Spiced Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cupcakes

This is from a recipe that was posted before, but it's even better now with a cream cheese filling! I made these with my little sister Kelly (also known as the monkey) and she ate about half of them in one day. This is the monkey about to eat a cupcake whole with the wrapper and all:

Cupcake batter:

2 cups pumpkin puree

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

3 cups flour

3 tsp cinnamon

3 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp cloves

3/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tbsp baking soda

1 1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup honey

Mexican Pumpkin Rice

I also made this in the middle of the night this week as I was making the brownies. Brittany suggested we make something Mexican this week, so I just created something simple.

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 cups sliced red, yellow, and green bell peppers (I used Trader Joe's frozen mix)
1 can black beans - keep the liquid!
1 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon cumin
chopped fresh cilantro

Apple & Cheddar 'Za

Like pretty much everyone, I love pizza. And even my mom, who's normally hesitant about my pizza creations without tomato sauce, likes this one.

Everything goes together really well - apples, caramelized red onion, cheddar, sage, bacon...

He's kind of mad that I've been taking credit for all his blog posts.

APPLE & CHEDDAR PIZZA

Adapted but almost exactly from the recipe on How Sweet ItIs

white or wheat pizza dough

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large apple, very thinly sliced

5 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into squares

1 small red onion, sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup freshly grated cheddar

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

8-10 sage leaves

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Slice onions. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, then add onions with a sprinkle of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, soft and juicy. In the last minute, add garlic and cook for 60 seconds, then set aside off heat.

3. While onions are cooking, cut bacon. Place on a paper-towel lined plate, and cover with another paper towel. Microwave for 3-4 minutes, just until the fat is rendered so the pizza is not incredible greasy. Set aside.

4. Remove pizza dough from the bowl and throw on a floured surface. Using a rolling pin or your hands, roll and shape it into your desired shape. Brush with remaining olive oil and sprinkle with nutmeg.

5. Slice apples (either do this now or, if earlier, preserve with lemon juice), then add about 1/4 cup cheese onto the dough. Place a layer of apples on the cheese, then add the onions and garlic. Add the remaining cheese evenly over top, then finish with bacon and another layer of apples. Lightly coat the sage with olive oil and place on top.

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown and bubbly.

Sage from now-abandoned Duquesne Community Garden from DYEP!!

French Apple Tart

I have been making this recipe from the Barefoot Contessa for a couple of Thanksgivings at this point. My mom demands that I make it at every holiday because it is so delicious. I'm a huge fan of French pastries, and this is a pretty accesible recipe to make. I overcooked it a bit but it was still good!

 For the pastry:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 12 tablespoons (11/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cubed
• several tablespoons of ice water

For the apples:

• 4 Granny Smith apples
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup apricot jam
• 2 tablespoons water

Midnight Pumpkin Pie Brownies

I woke up in the middle of the night a couple of  days ago and was compelled to make brownies. Brittany walked out around 3 in the morning to see why I was blending a hubbard squash in the kitchen. Did you know pumpkin puree is actually hubbard squash puree? Anyways, the squash is a darker orange and has a much denser meat.

This recipe is from the Baking Bird.

For the brownie layer:

• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Spiced Cranberry-Orange Oatmeal Crumb Bars

I'm starting to feel very Christmasy since I watched Frosty the Snowman the other day with the daycare kids (the whole thing is on YouTube!), and so I wanted to bake something with cranberries and oranges. My grandma always makes a cranberry and orange relish for Christmas and Thanksgiving, so this can be the baking equivalent. 

They are so pretty and SO tasty. The flavor of the cranberry filling is very strong and very amazing. The crumb part is spiced with mulling spices for extra Christmasy-ness.

Spiced Cranberry-Orange Oatmeal Crumb Bars

Adapted from this recipe by the Smitten Kitchen, posted on Lottie + Doof

Crumb base & topping:

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, plus more at room temperature for the pan

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

1 large egg
(add for top layer) 1/2 cup oats

Cranberry filling:

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest

1 1/2 tablespoons orange juice

2 cups fresh cranberries

1/3 cup sugar

3/4 tablespoon cornstarch

1. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, and butter the sides and the parchment. 

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and spices. With a pastry blender or fork, work the chilled butter  and the egg into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Pat half the crumb base into the bottom of your prepared pan; it will be thin.

