Leek & Potato Soup, Ragout, Florentine, Thanksgiving

Leek & Potato Soup
Sally's been asking for this soup, so I finally made a batch.  Really simple, but really tasty!

2 or 3 Leeks, sliced well into the green bits
3 large Idaho Potatoes, diced  large
1 cup Vegetable Broth
2 cloves Garlic
Salt & Black Pepper to taste
2-3 Tbsp quick cooking Oats or Oat Flour, for thickening

Cook the leeks and garlic in the broth while you peel and dice the potatoes.  Add the potatoes, salt and pepper, and 4-5 cups water.  Simmer for 20-30 minutes until the potatoes are tender.  Add the oatmeal/flour for thickening and simmer another 15-20 minutes.  Serve with hot-from-the-oven Fast Bread to soak up all the goodness.

Butternut & White Bean Ragout
Ragout is a fancy French name for a sort of stew without much broth. Usually a ragout is served over something -- rice, polenta, mashed potato or turnip, etc.  but I decided not to overdo things this time.

2-3 cups cubed Butternut Squash
1-2 cups cooked White Beans
6oz sliced Mushrooms
3/4 cup diced Sweet Onion
2-3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 cup Vegetable Broth
1/4 cup "Greens" of your choice
Salt & Pepper to taste
Assorted herbs --  marjoram, coriander, sage, cumin to taste.

Simmer everything in the veggie broth until tender.  Simple, eh?  Next time I'll do a bed of rice or riced cauliflower.

Baked Cod Florentine
Anything "Florentine" includes spinach, usually as a bed on which the rest of the recipe is served. 
We were gifted with a big bag of fresh spinach, so I trimmed it, and wilted it with some lemon juice to make the Florentine base.  The "baked cod" is the Greek style that I wrote about a few weeks ago (Sept 24th).   I also had a half cup or so of Hollandaise sauce left from a Cabana Croque Madam breakfast, so I spooned that atop the spinach before laying down the cod.

Food PornThis omelet as so pretty I couldn't resist the photo.  This was a 2-egg breakfast omelet for a Cabana guest:

Thanksgiving 2019
So here's my menu for Thanksgiving -- a dozen guests.  Nothing new really, except I've added roasted Brussels Sprouts fresh cut from the stalk.  Our Produce Co-Op had stems of sprouts available if you wanted, and I did.  Left a few on the stalk for show-and-tell on the Thanksgiving table.

Red Cooked Turkey Breast
Ham
Walnut Lentil Loaf for the vegetarians
Sweet Potato & Apple Casserole
Green Beans with slivered almonds
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cavender's seasoning
Mashed Potatoes & Turkey Gravy
Mushroom Sage Dressing
Orange Cake from a Great British Bake-Off recipe

Happy Thanksgiving from our house to yours!