Homestyle Sausage, Potato & Spinach Soup

On a cold and misty day, my mom and I meandered down a paved path in the bay area. My mom stopped on the side of the path and held a tree's leaves between her fingers. "Laurel trees," she explained, and when I still didn't quite get it she said, "Bay Leaves."

I've never given bay leaves their dues: they are easy to skip, as a whole pot of soup usually only calls for one or two leaves. They are subtle, so skipping them is never the end of the world. But delicate flavors have always ranked high in my mom's book: florals, herbals, and creams. 

In the winter she'd make soups with leeks and kielbasa, and stir in cream or (and) shredded provolone at the last minute before turning off the heat. She never skipped the bay leaves. 

This soup is an ode to that day, when I discovered how beautiful laurel trees are and remembered why bay leaves are so important. It is nothing fancy: onions, potatoes, sausage, and spinach in a creamy broth. But simplicity is key here, as you can throw it all in the pot (along with two bay leaves), and let it simmer while you change into slippers, pour a glass of wine, or nibble on a cheese plate. 

Winter officially "arrives" this week, which makes it the perfect time to make a simple cozy soup. Bites of spicy sausage and slurps of flavorful broth will warm you to the bone.

Homestyle Sausage, Potato & Spinach Soup

Published December 19, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 8   |    Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 stalks celery, diced small
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil 
• 4 sausages (about 1/2 pound); I used Teton Waters Ranch Hot Links (available at Costco) but you can experiment here. Try kielbasa or spicy Italian to mix it up!
• 2 cups new potatoes, quartered 
• 2 large carrots, diced small
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• Dash cayenne 
• 1 cup heavy cream 
• 4 cups baby spinach 

Directions:

Instant Pot Instructions:
1. Heat coconut oil in the bottom of your Instant Pot on the sauté setting. Add diced onion, minced garlic, and celery and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
2. Slice sausages into bite sized pieces, and add to pot, browning for 3-5 minutes. Then, add potatoes, carrots, bay leaves, broth, pepper, salt and dash of cayenne.
3. Turn Instant Pot to Soup setting, seal lid, and set timer for 10 minutes.
4. When the timer goes off, release pressure and open pot. Stir in spinach and cream. The spinach will wilt from the heat of the soup. Add additional salt & pepper to taste, and serve hot.

Stove Top Instructions:
1. Heat coconut oil in the bottom of a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add diced onion, minced garlic, and celery and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
2. Slice sausages into bite sized pieces, and add to pot, browning for 3-5 minutes. Then, add potatoes, carrots, bay leaves, broth, pepper, salt and dash of cayenne.
3. Bring soup to a simmer, and place lid on pot. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
4. Turn off heat and, stir in spinach and cream. The spinach will wilt from the heat of the soup. Add additional salt & pepper to taste, and serve hot.

Green Chile Smother Sauce

This green chile smother sauce was created for a good friend after we went to a Mexican restaurant and fell in love with their smother sauce. The Mexican restaurant is a little hole in the wall across the street from the DMV. You wouldn’t think much of that little restaurant if you were just driving by, but those that know it love it. The burritos come stuffed full of ingredients, making them bigger than anyone person could ever really need. And key to this story, each burrito gets coated in smother sauce.

What is smother sauce, you ask? Well, it’s a sauce, for smothering. But it can be used in a kajillion ways (I’ll share some ideas later in this post). Mostly, it’s a spicy sauce that you can pour over burritos, tacos, eggs—really anything. 

This green chili sauce is really similar to what you would use in my Pork Chile Verde. It is the sauce to smother every burrito, tamale, and taco with. Basically, it is everything. Still need ideas for how to use it? 

• Green enchilada sauce (do you have leftover turkey still? Enchiladas are the answer)

• Green eggs in purgatory

• A hot sauce for your breakfast (fried eggs or omellete)

• Serve as a salsa

• Slow Cooker Pork Chile Verde (use this sauce in place of the tomatillo, onion, garlic blend that the recipe calls for: they are pretty much the same thing)

• A starter for guacamole

• A smother sauce for burritos

...just to name a few.

