September is nearly over. The nights are cold enough now that I’d rather not brave the outdoors without a jacket, sweater or decent buzz. The leaves are starting to change color, the farmers have started or finished pulling their crops and our Thanksgiving is right around the corner. It is nearly autumn, or as I think of it, soup season. God willing, as soup blogging is indeed the path of the righteous man, I will manage to post about as many of my favorites as time permits: and that’s a great many soups.
Butternut Squash and Sweet Corn Soup…

Though it seems somewhat logical to assume the Neapolitans have only given us the wonder of three-flavored ice cream, it is also the pizza that originated in Naples. Considering its popularity, it’s hard to believe that the pizza is barely one-hundred years old, born in 1889 as a dish prepared during the visit of Queen Margherita. This most basic of pizzas, consisting of little more than dough, tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil (a classic Italian combination, symbolizing the colors of the flag and basically all that’s good in the world) started a culinary marvel that would soon span the globe. A Little Slice of Heaven…

On Halloween I’d pour my pillowcase full of assorted treats onto the floor and sort them into piles. There was a pile for chips, a pile for chocolate bars, a pile for rockets (which are apparently called Smarties in the US?), a single toothbrush and then a mound of the inedible candies like those “chewy” caramels, anything that didn’t come in a wrapper (poison! LSD!) and Goodies. Goodies, to me, are the most god awful candy creation ever devised by man. In case you are unfamiliar with this confection, as I suspect we may only unleash such things on Canadian children, goodies are a candy-coated licorice flavored candy. To me, there’s something about it that’s akin to making chocolate covered brussel sprouts. That is, if there is a proper way to introduce licorice to a child, this is definitely not it.

It was during this time in my life, when my palette was particularly vulnerable to such a viscous onslaught, that I developed a pronounced hatred for the flavor of licorice and all things licorice flavored. Red licorice however was always a favorite of mine, being used from everything from snack to makeshift straw. Red licorice is flavored with cherry and/or strawberry and is really not licorice at all though, sort of like how white chocolate is a pale impostor of actual chocolate.

In my teenager years, where I first started fostering a passion for food and cooking, is when I discovered fennel. Fennel Seed…

1/4 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
4 six ounce trout fillets
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt and pepper

1. Combine cornmeal, flour, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper and lay out on a plate.
2. Press the flesh of the trout into the beaten egg and then into the cornmeal.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Melt butter in the olive oil, then cook the trout, cornmeal side down, until crisp. Flip and cook on the skin side until the center of the fillet is opaque.
4. Drizzle with lemon juice to serve.

Makes 4 servings

1 tablespoon butter
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 medium zucchini, seeded and sliced
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper

1. Melt butter with garlic in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the zucchini and sauté until tender.
2. Toss zucchini with Worcestershire sauce, basil and paprika, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 4 servings

1 pound flank steak
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dry mustard
black pepper

1. Marinate flank steak in soy sauce, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, oil, lemon juice, garlic and mustard overnight.
2. Remove meat from the marinade. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and dry fry the flank steak. Allow to rest for a few minutes, then thinly slice to serve with freshly grated black pepper.

Makes 4 servings

1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon red curry paste
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons
1/4 cup fish sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 pound pork tenderloin, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
8 rice paper wrappers
2 medium carrots, peeled and shredded
water

1. Combine garlic, curry paste, water, sugar, fish sauce and lime juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until
2. gar dissolves, then set aside to cool. Marinate pork overnight in the prepared sauce once cooled.
3. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the pork until cooked through.
4. Soak rice paper wrappers until soft. Roll up with a portion of the pork and shredded carrots. Serve with your favorite
5. pping sauce.

Makes 4 servings

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon ginger puree
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon sugar
1 scallion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
8 ounces rice stick noodles
1 cup Napa cabbage or bok choy, shredded
2 medium carrots, peeled and shredded

1. Whisk together vinegar, tahini, soy sauce, oils, ginger, garlic, cayenne, sugar, scallion and red chili flakes and set
2. ide.
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles until just tender. Drain and rinse under cold water to prevent
4. rther cooking.
5. Combine noodles, cabbage and carrots and toss with prepared dressing. Refrigerate before serving.

Makes 6 servings

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-4 veal shanks
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup dry white wine
28 ounces canned plum tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon dried basil or sage
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 cups veal or beef stock
8 ounces fettuccine
1/4 cup Parmesan, grated
salt and pepper
water

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Heat a dutch oven or other ovenproof pot over medium heat. Melt butter with olive oil, the add onions and carrots, sautéing until onions are translucent. Stir in the garlic, then remove from heat.
3. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season veal shanks with salt and pepper and dredge with flour. Shake off excess flour, then add olive oil to the skillet and brown shanks on both sides. Transfer to the dutch oven on top of the vegetables.
4. Deglaze the skillet with wine and the juice from the canned tomatoes and reduce the liquid by half. Crush the tomatoes and add them to the skillet, along with the parsley, basil or sage, sugar and veal stock. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then pour over the veal shanks.
5. Cover the dutch oven and put into the oven, cooking until veal is tender, about an hour and a half.
6. Transfer the veal shanks to a warmed plate and keep warm. Bring the remaining sauce to a boil and reduce until thick.
7. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a generous pinch of salt, along with the fettuccine.
8. Cook pasta until al dente, then drain and add to the thickened sauce. Serve pasta and sauce on a plate, topped with the veal shank and a generous portion of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Makes 4 servings

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup boiling water
or
8 flour tortillas
1-1/2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pound pork tenderloin, sliced
10 dried shittake mushrooms
6 scallions, chopped
12 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons ginger puree

3 tablespoons rice wine
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 head napa cabbage, chopped
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
water

1. Combine flour and water in a large bowl and stir into a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic, then divide into 16 equal portions.
2. Roll each portion of dough into a 6" circle. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly brush each pancake with sesame oil and lightly cook on each side until puffed and browned. Remove from pan and repeat with remaining dough. Set aside.
3. Combine soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil and cornstarch and marinate pork for at least an hour.
4. Meanwhile, soak shittake mushrooms in boiling water until tender. Discard stems and slice. Combine with scallions, garlic and ginger and set aside.
5. Combine rice wine, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar and pepper and set aside.
6. Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Drain pork and discard marinade, then fry in the skillet until cooked.
7. Remove pork from the skillet and add the eggs. Quickly scramble them, then stir in the vegetables.
8. Return the pork to the skillet, along with the prepared sauce, and continue to cook until sauce is thick.
9. Spoon a portion of hoisin sauce onto each pancake and top with a portion of the pork mixture. Roll up and repeat with remaining pancakes and filling.

Makes 8 servings