3. In the bowl of a food processor or blender, briefly pulse the filling ingredients until the berries are coarsely chopped but not pureed. Spread the filling over the crumb base. Add the oatmeal into the remaining half of crumb topping. Sprinkle the rest of the crumbs evenly over the cranberry mixture.

4. Bake cookies for 30 to 35 minutes, or until lightly browned on top. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Simple Bread

This is my go-to recipe for easy homemade bread. It's especially good as toast for breakfast or as thick-cut slices for sandwiches. The first thing I did with it this time is make eggs-in-a-hole to eat with chard and bacon, and it was soooo good. 

Bready moonscape yum

I found the recipe on The Hungry Mouse a while ago, and I'd definitely recommend looking at the original recipe the first time you make it if you haven't made bread before because she has a picture for every single step. So far I've only made the bread with regular white flour but I need to get some wheat flour to mix in next time, I'm sure it would be good. One other thing I like about this recipe is there's not a ton of clean-up.

I'm not really sure what "type" of bread this would be. If you know, I'd like to hear!

 

Potato Rosemary Rolls

For the past couple years we've been going to dinner at my mom's best friend's house on the day before Thanksgiving. They do a fancy roast and everything, and I thought these rolls would go well with big slaps of red meat. And they do.

Also, rosemary is my favorite herb. And I have some in my bedroom for the winter, so it's convenient. 

Now these Potato Rosemary rolls are in my top three favorite rolls list, which also includes bubble-top brioche rolls from a Dorie Greenspan recipe and honey buttermilk rolls, I think from a Good Housekeeping recipe. In my opinion, homemade rolls are always a pretty impressive thing to put on the table.

Just so you know, I separated the steps into more parts than the original recipe to make it easier to follow - the original has only four steps. So it takes a while because of the dough rising but there's not really that much to do.

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"POTATO ROSEMARY ROLLS"

Adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod (good food blog)

2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3/4 cup shortening
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup mashed potatoes
1 cup scalded milk
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

2 to 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped 

Gooey Brownies with Dulce de Leche

These are my favorite kind of brownies - not super sweet, just really really chocolatey and gooey. And these ones are extra special because there's homemade dulce de leche swirled on top!

Girl Dinner

I first had this soup during a monthly soup group dinner which was started by my friend Melody (who also made this dish). Basically a bunch of girls rotate making soup for each other and during these dinners there is time to reflect and pray together. It is a great tradition, and one that inspired me to start weekly dinners with my group of friends too. This week I was hosting and made this stew and banh mi sandwiches. Banh mi is a Vietnamese sandwich that includes all or just some of the following ingredients: cilantro, cucumber, pickled carrot and daikon radish, jalapeno, pork, mayonaise, and pate. At least the ones that I have eaten. I know that there are a ton of varieties. I decided to make a tempeh version marinated in teriyaki sauce. If you are curious for more information, check out the New York Times. They have done a bunch of articles on this delicious sandwich.

This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart's version.
 Roasted Eggplant and Chickpea Stew

• 2 medium eggplants (about 1 1/2 pounds total), cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 fresh tomato, chopped
• 1 medium red onion, diced medium
• 2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 6 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 can (15.5 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• Fresh oregano
• Plain yogurt

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a baking pan, toss together eggplant, tomato, onion, garlic, and 4 teaspoons of the olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Leave a wide strip of empty space at one end. Transfer chickpeas to empty space on sheet. Roast until eggplant is golden and cooked through and chickpeas are slightly crunchy, about 35 minutes.
2. Set chickpeas aside. Peel garlic and add to a medium pot, along with eggplant, onion, and broth. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium-high. With a potato masher or back of a wooden spoon, mash some eggplant until soup is thick and chunky. Stir in chickpeas and season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, top with fresh oregano and plain yogurt, if desired. Makes about 7 servings.

Banh Mi

• 3 French baguettes, cut into thirds and sliced in half
• 1 large cucumber sliced thinly into strips
• pickled carrots and daikon radishes (see below)
• mayonaise or for an extra kick,aioli
• Bragg's liquid aminos (or soy sauce)
• 4 jalapenos, sliced (seeds not removed)
• 2 packages of tempeh, sliced and marinated in teriyaki sauce for 1 day
• Fresh cilantro

1. The tempeh and the pickles should be done in advance. Cook the marinated tempeh until lightly browned and crispy.
2. Spread a good amount of mayonaise onto one side of each baguette
3. Drizzle some liquid aminos or soy sauce onto the other side of the bread
4. Layer the sliced cucumber, pickled carrots and radishes, tempeh, cilantro, and jalapenos into the baguettes and enjoy!