Green Chile Smother Sauce

Published November 21, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 6   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 8 medium sized tomatillos
• 4 cloves garlic 
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 tablespoon avocado oil
• 2 cans hatch green chiles (I use the hot ones, but feel free to use mild if you prefer)
• 1/2 cup cilantro 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Juice of 1 lime 
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano

Directions:

1. Preheat your over to 475°F. Peel the papery outer skins from the tomatillos, wash them, and slice them in half. Cut the onion into 4 to 6 large wedges. Arrange them all on a sheet pan along with the garlic cloves. Brush with 1 tablespoon avocado oil, and place in oven. Roast until the tops of the tomatillos are browned, 10-15 minutes.
2. Add roasted tomatillos, onions, and garlic to a blender along with canned green chiles, cilantro, lime, spices (cumin, coriander, oregano, and optional cayenne), salt, and pepper. Puree. Mixture should be similar to a less chunky salsa.
3. Store sauce in jars until ready to use. Stays good in fridge for 1 week.

Instant Pot Lamb & Winter Squash Tagine with Apricots

After circling campus not once, but twice, before finding a parking spot, I jumped out of the car and half walked, half ran to the ATLAS building--one of my favorite buildings on campus when I was a student. It was probably just my favorite because it hosted a tea shop, but today I didn't have time to wait in line for a cuppa. 

The building was exactly the same but I still felt a bit lost, my years away from campus quickly piling up. When I finally found the basement, rows and rows of stackable chairs were already filled with students. A projector blasted light to a screen in the front, which said, "Kimbal Musk: Real Food For Everyone." 

I found a seat in the back--the only place there was room- and pulled Evernote up on my phone. Is this what it feels like to be a journalist? I wondered. 

When Kimbal emerged on stage there was applause, and he started into his presentation quickly. First, a quick background on his life, then a slide for each of his new ventures, all aiming towards to same goal: make the production of real food (i.e., not industrial food) scalable, so that everyone can be healthier, farmers are supported, and our food is good. 

I jotted down just about everything I heard, as is my note-writing style. Over the last year I have started writing a monthly food trend report at work, which is sent to our clients or whoever else signs up (if you're interested, you could sign up here). 

An hour later I was back on the street. My mind circled on what Kimbal said, the questions students asked, and questions I wished I had time to ask. I thought to myself, If I were a journalist, what would be the lead story here? As a marketer, just pretending to be a journalist for the morning, I was coming up short. I dove head-first into other work hoping an answer would just come to me.  

This tagine is everything you want in a stew on a cold winter day. It is sweet from the squash, and spicy from the blend of spices. Both flavors pair perfectly with lamb. And it's easy to find local lamb, at least in these parts! Head to your farmers market, or ask your grocer if their lamb is local. You can use almost any type of winter squash (I would skip spaghetti squash, but butternut, kabocha, and pumpkin would all work well), so use something from a fall farm stand or better yet, something you grew this summer. The chickpeas are optional (obviously including them would make this dish not Paleo compliant), but I find they add something that would be missing otherwise. Then again, I'm just a sucker for chickpeas.

Instant Pot Lamb & Winter Squash Tagine with Apricots

Published November 9, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 6   |    Total Time: 50 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 pound cubed lamb shoulder
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 inches fresh ginger
• 1/2 pound or medium-sized winter squash (I used Red Kuri, but kabocha, or butternut would all work well)
• 1 tablespoon ras el hanout (buy it, or make your own - I used half of this recipe)
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2-3 cups beef stock
• 3/4 cup dried apricots
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
• Optional: 1 14-ounce can chickpeas (For Paleo, skip these)
• For serving: A few leaves of cilantro
• For serving: Cooked cauliflower rice, rice, quinoa or couscous

Directions:

1. Heat coconut oil in the bottom of your Instant Pot on the sauté setting. Dice onion, and add to the pot. Sauté until transparent.
2. Add cubed lamb to pot, browning on all sides. Mince garlic and ginger, and add to pot. Stir.
3. Cube the squash: first, cube the squash in half, and remove the seeds. (you can choose if you would like to remove the skin. I leave it on for kabocha and red kuri squash, as it gets quite soft). Dice into 1-inch cubes. Add to the pot, along with the ras el hanout, black pepper, salt, stock, dried apricots, canned tomatoes, and chickpeas, if using. Stir everything until incorporated. Then, secure the lid on the Instant Pot and set to “Stew” setting for 20 minutes.
4. Once 20 minutes is up, release pressure. Serve over cauliflower rice/rice/quinoa/couscous, and top with a few cilantro leaves. Serve hot.