the farmer's daughter

How in the world is it December today? Seriously, time is just flying by! I already hate how it gets dark so early, and can't wait for the days to start getting longer again soon. As a blogger who uses natural light 99% of the time, Winter really makes it harder to get your stuff done!

Anyway, enough complaining! Now, for those of you who have been following me for a while will probably be aware of the fact that I'm not a huge coffee drinker. At all. So whenever I go out for "coffee" with someone, I'm totally not getting coffee. But what would a person drink on a dark and chilly night you might ask? Hot chocolate of course! It's often my drink of choice in the cold months, and making your own is oh so good.

I used dark chocolate for this recipe since it's the best...I mean, my favourite. Haha. But you can totally switch it out for the chocolate of your choosing. Also, salting your whipped cream is the secret to making this drink a homerun. Seriously! I know it seems weird, but the salt, whipped cream, and the richness from the chocolate just come together in a beautiful melty delicious masterpiece. I find that the salt really brings out the flavour of the chocolate, and also cuts the sweetness just a tad. So, don't be scared! Just do it.

homemade dark hot chocolate

recipe: Jordyn & Kelsey Siemens
yields: 2 very large mugs of hot chocolate

Directions:

1) In a medium saucepan, combine the chocolate and whipping cream at a low heat, stirring constantly.

2) Once the chocolate and whipping cream are melted together, add your milk and water.

3) Heat until it reaches your desired temperature, and pour into your mugs.

4) Pile the whipped cream high! Sprinkle a bit of salt and chocolate shavings on top, and serve.

Ingredients:

10 oz dark chocolate, chopped

2 tablespoons whipping cream

2 cups milk

1/2 cup water

whipped cream

coarse salt

chocolate shavings

So there you have it! I love melting down chocolate instead of just using cocoa powder and sugar, and you can go pretty crazy and use different flavoured chocolate bars too!

Happy December!

-Kels

I really love making soups in Fall and Winter. They're just so warm and cozy, and the combinations of flavors are endless.

It was a chilly afternoon a couple days ago when I decided that I just had to have butternut squash soup. Nothing else would do. And thus, this soup was born.

My momma helped me out, and we made it up as we went along. I knew that this soup wasn't quite complete without biscuits, so of course that needed to happen. We decided to spice up our regular biscuit recipe with a couple handfuls of cheddar, as well a few sprigs of freshly picked rosemary. There are so many Fall flavors going on in this meal, and they came together beautifully.

butternut+squash+soup+and+biscuits-002.jpg

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

by: Kelsey {from p.s.heart}

yields: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

4 lbs Butternut squash, peeled and chopped (or 1 large Butternut squash)

2 medium sweet onions, chopped coarsely

6-8 cloves garlic, halved

oil

seasoning salt

black pepper

8 cups chicken stock

1/4 tsp black pepper (to taste)

1 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

[optional]: toasted, chopped walnuts for topping

Directions:

1) First, peel, remove the seeds from, and chop up your Butternut Squash. We used a kitchen scale to measure out four pounds, but you don't need it to be exact.

2) Chop up your onions coarsely (don't dice them finely, otherwise they'll burn when you roast them).

3) Halve your garlic cloves,

4) Place squash, onions and garlic on two cookie sheets (or a large roasting pan). Drizzle with a little bit of oil, sprinkle with seasoning salt and pepper, and then roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes (until squash pieces are soft). Be sure to stir every 10-15 minutes.

*We used 2 cookie sheets in our convection oven, but a large roasting pan will be fine, they just won't get as brown!

5) In a large pot (we used our large le creuset, or a dutch oven would work nicely), add roasted squash, onions and garlic. Add 8 cups of chicken stock, black pepper, curry power and cayenne pepper, and bring to a gentle simmer. Be sure to keep tasting your soup and adjust spices to your own taste.

6) We used an immersion blender to puree everything, although you could also use a plain old blender and blend the soup in a few batches. Once the soup is heated through, it's ready to serve!

7) Top with sprinkling of toasted, chopped walnuts right before serving.

Rosemary Cheddar Biscuits

yields: ~12 biscuits

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

3 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup margarine

1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, chopped (ours measured about 4" long - note: dried rosemary will

not

work well here)

1 cup milk

Directions:

1) In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt.

2) Using a pastry cutter, or fork, cut in margarine.

3) Stir in cheddar and rosemary*.

*Remove rosemary from stem by sliding fingers down the stem towards the base gently. Discard stem, and chop the leaves by using a rocking motion with a chef's knife.

4) Add in milk, and stir together. Be careful not to overmix here. As soon as the dough starts to come together, use your hands to pull it out onto a lightly floured surface.

5) Gently pat the dough down until it's about 2" thick. Cut into squares, or you can use a cookie cutter to do this as well.

6) Place on a cookie sheet, and bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes (bake time depends on thickness). If you're unsure whether or not they're done, just break one open to check!

Serve warm!