Leek, Potato and Mushroom Soup.....

I came across this soup recipe several years ago and it is now one of my 'go to' soups for the fall and winter. It's simple to make and the ingredients are often in the refrigerator or the pantry making it even easier to make on the spur of the moment for a last minute dinner idea. It's one of our 'comfort' foods here in our house and goes well with a crusty bread and a nicely aged cheddar. The one ingredient that surprised me the first time I made it was the dill weed. It totally makes this soup taste fabulous! Give it a try and let me know what you think of it!

Here the ingredients are all coming together in the soup pot! If only you could have been in my kitchen to smell the wonderful flavours! 

Finished product in the bowl for tasting! Actually this is the last serving of this delicious soup! We had it for dinner one night this week and the rest of the week it went into work with us for our lunch! So yummy! 

Here's the recipe everyone! 

Leek, Potato and Mushroom Soup

5 tablespoons butter, divided

2 leeks, chopped

2 large carrots, sliced

6 cups chicken broth

2 teaspoons dried dill weed

2 teaspoons salt 

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 bay leaf

2 pounds potatoes, peeled & diced

1 pound mushrooms, sliced

1 cup half & half

1/4 cup all purpose flour

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Mix in leeks and carrots, and cook 5 minutes. Pour in broth. Season with dill, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Mix in potatoes, cover, and cook 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender but firm. Remove and discard the bay leaf. 

Melt the remaining butter in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the mushrooms 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Stir into the soup.

In a small bowl, mix the half and half and flour until smooth. Stir into the soup to thicken. 

Serve and enjoy!!

Maggie

in the moment.......

I awoke this morning and there was a calmness and a feeling of resolute in that this day is  a gift that can only be lived this one time. This particular morning is not really out of the ordinary. I am off to my job soon and am in fact working all weekend. But there seems to be something this morning that is saying loud and clear that this day, and all others that follow, need to be lived in the moment and experienced fully. This is not an epiphany for me because I have felt this before and understand the beauty of this choice but we all tend to fall away from this easily. It seems that in this busy, crazy world that we live in, our minds are full of things we know. Some of these 'things we know' are in our everyday consciousness and we are fully aware of them and access them reliably without even a thought. It's just what we do. But some things live in the back of our minds and we need to be reminded of them from time to time and have them pushed into the forefront or pull them there ourselves. Great Spirit has a way of pushing things onto our path and placing them where we will notice them whether it be through an incident or a thought. For me this morning it seems to be through thought.  I know that this day has a finite number of moments that I can choose to live in one way or another. So how do I really want to live those moments. I can choose to live inside of each one of these moments and that then allows me to fully experience them in a way that I think, feel and understand each one. I must be 'present' to do this. This is one of the key factors in living an authentic life. If I choose to be fully present then I am able to exist within that moment and make the best choice possible or be witness to one. To be present may simply be as a bystander and that then is also the experience.
My life lived in the present moment is necessary so that I can feel it fully. This may be both tough and easy because life is full of paradox but I will have done my best.

May you live in the present moment today and for all new days that come.

Namaste,
Maggie

all good things.....

It just needed to be shared! Have a great day everyone!

Maggie

the wise choice......

I blogged yesterday and noted that I had so many things that I wanted to get done. Well, I can truly say that I did accomplish many things and yet it is this morning right now that I am simmering the pear jam on the stove! So as you know the pear jam didn't get done but it was for the right reasons. I had a busy day yesterday with many things on my agenda and did the prep work for the jam throughout the day but by the time I was ready to put all the ingredients in the pot it was 4:30. The 'get it done' part of me pulled the pot out of the cupboard, looked at the clock and sighed deeply knowing that I was in for another couple of hours of work and then my 'wise mind' took over and said..... 'No, it's getting too late in the day to start the canning process now'. Now in the past the 'get it done' part of me would have thought that this was the 'wise' thing to do in an effort to complete the task and be able to then subconsciously reward myself for a job well done. I would have thought it was fine to push myself to the edge to get it done. I would have though interrupted our dinner time and yesterday I would have actually missed out on a Harley ride with Kelly. I have in the past pushed myself to get things done and then I didn't have to 'feel bad' for not doing what I had set out to do. It was a form of self criticism that carried over from early childhood parental criticism and neither has any benefit. As I have become older and 'wiser' I am able to see the difference that a decision can make. I would have upset my own applecart so to speak yesterday if I had continued with my task at hand. I would have missed our Harley ride and I would have tried to make dinner amongst the jam process which would have been very frustrating and a dinner prepared while feeling that way will not feed your soul. I also would have been more exhausted than I already was and I was truly tired after a long, busy day. There was no need to rush the process and 'tick' it off my list of things I wanted to do yesterday. There was no need to say 'look at all the things I did today', because I still did plenty. We have these preconceived notions that we are less than ourselves if we don't get done what we set out to do. I now know that it's all ok to fall short of my plans. It's just plain ok. There is no longer that subconscious report card at the end of the day that says I did good or bad and if someone else thinks that way about me then I'm sorry for that but I'm taking care of my wellness by making that decision. It's a mind game that we play with ourselves and I will admit I have done it for too many years of my life and now I know better. Yesterday was a quick catch on my wise mind's part to tell my 'other half' that it was ok to leave it and deal with it today. So the prepped pears went into the refrigerator and off we went on the bike for a great ride in the country. Jam I can make today.