Pickled Carrots and Daikon Radishes
(more thorough instructions are here)

1/2 lb. carrots -cut into thin match-like strips.
1/2 lb. daikon radish – cut same as carrots.
3 cups water
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar, depending on how sweet you want your pickles
3 tablespoons salt, depending on how salty you want your pickles

Place the sliced carrots and radishes into a large mason jar or a large tupperware container. This recipe makes a lot of pickles. Boil the liquid ingredients and pour over the vegetables. Let cool and then place in the refrigerator to pickle. Let pickle at least for 1 day before eating. The longer you let them pickle, the more delicious they get. They stay good for about a month after pickling. Just keep them refrigerated!

It was only a matter of time before a Pittsburgh food blog had a pierogie recipe.

Sweet potato piergoies: A tale of over-coming doubt and adapting old Ukrainian recipes

Upon hearing that our Friends-giving feast would require every dish to have "a twist" I was racking my brain for ideas.  At Girl Dinner when a few of us picked ingredients from a hat to assure we covered all bases, I ended up with sweet potatoes.  I was quite nervous about making something super unique, while all the time craving my mom's sweet potato casserole.  Luckily, Mekenzee swept in and said "Aren't you who's always talking about sweet potato pierogies?" It's true.  I often try to persuade the waiter at Blue Dust's 25 cent pierogie night to get the kitchen staff to make sweet potato ones and love the Gosia's Pierogies from farmers' markets and the Pittsburgh Public Market.  So the hunt for a sweet potato pierogie recipe was on.

Turns out... no recipe.  Of the few recipes Google gave me there were only ones with cheese and onions and other savory ingredients, and I was still craving sweet potato casserole. Stressed once more I mixed a couple together and came up with my own.  My mom always said "cooking is not an exact science unless you're using leavening".  I on the other hand always use recipes.  If you know that this + this + that = good why not use it as a guide? Here is what happens when you mix the recipes of St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church's pyrohy recipe found in this article (or from a volunteer roommate), and ravioli recipe from Epicurious:

Sweet Potato Pierogies

Dulce de Leche

The semester before I studied abroad in Ecuador I lived in the language dorm's Spanish suite. Technically you were supposed to speak in your suite's language as much as possible and do a lot of cultural things. We had a great language assistant from Argentina living in the suite with us and organizing activities, so one of our first cultural events was a long afternoon of making dulce de leche in the dorm kitchen. It was soooo good, and I think we just ate it on bread.

I wasn't feeling very well today so I thought it was a good time to devote a couple hours to dulce de leche-making. It has very few ingredients (whole milk, sugar, vanilla bean & a pinch of baking soda), and it is very easy - but it does take some time and you have to keep an eye on it.

You can find a nicely detailed and useful step-by-step recipe at the Hungry Mouse (I really like this blog, I've made a lot of things from it). The original recipe by Alton Brown is on the Food Network website.

Roasted Yellow Bell Pepper Soup

This is a great fall soup, and the season for it is rapidly ending. Earlier in the Fall, Nick and I went to a wedding up in Bradford (way up in the middle of nowhere), and we ended up staying over in Erie with Mike Snyder and his wonderful family. On the road trip back, I made Nick pull over at a farm (!) as usual. This usually consists me of yelling, "STOP RIGHT NOW" when I see any sign for a farmstand and Nick having a heart attack. This particular farm was on its last open farmstand of the season which meant tons of vegetables for almost nothing. I got a basket of multicolored peppers. I made roasted red bell peppers with the red ones (thanks to Laura's instructions), enchiladas with the green ones, and this soup with the yellow ones. Anyways, back to the recipe!

6-8 yellow bell peppers, seeded and halved
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, diced
1-2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup of heavy cream or 1 can coconut milk
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary

To roast the peppers: Place cut side down on a baking sheet and broil at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until the skins are dark brown in spots. Then place the peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 10 minutes. When the peppers are cool enough to handle, peel off the skins. They should come off easily. Chop the peppers roughly and set aside.

For the soup, saute the onion for about 5 minutes until soft and transluscent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the broth, coconut milk, and the herbs and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Blend with an immersion blender and season with salt and pepper. To serve, top with goat cheese and a drizzle of olive oil plus fresh herbs.

