Classic Split Pea Soup - with Bacon! - And Winter Greens Maple Mustard Salad

My family has a Caya-specific split pea soup. I have loved its simplicity over the years, and I certainly will continue to use it throughout the cold months, but this time around I was wanting something special to touch it up. What could that possibly be...?

Bacon.

A good, thick package of organic bacon, strips that actually had a large amount of meat on them, crisped up to ruddy, crumbly chunks for adorning the complimentary shade of green!

Full recipe available upon request:

Featuring fresh chopped flat leaf parsley and bacon! Caya 2012.

Serve with a hearty winter-greens salad with homemade maple mustard dressing:

Arugula, Radicchio, & Endive mixed in with the last of the Radishes and a maple mustard dressing. Caya 2012.

'First of the Season' Ginger Pumpkin Pie

I may have mentioned last season that I like a good spicy pumpkin pie experience.

Now, I don't tend toward preparing my own pumpkin puree, though I have done it and it is lovely, but I do get a hold of a good organic pumpkin puree with which to create the spicy filling of my preference.

Farmer's Market Organic Pumpkin

Using 'Farmer's Market' Organic Pumpkin, I mix up eggs, condensed milk, generous cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and FRESH, finely chopped ginger root with the slightest (real) maple syrup and sea salt. Simple.
*You don't have to go with fresh ginger root. In fact, my mom always used classic dried ginger along with the rest of the spices. But I've been turned on to the experience out of not having the dried on hand. And truly, fresh chopped ginger has a different heat and presence in the filling than otherwise. It gives the pie another element, or a different fire. But maybe that is just me...

'Sweet' is not really the focal point with a good pumpkin experience, I find. It is the spice, the heated bite of the autumnal and wintery time of year, that gives it either success or failure. In fact, too much of a 'sweet' presence just ruins it for me. A good puree of pumpkin has enough 'sweet' flavor to begin with.

...With my basic homemade pie-crust, just savory and flaky enough. Caya 2012.

This makes a brilliant breakfast, even cold! A nice thick, tall slice will do me. Caya 2012.

Here's to bringing in the seasonal feasting!

'Rolled' Lasagna with Lemon Zest Asparagus & Parsley Garlic Bread

This came about in a rather unexpected way.

I was working from a recipe for ‘Autumn’ Lasagna, which used wonderful flavors and themes for a mushroom-centric, smooth and creamy experience.
My only complaint was that the recipe saw fit to utilize some unnecessary techniques to take a roundabout approach to constructing a result that was – while tasty – awkward to actually eat.

So, deciding to use the same flavors for my own reinvention of the idea at a later point, I still had leftover cooked lasagna. The strips were a bit messy, a bit torn, but perfectly usable in my eyes. I also had left over ricotta, spinach, and sauce, so…

The result was rolled wedges drenched in sauce and some Parmesan, baked to oozing perfection! I was so pleased with how simple yet flavorful they were, and much easier to dish out – just personal pockets! – than the layered, sloppy traditional counterpart.

Full recipe(s) available upon request:

'Rolled' Lasagna with Lemon Zest Asparagus & Parsley Garlic Bread. Caya 2012.

As it goes...Caya 2012.