Butternut Squash Soup with Rosemary

I have been waiting too cook a soup utlizing this season's butternut squash with a filling protein like white beans. Thanks, Ann Gentry!

To prepare the beans

2 cups dried small white beans, picked through and rinsed
7 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 generous tablespoon finely chopped dried rosemary
2 teaspoons sea salt

Place the beans in a bowl. Add enough cold water to cover the beans by 3 inches. Let stand overnight or for at least a few hours. Drain and rinse the beans.

Combine the beans with 7 cups of fresh water and bay leaf in a heavy large pot. Bring the water to a simmer over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium-low. Simmer the beans for up to 1hour stirring occasionally. The beans should hold their shape but be tender. Add In rosemary and salt, cook for another 10-15 minutes or until tender.

To prepare the soup

1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil
2 onions, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
8 cups water
2 3/4 pounds butternut squash (approximately 1 squash), peeled, seeded and cubed
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup plain non-dairy milk

Heat the oil in a heavy stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery, garlic, and ginger. Sauté for 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Stir in the water and squash. Cover and bring to a simmer over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the squash is tender. Stir in the orange peel, salt and pepper.

Using a hand-held immersion blender, puree the soup in the pot until smooth. Alternately, working in batches, puree the soup in a regular blender until smooth. Stir in the non-dairy milk. Add cooked rosemary white beans. Serve.

Rustic Italian Soup

Ingredients
2 cups dried red kidney beans
1 (2- to 3-inch) piece kombu
6 cups vegetable stock and/or water
1/3 cup tomato paste
6 large cloves garlic
1 bunch kale, stemmed and chopped
2 tbs finely chopped fresh sage
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 lemon squeezed
extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation

1. Place beans and kombu in a heavy stockpot. Add enough water to cover the beans by 3 inches. Let stand overnight.
   
2. Drain and rinse the beans. Reserve the kombu.
3. Return the soaked beans, kombu, and stock/water to the same pot. Cover and bring to a simmer over high heat. Skim foam that rises to the top.
   
4. Lower the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the beans are tender.
   
5. Discard the kombu.
6. Blend 2 cups of the bean soup, tomato paste and garlic in a blender until smooth.
   
7. Gradually stir the bean puree into the remaining bean soup.
   
8. Add the kale, sage, 1 1/2 teaspoons of black pepper, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt.
   
9. Cover and bring the soup to a simmer over high heat.
   
10. Lower the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the kale is very tender and the flavors blend.
11. Stir the lemon juice into the soup. Ladle the soup into bowls. Drizzle olive oil over each portion and serve.

The soup will keep for 2 days, covered and refrigerated. To rewarm, bring the soup to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are easy and healthy cookies from Bethanny Frankel. I love this recipe because I can whip them up using ingredients that I already have; omitting an extra trip to the grocery store.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of oat flour
3/4 cups of rolled oats
1/2 tsp. of baking powder
1/2 tsp. of baking soda
1/2 tsp. of salt
1/2 cups of raw sugar
1/3 cups of chocolate chips
1 tsp. of canola oil
1/3 cups of soy milk
1/2 cups of banana puree (1 medium-size banana)
1 tsp. of vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. Combine all the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
5. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together, until well combined.
4. Use a large spoon to scoop batter evenly onto a cookie sheet covered with wax paper.
5. Bake for 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cooking, or bake until the edges of the cookies are light brown.