Sunchokes, also known as Jerusalem artichokes, look very similar to ginger root, but when you begin to peel them they offer an intensely concentrated artichoke aroma. Raw, they have the texture of a water chestnut, but taste sweeter and nuttier. They are a member of the tuber farm and are packed with iron and potassium. They aid in digestion and store carbs as inulin, not starch, making them an ideal substitute for potatoes. The farmer suggested roasting them or serving raw in a salad, but I’ve had sunchoke soup on the mind since Ramona’s post in the spring. This simple soup lets their flavor shine. I added mushrooms which added to the earthy flavor, but you can omit them.

Recipe: Creamy Sunchoke Soup
Adapted from Thomas Keller

Ingredients:

• 1 pound sunchokes
• 1 leek, white part and an inch of the green portion, rinsed well
• 1/2 cup maitake mushroom
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• pinch of sea salt
• 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup cream

Instructions: Peel and thinly slice the sunchokes. (They are a little tricky to peel, so go carefully.) Slice the leek cross-wise into thin strips. Coarsely chop the mushrooms. Melt butter in stock pot over medium low heat. Add sunchokes and leeks and cook until they are translucent, about 8 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook 2 minutes more. Season with white pepper and salt, and stir in chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and puree in blender or with stick blender until smooth. (If using hand-held blender, you may wish to strain through a chinois strainer or cheesecloth to remove any extra lumps.) Stir in cream, warm over low heat for two minutes, then remove from heat and serve. Makes 4 servings. Enjoy!

Farms of Origin: Organic sunchokes and leek, Next Step Produce and maitake from the Mushroom Lady, Dupont Circle Farmers Market. Butter from South Mountain Creamery.

Chef Eric Ripert recently launched a “Dinner Social” project on his blog, Avec Eric, to encourage fans to cook with friends and family. You have to love a chef who is willing to share recipes and techniques to encourage you to enjoy their food at home. As the theme for the first challenge was “Market Table,” I naturally was intrigued. When April, of The Food Scribe, suggested a collaborative effort with fellow DC food bloggers, I was definitely on board. Together with April, Tiffany of The Garden Apartment and Alison of The Humble Gourmand, we spent Sunday afternoon cooking and enjoying good wine and conversation. We bought as many of our ingredients as possible at our local farmers markets, with my squash from the Del Ray market, Tiffany’s root vegetables from the Dupont Circle market, and April’s pears from the Takoma Park market. With cameras in hand, we took over April’s lovely kitchen and set to work.

My assignment was the Pumpkin Soup with Herbed Creme Fraiche & Spiced Pumpkin Seeds. Chef Ripert suggested serving it in a large roasted pumpkin, but I discovered that it’s hard to find full-size pumpkins after Halloween. The pumpkin for the soup was actually Japanese Kabocha squash, with a rich, orange pulp. My only complaint was that the Kabocha was very hard to peel; next time I would probably roast it a little to make it easier. I hollowed out and roasted lovely orange and green Celebration squash to use as individual serving bowls. (Roasted at 450 degrees for 20 minutes.)

The local ingredients in my soup came from Potomac Vegetable Farms, Va. (thyme), Three Way Farm, Va. (squash, onion and elephant garlic), and Trickling Springs Creamery, Pa. (heavy cream). The rest were organic products from Alexandria’s My Organic Market.

Each course incorporated seasonal ingredients with unexpected flavor combinations. I never would have thought to add brussel sprouts to a roasted root vegetable platter, for example, but the bright green added a lovely visual component as well as a crisp bite among softer turnips, beets and carrots. While it would have been a lot of work for one cook, Ripert provided a several day preparation guide that would have lessened the work load the day of the dinner party. With multiple chefs, it came together easily. All together it was a fabulous meal, made better with great company and good wine! This was the perfect way to spend a chilly November afternoon. Thank you, Chef Ripert, for the inspiration!

(Pictured, clockwise from left, Tiffany, April, yours truly, Alison.)

Be sure to surf around to see Tiffany’s roasted lamb and root vegetable, Alison’s endives with prosciutto, blue cheese and pomegranate seeds - and perfect wine picks, and April‘s carmelized onion and olive croustade and roasted pears with chocolate bourbon sauce and homemade chestnut ice cream. And you can drool over all our pictures over on Flickr.

We recently ventured out to Stribling Orchard’s Apple Festival to kick off fall with fresh-plucked apples. It didn’t feel particularly like fall as it was a scorching 95 degrees. Stribling is a sixth-generation family farm with a lovely view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The occasional train passing by below the orchard provided an added thrill for the kids.

The toddler picked a few apples, had some fun with the picking stick, and then we headed back to the shade of the country store to indulge in a caramel apple.

We got some beautiful young celery in our CSA bag last week, and I was planning to use it in some sort of soup when I had the thought to use some of our apples as well. This can be served hot or chilled, in case you also live somewhere where the weather and calendar aren’t always in sync.

Recipe: Creamy Apple Celery Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 T butter
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 4 large apples, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• black pepper to taste

Instructions: Melt butter in stock pot over medium low heat. Add onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add celery and cook 2 minutes more. Stir in apples and broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer over medium low heat for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and puree with immersion blender. Serve with freshly ground pepper warm, or chill for at least 1 hour to enjoy cold. Makes 4 servings.

Notes: This creamy soup is lower in fat than your traditional cream of celery, and the sweetness of the apples will appeal to kids and adults alike.

When canning tomatoes recently, I saved some to make a batch of fresh tomato soup. This is highly adaptable and a great way to use up any stray vegetables in the fridge. I froze a portion and the remainder lasted us two nights. The first night we ate it plain with country ham & biscuits on the side, and the second night I added cooked sausage slices to the portion we were about to eat. You could poach some fish in it or add cooked shrimp, chicken, or other protein to make a complete meal.

Recipe: Harvest Tomato Soup

Ingredients

• 2 T olive oil
• 6-8 tomatoes, seeded and diced (or two 8 oz. cans crushed tomatoes)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 ear corn, cut off kernels
• 1 T dried oregano
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 4 cups water
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley)

Instructions: Heat olive oil in soup pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onion and carrots and saute until onion is golden. Add tomatoes, oregano, broth and water. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in zucchini and corn, simmer five minutes longer. Add cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat. Serve with a nice crusty baguette and enjoy!