It’s safe to assume we all still have squash in our crispers, yes?

And was it yesterday morning, that I sorta, kinda, a little bit, wished I had grabbed a cardigan before leaving the apartment?

OH NO IT’S STARTING!!! Don’t.freak.out.

The drastic change between Saturday’s sweat show and Monday morning’s “where’s my sweater?” weather begs to have a summery twist on a comforting, warm bowl of soup.

I’ve actually been waiting and waiting to share this. I had made this during that time when squash was threatening to overtake my refrigerator. But every week seemed just too early to be like “eat boiling hot liquid for lunch or dinner, whydontcha!”

But it’s time has come. I keep telling myself to be excited for soup and stews and chili.

Here’s how I’ll start.

Zesty Zucchini Soup

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of grass fed butter, or other fat

1 small onion, diced

1 jalapeno, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 small-medium green zucchini, sliced into thin rounds

1 small yellow zucchini or yellow squash, sliced into thin rounds

32 oz. (4 cups) chicken broth

½ teaspoon of cumin

1 teaspoon of paprika

cayenne to taste

salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup grass fed heavy cream

Directions:

Get the butter melting in a large pot over a medium heat. Once melted saute onions, jalapeno, and garlic in pan until onions are soft, translucent, and a bit caramelized. About 5 minutes.

Add the squash to the pot and cook until just starting to get tender, another 5 to 10 minutes. (They’ll continue to cook in the broth and get soft.)

Add broth to the pot as well as cumin, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer.

Simmer soup until the squash is soft and tender, approximately another 10 to 15 minutes.

Turn off heat and slowly stir in the heavy cream.

Yield: approximately 2 quarts

Welcome to Sizzle & Sass!

Coming to you from a tiny NYC kitchen where the challenge is simple. Cook and bake as seasonally, as locally, and as organically as possible in a typically small city kitchen with a grand total of two and a half feet of counter space. At least my fridge and oven are life size. Thank you, Queens.

Consider this challenge accepted, I’m beyond excited to conquer.

So, let’s start this thing off right, with a strawberry kale salad. Specifically, “Red Russian” Kale (the magenta veins just shouted to me at the farmer’s market - “I wanna meet some strawberries!”) I’d like to think it’s terribly seasonal and quite pretty in pink. I also threw some last of the season asparagus in there. Grab it up before it’s too late and try it fresh! It’s so crunchy and sweet! And then I dressed it all up in a jalapeno vinaigrette. If that ain’t sassy, I don’t know what is.

If you do dairy, a salty feta or a tangy goat cheese would be lovely here. I had none on hand, but it also wasn’t missed. Next time, I will definitely throw in some sunflower seeds if I have them for added crunch - I love me a crunchy salad.

It’s only slightly spicy, but I cut out the rib and seeds, next time I might leave some in there to kick it up a notch. I was also thinking it might be nice to make the dressing a day ahead and let the pepper really steep into the liquid.

Red Russian Kale Strawberry Salad with Jalapeno Vinaigrette

Salad Ingredients

1 bunch Red Russian Kale

4 to 5 asparagus spears

½ of a red onion, thinly sliced

½ cup of fresh strawberries, sliced

optional:

handful of sunflower seeds

a bit of feta or goat cheese

Vinaigrette Ingredients

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

2 teaspoons maple syrup

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 jalapeno, finely minced

salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Prepare your vinaigrette first, perhaps even a day in advance

The Lazy Way (how I did it):

Whisk together the oil and vinegar, then add in the mustard, syrup, salt and pepper and jalapeno and whisk again until combined.

The Proper Way:

Whisk together vinegar, mustard, syrup, salt and pepper then slowly drizzle olive oil in while whisking until dressing has emulsified. Stir in the minced jalapeno.

Set aside.

Prep your washed kale by removing the stems. Stack the leaves on top of each other one by one. Then roll them up tightly into a tube shape, then cut across to create very delicate thin strips of kale. This is called a chiffonade! Easy to toss, easy to eat!

Line up two asparagus at a time and slice at a slight diagonal, to create thin oval discs.

Throw the kale, asparagus, and red onion into a large bowl and toss a bit to incorporate. Pour over the dressing and then add the sliced strawberries. Gently fold the strawberries in and distribute the dressing evenly.

Serves 4