Do foods still constitute as leftovers if they weren’t actually cooked, partially eaten, and then left for the next day?   In classic holiday dining style, our eyes were larger than our stomachs; we brought a little too much food to the table.  Correction, the food I speak of didn’t actually make it to the table.  As our dinner came together, the plates started to overtake the dining area and Mike quickly realized that his food plans may have been a little overzealous. Like any artist, though the veg was already prepped, Mike edited and the pile of butternut squash, quartered parsnips, and collection of kale leaves were plastic wrapped and stowed away for another meal.  Leftovers?

This Sunday, I can honestly say that I did not see more than 5 minutes of spandex clad athletes running up and down a field.  The longest football TV moment I sat through was a pre-game news segment with Mike Ditka and, thankfully, he wasn’t suited in spandex.  Perhaps it was because Dallas had a bye week or perhaps it was due to my strategically planned lazy Sunday naps but either way I was left to wonder, “was football on TV today?”.

 From nap time to Queen Street, I continued to avoid football and left Mike to tinker with what to do with our “leftovers”.  Though Christmas is just over 2 months away, I took to Queen West to enjoy the crisp early-fall weather and to get some pre-shopping gifting ideas.  Whenever I’m in need of some aesthetic inspiration, I often find that Anthropologie never disappoints.  Inspired by all the beautiful scents and displays, perhaps everyone on my list will be receiving a hand-poured soy candle this Christmas.  The colour options and scents are endless!

For the sake of efficiency and football tv time, Mike transformed our “leftovers” into a soup.

P A R S N I P + B U T T E R N U T  S Q U A S H  S O U P

• 10 parsnips | peeled + diced
• 1 butternut squash | peeled + diced
• 1 whole white onion | peeled + diced
• 6 cloves of garlic | peeled + diced
• 1/4 c butter
• 1/2 c heavy cream
• 1/4 c olive oil
• about 1L vegetable stalk
• salt + pepper to taste

Toss parsnips and squash in olive + salt + pepper in a roasting pan
Place in a 450ºF oven | cook until dark golden brown + soft
Place onion + garlic in a soup pot with butter | cook on med heat until softened  
Add the roasted parsnips + squash to the sauce pan | cover all ingredients with 1″ of vegetable stalk
Simmer until all vegetables have further softened
Blend contents [with a stand or hand blender] at high speed | add in cream | blend
Strain mixture through a seive 
Pour strained mixture back into the soup pot and re-heat | season with salt + pepper to taste

**OPTIONAL TOPPING**
To use up ALL our “leftovers” Mike had to make use of the kale.

Toss the chopped kale leaves lightly in olive oil + salt + pepper
Grill the kale on high until charred  
When crisp and ready, crumble the kale over the soup before serving

Ta-da; Leftover Soup!