Recipe from: www.care2.com

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 leeks, white and light green parts washed and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
• 2 cups chopped yellow onion
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and cubed into 1/2-inch cubes
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 2-3 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves

Preparation

1. Heat a 4-quart soup pot over medium heat and add the oil.

2. Add the leeks, onion, and sea salt and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the onion begins to turn translucent.

3. Add the garlic and stir well. Cook for 1 minute more.

4. Add the potatoes and vegetable stock, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Cook 20 minutes.

5. Remove the soup from the heat and use an immersion/stick blender to blend the soup in the pot or ladle the soup into a blender, 1 cup at a time. Blend the soup with the fresh rosemary leaves until smooth and free of chunks. Pour smooth soup into a heat-proof bowl and continue until all of the soup has been blended.

6. Transfer the blended soup back to the original soup pot and warm over low heat until heated through. Serve hot.

I wanted to try something that utilized more of the fall/winter harvest and what I wound up with was an amazing "pot pie" that knocked my socks off.

From an article by Big Girls, Small Kitchen in the Huffington Post in February 2011

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 2 parsnips, diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 small potato
• 1/2 bulb fennel, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh sage
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• salt and pepper
• 2.5 tablepsoons flour
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 pie crust, recipe follows*
• 1 egg, beaten

Preparation

1. Grease a 9×9-inch baking dish, preferably one that's attractive enough to set on the table.
2. In a cast-iron skillet or other heavy saucepan, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes, then add the carrot, parsnip, celery, potato, and fennel. Saute, stirring often, until all the vegetables are soft, 12-15 minutes. Add the thyme, sage, and garlic, and cook for another minute or two, just until the herbs have wilted. Stir in the chickpeas, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a couple grinds of fresh pepper. Push the vegetables to once side of the pan.
3. Add a drizzle of oil to the free part of the pan and let it heat for 30 seconds. Sprinkle the flour over it and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute, until the flour is vaguely fragrant. Toss the toasted flour back in with the vegetables.
4. Pour in the white wine and the vegetable stock and raise the heat to high. Bring to a boil, then simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened and reduced, about 4 minutes.
5. Scrape the filling into the prepared baking dish, and let it cool to room temperature.
6. When you're ready to assemble and bake the pie, preheat the oven to 375°F.
7. Roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thickness and cut out hearts from it. You can also just fit the whole crust to the pie and prick it a few times. Brust the crust with the beaten egg.
8. Bake for 35 minutes, until the hearts are golden and fully cooked, and the filling is bubbling. Serve immediately.

* For the crust

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 10 tablespoons Spectrum shortening, chilled in the fridge for 1 hour
• 1 egg yolk
• 1-2 tablespoons cold water, as needed

Preparation

1. Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the cold shortening and pulse again, just until the whole mixture resembles crumbs. Add the egg yolk and process until a ball comes together. If it hasn't completely come together, slowly add 1-2 tablespoons of water, processing as you go so as not to add too much.
2. Gather the dough and form it into a ball, then press it into a disk. Refrigerate for at least an hour before rolling out on a floured surface.

• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped, seeds removed
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• 1 medium yellow squash, chopped
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 8 crimini mushrooms, quartered
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 15 oz. black beans
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 jalapeños, minced
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup enchilada sauce
• 9-10 small corn tortillas
• 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
  
• 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place first 5 ingredients on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss until vegetables are coated. Roast vegetables for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove the vegetables and reduce the heat to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, combine roasted vegetables, beans, spices, garlic, and jalapeño. Stir and season with salt and pepper.

3. Pour enough enchilada sauce into the bottom of an 8x8 baking pan to cover the bottom so the tortillas don't stick. Add a layer of tortillas, to completely cover the bottom of the pan. Top with 1/2 of the vegetable/bean mixture, enchilada sauce, and 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat for a second layer. Top with with a layer of tortillas, enchilada sauce, and cheese. Cover the pan with aluminum foil.

4. Bake enchiladas for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and the enchiladas are bubbling. Remove enchiladas from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Cut into squares and serve warm.