In case you didn't notice, we're all fans of pumpkin

I've heard before (and have no facts to back this up) that Fall/Thanksgiving is the time of year that we eat the most season foods.  I've learned not to mess around when it comes to this.  As a young "adult" living with friends I've sky rocketed from (okay.. grown past)  sticking to just pumpkin pie and pumkin roll made with canned pumpkin at my mom's house.  I now know enough to have every course of every meal contain pumkin, and am sure to finish it up with a Dogfish Head Punkin or a Southern Tier Pumking (once again, no time to mess around when it's pumpkin season). 

I've realized I cook and bake as I do all things in life:  very slowly with a lot of emphasis on process and method, followed by super awkwardness towards any praise or goodwill I receive in regards to the finished project.  This recipe is a strong example, but I'm sure an advanced baker could whip these up in no time.  It's taken from a Mrs. Field's cookie book and I found it online here, but I have included my (quite possibly pointless) step by steps.  Here goes my most complimented recipe:

Pumpkin Harvest Cookies

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter (if you're going to brown it, add an extra couple of tablespoons)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (All of our flour is mixed together, I typically end up using wheat flour)
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (Trader Joe's has a really good and inexpensive one )
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2c (packed) dark brown sugar
1 cup solid-packed unsweetened pumpkin puree (follow my lovely roommate's instructions to make your own)
2 large eggs
1 Tablespoons vanilla extract
10 oz white chocolate, coarsely chopped (I just use white chocolate chips, feel free to throw in the whole bag)
1 cup pecan halves and pieces, toasted

Yield: About 3 dozen.

• Set everything out for it to be room temperature.  Possibly pointless, but after a few mishaps I swear by it. 

• Brown that butter. I went off of this recipe. It has a great color guide.  Once again, possibly pointless and may be omitted, but it smells awesome and adds a nutty flavor.  I brown and then throw the butter back in the fridge or freezer a little so it gets more solid. 

• In a small bowl, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, and baking soda.  I usually sift the flour (pointless), but sometimes weird flakes come out of the wheat flour. 
• In another bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add in the eggs and vanilla, then the pumpkin puree. Next comes the flour mixture.  Stir/beat just til combined.  Stir in the chocolate and pecans.
• Throw it in the fridge, but just for a little.  It makes it easier to drop onto cookie sheets and it makes it so they don't spread out as much.
• Preheat to 300 F.  I seriously wait til this point to do this, unless it's cold outside...
• Finally spoon out the dough, roll into balls, and place a couple inches away from each other on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until it's brown around the edges.  

• Enjoy and share!

These pumpkin cookies are often requested by my coworkers and great to take to a party.  Hope this recipe stands a good introduction to blog for me.  For the first time ever this week I'm creating my own recipe so I'll be sure to report back, good, bad, or otherwise. 

Chicken & Apple Pot Pie

Suddenly it's all nasty and cold again, so it's pot pie time! Specifically chicken and apple pot pie. One of the nice things about just working part-time in the afternoon is that it leaves all morning for productive things like watching long PBS documentaries about Frank Lloyd Wright and pot pie making, but this recipe isn't actually very time-consuming, even if you make the crust. Or you could use puff pastry and make it even faster. 

It's shortening!

Everything boiling up and reducing

Pie crust after being chilled in fridge

Pie crust laid out on top of everything with slits cut 

I wasn't sure where the baby dog was hiding, and so I went to go find him as the pot pie baked. He had snuck into my bed.

And it's ready.

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Chicken & Apple Pot Pie

Crust from Simply Recipes' Chicken Pot Pie

Pot Pie Crust (make first & chill)

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled, unsalted butter, diced into 1/2" cubes)

1/4 cup vegetable shortening, chilled

3 to 4 Tbsp ice water

Straight from Simply Recipes: "Combine the flour and salt in a food processor. Add the chilled butter cubes and pulse 5 times to combine. And the shortening and pulse a few more times, until the dough resembles a coarse cornmeal, with some pea-sized pieces of butter. Slowly stream in ice water, a tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition, until the dough sticks together when you press some between your fingers. Empty the food processor, placing the dough on a clean surface. Use your hands to mold into a ball, then flatten the ball into a disk. Sprinkle with a little flour, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days, before rolling."