This is what I would have missed if I had chose to finish the jam.........enough said.

Make wise choices.......

Maggie

catching up......

Ok so it's been almost 2 weeks since I have posted anything here. There has been lots going on and time to sit and blog has been minimal but today maybe a little time can be set aside to share. I have been continuing to do my preserving and as much as the last several days I have not, I will be making some pear vanilla jam today. I was blessed to be able to visit a friends home and she has a pear tree that is filled with pears! I managed to snag 2 small bushels and will make the jam hopefully today and then plan to can pear halves with the rest. This year so far my root cellar is filled with strawberry and  blueberry jam along with blueberry syrup, pickled garlic scapes and pickled beets, spicy honey mustard, peach jam, peach chutney and peach halves, red onion relish, whole tomatoes and tomato sauce. It's always a lot of work but the rewards in the cold winter months is well worth the effort put forth in harvest time.

my root cellar so far.....

I have also been drying some herbs in my new herb dryer from Lee Valley which is exciting for me. I haven't dried herbs before so as much as I'm doing it very simply it's still fun to do. So far I have only done sage, lemon verbena and rosemary but it's a start. I have some more to dry and will try to make time for that today too along with also those pears halves if I can squeeze that in! And maybe walk the dog and some yoga for me.....and I have an appointment at 1! I can see that my day is filling up as I write!

We have been continuing with our house renos and are picking out tile flooring this week. We have holidays in October and our main goal is going to be laying the tile! Yikes! It's a big job but I have confidence in my partner that she can do it and I will help wherever I can. It is going to transform our space and is going to look amazing! Our goal is to somewhat have the renos completed so that we can start entertaining our friends by the holiday season. It's been a long haul but so well worth it. I have lived in my home for 20 years and it needed much updating and now I can be proud of it once again. I can say it fell into a deep sleep for a while and now has been awakened not unlike so many other areas of my life. It has been a year of transformation.

Blessings to all,

Maggie

quick lunch....

I have been busy canning once again today and took a break from it long enough to have lunch with my son Brandon. I grabbed a naan bread from the store and headed to the garden plot to grab some tomatoes, onions & basil. I was canning tomato sauce this morning so I used that as my base and topped it with the vegetables and a bit of Havarti I already had in the refrigerator. Top that with a little freshly ground pepper and some sea salt and you have a delicious lunch! The freshness of the flavours was incredible !

We topped that off with some fresh sliced peaches over greek yogurt with agave and sprinkled with hemp hearts and it made for a perfect lunch! 

I hope your day is going fabulously! 

Blessings,

Maggie

breakfast changes.......

The morning is cool and crisp today. It is certainly a sign that it is September and we are heading into Fall. Along with this comes our own seasonal transition inside of us and I always find this so fascinating. It was a simple choice this morning to make myself a hot bowl of porridge and enjoy the transition. 

Thats all it took....some steel cut oats cooked and topped in the end with agave, walnuts and hemp seeds. Perfectly perfect! 

Enjoy your day! 

Maggie

savoury peach jam......

I was literally at a loss a few days ago. I have been canning for many weeks now and on this day in particular I had nothing to preserve. I felt empty about that. Odd isn't it? Well for me not so much I can say. There is something very pioneer about my love for preserving and this woman, on that day, was pining to place yet something else on my root cellar shelves. I was browsing online and came across a recipe for a savoury peach jam and it filled the bill perfectly. It included shallots and sage and I already had shallots on hand and the sage was a short trip away to the community garden site. Needless to say my heart was happy and off I went to gather my ingredients. Peaches are in full swing here and I had already put up peach jam and peach halves. I like working with peaches as they are easy to pit and peel so I knew this wouldn't be too intensive for my day. I picked much more sage than needed but I had also planned to dry some of it and so it went into the herb dryer that I recently purchased. The sage was beautiful and its aroma reminded me of the stuffing that I make each year at Christmas. This peach jam will work perfectly with roast turkey!

