Lentil soup is one of our most favorite dishes for Fall and Winter

• 3 tablespoons extra–virgin olive oil
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped celery stalks plus chopped celery leaves for garnish
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 4 cups (or more) vegetable broth
• 1 1/4 cups lentils, rinsed, drained
• 1 14 1/2–ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
• Balsamic vinegar (optional)
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Preparation
Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium–high heat. Add onions, celery, carrots, and garlic; sauté until vegetables begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Add 4 cups broth, lentils, and tomatoes with juice and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium–low, cover, and simmer until lentils are tender, about 35 minutes.
If you choose to have a more puree soup:
Transfer 2 cups soup (mostly solids) to blender and puree until smooth. Return puree to soup in pan; thin soup with more broth by 1/4 cupfuls, if too thick. Season with salt, pepper, and a splash of vinegar, if desired. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with celery leaves.

Pumpkin soup

Asking the Farmer how to make the pumpking soup, she suggested the following.

Skin the pumpkin and put it into water to boil. Add a few bouilloun cubes. Add a pomme de terre (potatoe) and an onion. Voila ! Put in the blender and make it a puree and it is fantastic and so easy!!!

Pumpkin Pie

Thanksgiving is approaching and we were invited to two Thanksgiving dinners (one on Thursday and Saturday). I decided to attempt to make a Pumpkin Pie from fresh pumpkin. My first attempt was fabulous for the inside (add enough sucre and anthing can be great), but the crust had some difficulty cooking (possibly our oven or I need to bake before a bit more before putting inthe filling. Meanwhile here is the great recipe.. Try fresh pumpkin also. It was great!!! and not hard.

Ingredients:

1 - 8oz pkg cream cheese softened (I used some similiar cheese here in France)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp ground cloves

3 eggs (I think you only need one or two however as it was a bit runny)

1 can canned pumpkin or equivalent in fresh

1 unbaked pie cshell, edges crimped high

1 cup diary sour cream

Directions:

Cream together cream cheese, brown sugar, cinnamon, giner, salt, and cloves. Add eggs, one a a time, beathing thoroughly after each addition. Blend in softened pumpkin, milk, and vanilla. (the recipe said this, but there wasn't milk listed in the ingredients so I added a little). Bake into 375 oven 45-50 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between center and edge come out clean. Blend together sour cream and sugar; spread over top of pie. return pie to oven 3-5 minutes or until topping is set. Chill before serving.

Beef Stock or bouillon cubes

Tons of onions - sliced and lightly sauteed in olive oil until soft

Mix the onions with the beef stock (about  2 onions per 8 cups of stock)

This past Saturday, Zoe-Pascale decided it was time to make cupcakes for Pantoufle's 8th month birthday and we needed a party. A few friends and neighbors came over to celebrate. So here it is.  The recipe follows and just call it Kirsten's cupcakes!

3/4 cup butter
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups sifted and then measured cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup milk

Beat butter, sugar, eggs, vamilla for 5 min on high speed.
 Sift together baking powder, salt and flour.
Add dry stuff in 4 separate dumps into wet stuff alternately with milk.
 Blend on low speed just until smooth.  Bake at 350.  Pour only half way into cups. Check after 10 minutes with stick to see if cooked all the way through.

Icing:  1/2 cup butter softened
8 oz cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
Gradually add 1 package powdered sugar.

Different than Starbucks, high-calorie Frappe, this recipe is lower in calorie and something you can easily make at home.

First, you need to buy a Frappe machine (which Mom bought upon arriving home at Best Buy).

Mix the following in a tall glass:

• 1 teaspoon of nescafe (somehow it needs to be an instant powder for it to work properly)
• About 1-2 tablespoons of cold water (you'll know if it is too much as it will splatter all over)
• sugar or splenda to taste
• mix in Frappe machine until it is all foamy
• Add more water (almost to the top
• Add milk (if you like milk in your coffee)
• Add ice cubes

Lay back and feel the warm ocean breeze and enjoy

• 1/2 cucumber
• 2 gloves of garlic or 22 cc of puree garlic
• 3 table spoons of olive oil
• 1/2 table spoon of wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper mixed
• 1/2 kg of natural yogurt or fromage blanc
  

Prepare:

Wash and dice the cucumer in small pieces (use cuisinart if possible)
Mix in the garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper

Mix well into the yogurt or fromage blanc
Leave for a bit of time in refrigerator to get cold.

Serve with bread, crackers or vegetables