CONGRATULATIONS TO...

... of The Garden Cat Cottage, winner of the Amaltheia Organic Dairy Goat Cheese giveaway. Kathy, please contact me at thewellseasonedcook AT yahoo DOT com with your shipping details.

Thank you to everyone who participated. As opportunities become available, I will continue to carefully select quality culinary products (comestibles, equipment, and books) which I believe my readers would enjoy the chance of winning. As always, I am delighted by your visits and comments, and look forward to discovering the new faces who have introduced themselves through this event.

A Spring Soup to Fall For - Potage Saint-Germain

An elegant and delicate French soup of green peas, leeks, lettuce, and mint, Potage Saint-Germain is traditionally enjoyed in the spring, when fresh green peas are in season. I stumbled upon one lone packet of shelled peas while marketing for Thanksgiving produce. Among the rutabagas, yams, and green beans, they looked like foundlings in need of a good home. So I adopted them. Days after the feast, they provided the perfect remedy for a jaded appetite, a jade-colored purée of simplicity and good taste. I felt renewed. It felt like Easter.

Autumn Potage Saint-Germain - Loosely based on the Epicurious recipe

Makes 2 to 3 servings.

Ingredients

2 large leeks (white and green parts), trimmed of roots and coarse leaves
2 tablespoons butter or oil
2 generous cups fresh or frozen green peas, rinsed
1 heart of romaine lettuce, stemmed and chopped, including unbruised outer dark green leaves
3 cups vegetable stock (I used mushroom)
1/2 cup milk or cream, any fat content
Small handful fresh mint leaves, chopped (or if tiny, keep whole)
1 teapoon salt (omit if you've used well-salted stock).
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Optional garnishes:
1/4 cup cream, any fat content
A few reserved mint leaves
Snipped chives
Croutons

Method

Slice leek stalks into coins and separate into rings. Soak rings in bowl of cold water for ten minutes, agitating occasionally. (N.B. - Leeks notoriously harbor sand in their very finely ribbed recesses. Special care must be taken to rid even the smallest particle, which will impart a nasty grit that will ruin the recipe.) Transfer rings into colander (sand will have sunken to bottom of bowl) and rinse under running water. Pat rings with toweling to remove excess water, then add them to a large saucepan where you have gently warmed the butter or oil over very low heat.

Sauté leeks until limp and golden, about 6 minutes. Add peas, lettuce, and stock. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cover saucepan, allowing some steam to escape, and cook until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer the soup in batches to a blender, adding mint leaves. Purée until smooth. (Take care; it will be very hot.) Transfer purée into clean saucepan. Add milk or cream, black pepper, and salt. Stir briefly over very low heat. Taste for seasoning, adjusting if necessary. Ladle into serving bowls, drip optional cream onto surface, and swirl with a skewer or toothpick. Add optional mint leaves, chives, and/or croutons. Serve immediately.

Fresh peas.

This recipe is for Sra of When My Soup Came Alive, hosting MLLA 17. Sra will have the round-up online as soon as possible. Do stop by and peruse the menu. I'm sure there is yet another feast coming up.

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Been There, Done That ~
Piyaz
Chickpea Caldo Verde
Cannellini, Fennel, and Olives

Other People's Eats ~
Revithia
Black Bean Soup with Fried Egg
Rigatoni with Legume and Vegetable Soup

Getting Your Goat (Cheese) - A Giveaway

Feta on Olive Oil.

Life's little luxuries. They are often unexpected gifts: the hand-written thank-you note from a far-away friend; the cat who spies the spider before it lowers itself onto your head; the Valentine extravagance of Italian black lace languidly pooled in a glossy white box. We all have our favorites. And sometimes, we have to get them for ourselves, like the parcel of certified organic goat cheese I purchased from an artisan dairy hidden in the mountains of Montana, brought to my attention by Toni of Daily Bread Journal, who wrote to me of her visit there while wandering the wilds on a recent vacation.

Amaltheia Organic Dairy has been in business since 2000. Named for the Greek mythological she-goat who nursed the god Zeus, the 20-acre, 500-head operation was recognized in 2008 with a Montana Eco-Star Award for its commitment to fully sustainable farmsteading. The owners, Mel and Sue Brown, have also enjoyed awards from the American Cheese Society for their distinctive, vegetarian-friendly chevres. The Browns pride themselves on products that are made exclusively with their own born-and-breed livestock, without dependence on offshore ingredients of any kind.

For the health conscious, goat cheese is high in Omega-3 fatty acids yet lower in fat than cow's milk cheese. It is generally easier to digest and rich in potassium, Vitamin A, thiamine, and niacin. Four ounces provide 16 grams of protein at the same calorie count as a candy bar, but with no refined sugar, hydrogenated fats, or artificial flavors or colors.

Now, it is your chance for a little luxury of your own, courtesy of Amaltheia Organic Dairy*. I will be conducting a random drawing to select one winner who will receive 8 ounces each of the following chevres: Plain, Roasted Garlic and Chives, Spiced Pepper, Sun-Dried Tomato, Perigord Black Truffle, Whole Milk Ricotta, and Feta - a total of 3.5 pounds of cheese. For inclusion in the drawing, please leave a comment on this post by December 1, 11:59 p.m. New York time. You do not have to be a blogger to be included in the drawing. For the purpose of fairness, anonymous readers who are not bloggers must identify themselves in the comment with a first name and first initial of surname which must match the name given me to ship the prize should you be the winner. Due to the perishable nature of dairy products, this prize can only be awarded to residents of the continental U.S. Family and friends are not eligible to win. The winner will be announced in a post on December 2. Good luck, everyone!

For those who'd like to try Amaltheia Organic Dairy products for themselves, as I initially did, they are available online or in selected markets nationwide.

Flavored with Perigord Black Truffle.

*Amaltheia Organic Dairy is the sponsor of this giveaway. I have not been personally compensated either financially or with products in exchange for discussion on this site.