The holiday season is beginning and we all look forward to the days ahead. Each week brings new invitations for a party or dinner; special times spent with family and friends. We start eating at Thanksgiving and before you know, it is January. We look at ourselves a little plumper and wonder how it happened. It seemed to occur overnight. When you stop and think about it, for over 30 days we are being offered goodies that, with our usual iron-will, normally would be avoided. No wonder the number one New Year’s Resolution is to lose weight.

Our first tip for a healthy start to Thanksgiving this year is focus on healthy sides. As the turkey is roasting, the smells fill the air and we either begin snacking or many of us eat very little, anticipating the hour when we can begin the feast. Saving room for that “special dinner” often causes us to overeat. Everything is so good and we return for second or even third helpings.

This year start your feast with this recipe I found on the Fine Cooking web page. The flavor of this Buttercup Squash and Leek Soup is fantastic—go light on the herb butter and avoid bread or crackers. This soup will not weigh too heavy and will keep you from overeating when dinner finally arrives. The herb butter can be made two weeks ahead of time and the soup can be made three days ahead. Keep refrigerated or frozen. Yield—12 cups

BUTTERCUP SQUASH & LEEK SOUP WITH HERB BUTTER

Ingredients:

HERB BUTTER:

1 shallot, finely chopped (about 2 Tbs)
1 /2 cup dry sherry
1 /2 lb (16 Tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature (I revised this to
1 /4 lb – 8 Tbsp – unsalted butter, at room temperature)*
2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 /2 tsp kosher salt
1 /4 tsp white pepper (more can be added to taste)

*The remaining butter in the original recipe was used to baste the turkey. I cut the recipe in half went light on the butter in the soup and still had butter left over.

Directions:
Heat a small nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. When hot, add the shallots and heat to release their aroma and lightly toast them, about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and add the sherry. Set the pan back on the heat and reduce the liquid to 2 Tbsp, about 8 minutes. Let cool. In a small mixing bowl, blend the butter, chives, sherry-shallot mixture, salt, and pepper. Line a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper and spread the butter 1 /4 inch thick to cover about 8×6 inches. Cover and chill. With a small cookie cutter or a knife, cut out 12 small shapes. Wrap in plastic and freeze.

Ingredients:

SOUP:

4 cups chopped, well-washed leeks, white part only (about 3 large)
8 cups peeled, seeded, and diced (1-inch cubes) buttercup squash (about 3 medium)
1 /2 cup dry white wine
6 cups homemade or low-salt chicken broth
2-1 /2 Tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp to 1 Tbsp white pepper (start with the lesser amount as peppers vary in intensity)
(I left out the salt and pepper, allowing individual seasoning per taste)

Chopped fresh chives for garnish

Directions:
Put the leeks in a heavy-based nonaluminum, 8-qt. stockpot. Put the squash over the leeks; add the wine and broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cook until the squash is fork-tender, about 25 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes. Add the salt and pepper; purée in a blender (or food processor). Cover and freeze (or refrigerate up to 3 days).

On the day of serving:

Defrost the butter shapes. Reheat the soup over low to medium heat, stirring frequently (or in a microwave). To serve, ladle the hot soup into shallow bowls and garnish with herb butter and fresh chives.

From Fine Cooking 29, pp. 34
October 1, 1998
photo: Ben Fink

Ingredients:
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1 -1 /4 pounds fresh green beans, stems removed and snapped in 2-3 inch pieces (about 6 cups)
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 /4 cup diced Vidalia onion
1 /2 cup sliced or slivered almonds
3 Tbsp Fruitfast Wonderful Pomegranate Liquid Supplement or 1/3 cup Fruitfast Wonderful Pomegranate Juice Concentrate.
Salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces sliced goat cheese (optional)

Directions:

Place green beans in a double boiler and steam for 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat; set aside.
In a 10” non-stick skillet or wok, heat olive oil. Add onion and sauté for 2-3 minute
minutes or until onion is softened. Add green beans and lemon peel and continue to sauté for 5-6 minutes; add almonds and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes.
Remove from heat and add Fruit Fast Wonderful Pomegranate Liquid Supplement
Wonderful Pomegranate Juice Concentrate. Stir until well mixed. Season with salt
and pepper to taste.
Turn onto serving platter and arrange goat cheese slices over top (optional).