 

Pot Pie Filling

1 small onion, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 zucchini, diced

1-2 apples, chopped (not too small)

1 tbsp butter

1 sprig rosemary, just leaves & chopped
1 sprig thyme
1 tbsp curry (or more)
1 tbsp paprika (or more)
2 tbsp flour
water/broth/wine to cover
1/4 cup milk
2 cups pre-cooked chicken (I was using leftover rotisserie chicken, but you could boil some up and use the broth)
1 package frozen peas

1. Saute onion, celery, carrots, zucchini, apples, rosemary, thyme, curry and paprika in butter for about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and cook another couple minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Pour in water/broth/wine and milk. Bring to bubbles and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Add chicken and peas and let simmer another 5 minutes or until it's a bit thicker.

3. Pour mixture into pie pan. Cover with rolled-out dough. Make at least a couple slits for venting.

4. Bake at 400 for about a 1/2 hour or until golden. You might want to put a baking sheet underneath in case of overflow.

More Pumpkin: Stuffed Shells

Okay, so I'm more than a little bit obsessed with pumpkin right now (or all the time).  I was searching for a recipe for stuffed chicken breasts, but Google apparently likes to steer me away from healthy things because a stuffed shell recipe came up first.  The great thing about pumpkin is that I can somehow justify eating all this cheesy goodness because, hey, there's a lot of vegetable in here!  Plus they're pretty:

I told myself I'd never be one of those girls who posts pictures of all of their culinary achievements on facebook.  These just looked too exciting not to share.  But once I opened that door I couldn't stop.  Now I take pictures of all the new foods I make...maybe it's to prove to myself that I'm not a terrible cook after all.  Or maybe it's to validate the time spent on all of my days off.

I based these loosely off of some recipe that I apparently forgot to save.  If I ever find the original author I'll be sure to credit them here :)

Ingredients:

1 box jumbo shells

1 small container ricotta cheese (I have no idea what size it was. maybe 8oz? 12 oz? I just bought the smallest one)

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used the Kraft 5-cheese Italian blend, but plain mozzarella or parmesan would be fine too)

1 handful fresh spinach, chopped

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp sage

1/2-1 tsp basil

1-2 cloves garlic (or 1 tsp garlic powder)

salt and pepper

1/2 to 1 cup pasta sauce

parsley and grated parmesan (optional, for garnish)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook shells according to package directions.

Combine ricotta, pumpkin puree, shredded cheese, milk, and spinach.  Mix well.  Add spices, plus salt and pepper to taste. (I finally got myself a black pepper grinder so I like to use that bad boy as much as possible.)

Fill each shell with that cheesy, pumpkiny goodness.

After arranging shells in the baking pan, drizzle shells with pasta sauce.  Since there is already a lot of vegetable (aka pumpkin) I decided that I needed less sauce than I would normally use with traditional stuffed shells.

Sprinkle with parsley and grated parmesan, if desired.  I find that adding parsley to just about any Italian-inspired dish makes it look way more classy.

Cover and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.  Because there's no egg in this recipe, you really only need to heat them til they're warm, so if they start to dry out go ahead and take them out of the oven.

Bon appetit!

Simple Butternut Squash Soup

This is the first type of butternut squash soup I ever made back when I was living on campus at Duquesne (ah, Brottier). I got the recipe from a magazine I suppose. I also didn't have a blender at the time, so I used a mini food processor to blend the soup. It took so long! Haha. This recipe is still a staple of mine since I usually have the ingredients laying around the apartment in the fall. (I have been known to hoard squash.)

3 unpeeled apples, cored and quartered
1 large unpeeled butternut squash, seeds removed and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 large onion, peeled and quartered
3 cloves of garlic
1 small bunch of sage, sliced
1 tablespoon of rosemary
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
3 cups of homemade vegetable stock (more or less depending on how thick you like your soup)

As a side note, I don't like peeling vegetables, especially if their peels are edible. I figure if you are blending the soup anyways, it doesn't make a difference. Also as a bonus most of the nutrients and fiber is in the peel, not to mention it is way less work. Also all the soup got eaten before I could take a picture. Above is a picture of the roasted vegetables!

Directions: Place the apples, butternut squash, and onion into a 9 by 13 inch baking pan and drizzle with olive oil. As an alternative, you can just add about an inch of water to the bottom of the pan instead of oil.

Toss some salt, pepper, cinnamon, and rosemary on the mixture. Roast at 375 degrees until the squash can be pierced easily with a fork, about 45 minutes to an hour. Put all of the ingredients minus the sage into the blender and blend until the soup is a consistency you like. Pour the soup into a saucepan, add the sage, and heat up the mixture to serve. Season with salt and pepper.
I like to serve the soup with some extra sage and olive oil. It's a really hearty soup-perfect for those chilly fall days!