Stargazers Soup

Favorite recipes, like many other things in life, have a way of adapting themselves to fit in with our changing scenery. I first made a version of this soup with tiny star-shaped pasta (stelline 74) and imagined it accompanying us, piping hot in a thermous lid, as we laid on fresh-cut grass, trusty telescope by our sides, to watch the stars on a summer night. Well, that and I thought the pasta would intrigue my then two-year-old. Not so much. The pasta made the soup too starchy, and my toddler would not go near anything with star pasta or called star soup for months. Then winter came. Snow piled up copiously around the house, we began another flu season and the members of our household began a game of cold and flu tag, and I gave the soup a few tweaks, most significantly changing its name. I won't tell you what we call it, just that it is named after a highly annoying cartoon character, which seems to do the trick with the preschooler set. Its great as a baby food, as well.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do, and if I don't get my way with the thermous this summer, maybe you can do it for me.

Stargazers Soup

3 stalks celery, chopped
3 cippolini onions, chopped
salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil
1 32 oz box chicken or vegetable broth
2 good sized carrots, chopped
1 large sweet potato or yam, chopped
1 c frozen, chopped organic spinach, thawed (don't worry about draining!)
1 16 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1) Heat dutch oven over medium heat with Olive Oil. Add celery and onions and cook until transluscent (just a couple of minutes.) Add salt and pepper to taste.
2) Add broth, carrots, yam and spinach. Bring to boil and cook until soft (about 15 minutes.)
3) Add beans, reduce heat to medium low, and cook, covered about five minutes. Blend with immersion blender and enjoy with a nice piece of crusty bread.

Recipe of the Week: Savory Sweet Potato & Goat Cheese Puffs

I have been an obsessive foodie for years, but the demands of balancing family duties with my life as an artist has significantly cut into the time I am able to spend on meals. (Isn't this something we all struggle with in some way or another at some point?) I've come to accept the fact that I'm lucky to have three square meals a day, nonetheless eat something that is both healthful and interesting, but I like a good challenge. This recipe is one of many I've come up with that applies the bygone days I've spent in gourmet cookbooks with the need to put something good together, quickly.

Savory Sweet Potato and Goat Cheese Puffs
(created by K. Sitko for brunch with the girls)

1 sheet frozen puff pastry
1/2 can sweet potato puree (This can be found in most grocery stores these days. If you can't find this, cut sweet potatoes into 1" cubes and steam for 40 - 45 minutes or roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes, or until soft when squeezed - with an oven mit, of course.)
Dried, rubbed Sage to taste
Pepper, to taste
1/4 c crumbled goat cheese (the goat cheese really is what makes this treat, so don't be afraid to use more)
9 fresh sage leaves for garnish (optional)

1. Preheat oven and let puff pastry rest at room temperature according to instructions on the packaging (Mine read 375 degrees F and 10 minutes, for example) then cut into nine equal squares and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Set aside.

2. In small bowl, mix puree with sage and pepper and spoon dollups of the mixture into center of puff pastry squares. Cook according to instructions on pastry packaging, until pastry is golden brown. (Mine was 15 - 20.)

3. Let cool for 5 minutes before crumbling goat cheese evenly over each pastry. Serve warm or cool.

(* For variation, try butternut squash puree with rosemary, thyme and sage with ricotta cheese.)