The recipe is simple in that all the ingredients except the sage are simmered together in a pot until it becomes thick and then the sage is added. It is not intended to 'set' like a jam, in fact I think it's more like a chutney type sauce. Here you can see all the beautiful bits of deliciousness coming together. 

The end result is this gorgeous mix of sweet and savoury flavours that will delight the palate! We sampled it the next evening with a platter of cheese and meats and it was wonderful! I will be happy to share the recipe with you all........

Savoury Peach Jam with Shallots & Sage

2 pounds peaches

3/4 cup minced shallots

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon minced fresh sage

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes-optional ( I didn't use them)

Pit and peal the peaches. I poach the peach halves to remove the skin more easily. Finely mince the fruit. Combine the fruit in a saucepan with the shallots, sugar and the vinegar. Place the pan on a burner over medium-high heat and cook stirring regularly until the fruit is quite soft and the jam not watery looking. This could take 15-20 minutes depending on the water content of the fruit. Keep a close eye on it as mine began to stick on the bottom.

When the jam is looking thick and spreadable, stir in the sage, salt and red chili if using.

This jam can be used immediately and will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. For longer storage it can be funneled into clean, hot jars and processed in a boiling wager bath canner for 15 minutes.

Makes approximately 3 cups.

Enjoy!!

Of note ~ the recipe is credited to Table Matters

Have a great day! 

Maggie

early morning......

On workdays my alarm goes off very early and I begin my routine to prepare for the day. I have always given myself enough time to get ready and then also sit and relax or do something that might need attention such as emails, banking etc. But today I managed to stir up a batch of goodness and filled the cookie jar to the brim. I whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies, the recipe that I have followed for probably some odd 30 years, and the house is wonderfully scented with both chocolate and vanilla. Now, since I am not one who can tolerate sugar well at all I probably won't even partake of a mere morsel but the scent is enough to fill my being with goodness. My partner Kelly will enjoy them for sure. She always smiles when she sees the cookie jar filled once again.

Fresh out of the oven and onto the cooling rack. 

Still in the dimness of the early morning light the cookie jar is filled and ready to be enjoyed. 

I hope that your early morning time is special for you also. 

Blessings, 

Maggie

 

September days......

I sit here in early morning and realize that the days of summer are coming to an end soon as we have entered into September quietly over the weekend. September seems to transition into our lives in a way that does not have the applause of June or July, but is simply September. A time when we all know that summer is slipping away and the days of cool fall mornings and the sleepiness of flora will begin. As much as I have enjoyed summer I know that it is time to move on. Our bodies have the inner sense and intuition that hibernation is near. For myself it has been at least a month already where I have at times had the longing of a brisk winter day where I am cocooned in my home with a pot of nourishing soup on the stove and the scent of fresh bread wafting from the oven. I'm not sure if global weather changes cause my body to respond sooner to this desire or if there is something within me that needs to be nourished sooner than later. I do believe that our bodies know what we need and our inner wisdom is not to be ignored. My mind has been engaged in thoughts of winter months as I have been preserving much of the local harvest over the last several weeks and am drawn to how fortunate we will be to have all of these delicious foods grace our table on those cold, blustery days. Days where my mind will hearken back to the summer and how I stood in my kitchen and prepared foods for us to partake of in winter. Our bodies go through these seasonal changes without even a thought on our part. It is simply who we are as resonant beings. I'm drawn to different things at this time of year and as much as I know I am having to give up things that I love from summer, it is time to let go of those things and welcome Fall into my life. My body will yearn for something different and will understand what it needs without my having to decide for it. I love this innate wisdom that exists within us all. We don't have to ask for it or learn it, as it is inside of us from as far back as the day when we were born, but the key to it all is to listen to what we need. It's that little whisper inside of us that is always ready to look after us in the best way possible. I know for myself I need to begin to engage in my nurturing in a different way than I needed to in the summer months. Summer is a time of activity that is often faster paced and jam-packed and I find that by the time September is upon us I am ready to slow down and relax. For me it's just time to do just that. I know I have a few days work left in the kitchen to fill up the root cellar shelves a bit more, but as the harvest is still upon us and I must work with the harvest to fulfil this. But after that is done it is then time to step back and take a break. It's as though the Fall eases us into the winter months where we can rest and recharge ourselves for the upcoming Spring and Summer that will always follow. It's a cycle that has been with us since the beginning of time but I think when we acknowledge it the transition is somewhat easier. My needs change as the seasons change and it's the recognition of this that will allow us to live our best lives.

Blessings,
Maggie