Yield: Six servings

Here’s a berry variation that is so delicious, it tastes like a dessert.

3 acorn squash
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tart apple, such as Granny Smith – diced
10 Tbsp FruitFast Mixed Berry Liquid
6 tbsp brown sugar
6 tsp butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Poke each squash with a knife or fork two – three times. Place squash in microwave oven and cook on high for 8-10 minutes. Carefully cut squash in half lengthwise and remove fibers and seeds.

Fill each half of the squash with the diced apple then sprinkle each half with 1 Tbsp. brown sugar. Dot the squash halves with 1 tsp. butter on top of the diced apple mixture. Place in an ungreased casserole dish; add 1/2 cup water around the squash and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the apples begin to soften.

In a medium bowl, mix together the blueberries and FruitFast Mixed Berry Liquid.

Remove the squash from the oven and spoon the blueberry mixture over the apple mixture.

Yield: 6 servings

1 Tbsp butter or margarine

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup diced carrots

½ cup dried tart cherries

½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1 clove garlic, diced

1 tsp dried oregano

½ cup fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces

3 cups cooked rice

Melt butter in a non-stick skillet. Add onion, celery, and carrots. Sauté until vegetables are tender. Add garlic and sauté another minute. Stir in cherries, nuts, oregano and basil. Stir until heated. Add mixture to cooked rice.

Yield 8 servings.

A hike in the Woodland searching for the elusive morel mushroom was on the
agenda this past weekend. When I was a young girl my father would love this
time of year. With five small pair of eyes and two pair of adult eyes, he
was sure to fill his grocery bags with many of these elusive delicacies.

Mushroom hunting has become a spring ritual in my family, as it has for so
many families. So with our special mushroom bag in hand off to the woods
we went hoping to find enough mushrooms for at least one meal. Walking
through the woods, watching and smelling the forest come alive, munching a
Cherryflex FruitFast Supplement Bar, ah, life doesn’t get any better than
this. Even if we found nothing, what a great way to spend the day. As luck
would have it, we did find just enough for a meal. I have found over the
years, a few fantastic recipes that incorporate the morel mushroom. One of
these recipes pairs the morel with another rite of spring “white asparagus”.

The Germans were the innovators of the much revered “white asparagus”, also
known as “Spargel”. It is grown with all sunlight shut out preventing
photosynthesis, hence the lack of color. As a result the asparagus tends to
be milder, sweeter and more tender in taste than its green counterpart. In
Germany, the asparagus is sold at roadside stands and in open air markets in
every town. An annual “Spargelfest” is held in Schwetzingen, Germany, where
one lucky person is crowned “Spargel Queen”. White asparagus can be
difficult to find in US supermarkets, but I found that combining the morel
with fresh green asparagus works equally well.

So while the mushroom season is in full swing, head for your favorite
“secret” mushroom haven. Don’t forget to take along your favorite FruitFast
Supplement Bar. They are, nutritious, all natural fruit and just the pick
me up you will need to keep you up and running.

This recipe was adapted from a recipe found in the Spring 2006 issue of Bon
Appetit.

Asparagus and Morel Saute

1 1/2 lbs white or green asparagus, trimmed and cut into 3-inch lengths
2-3 Tbsp butter
6 ounces fresh morels, cleaned, and halved
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup green onions, thinly sliced; or 3/4 cups thinly sliced leeks (white
and pale green parts only)
1 clove garlic minced (optional)
2 Tbsp fresh Italian parsley

Steam the asparagus, or cook in large saucepan in boiling water until just
tender. Melt butter in a large non-stick skillet on medium heat and saute
onions and garlic for approx 1 minute. Add the thyme and morel mushrooms
and continue to saute for about 6 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender.
Add asparagus, toss to coat and continue to saute approx 2 minutes. Stir in
parsley. Salt and pepper to taste.