups pureed strawberries (for this you'll need 8 cups of whole fruit and food processor to really make the berries smooth)

1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup

1 cup unsweetened apple juice

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 package of regular powdered fruit pectin (I used the 57g Certo brand)

• Prepare your canner, lids and jars as usual.
• In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine pureed strawberries, maple syrup, apple and lemon juices. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Add the pectin, stirring constantly until dissolved. Bring to a full rolling boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
• Ladle hot smooch inot hot jars, leaving a 1/4" headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace. Wipe rim. Centre lid on jar and screw band down till fingertip tight.
• Place jars in a canner, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid and wait 5 minutes before removing jars. Cool and store.