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Jumat, 11 April 2014

Butternut Squash Soup

My friend Stacey hosted a Fall Harvest Dinner for our Dinner group this month and served this wonderful Butternut Squash Soup. I was really looking forward to this dinner because Ive never had Butternut Squash Soup before and I wasnt disappointed. In fact, I really wanted more but I had to save room for the rest of the yummy dinner.

Stacey gave me the recipe she used and told me about the additions she made. It was her first time making the recipe too so think of it as an experiment. I used two big squash because I wanted to have some to freeze (and boy did I ever!). I dont have measurements for the additions but the next time I make it Ill have a better idea and Ill update this post. In the meantime give it a shot and add seasonings a little at a time and taste as you go. Stacey did advise that the soup is much better the second day and I have to agree. Isnt that the case with most soups?

The changes that I myself will make next time is that I will use less apple cider (staceys addition that I increased) because it was slightly too sweet. I also didnt use the ground cloves because I was being cheap. I admit it. I just couldnt see myself spending $8-10 on something Ill probably use once or twice a year. However, I did recently hear that I could buy bulk spices in health food stores so I will check that out for next time.

Whole Foods Butternut Squash Soup
(see link for many variations)

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipeId=1975

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cup diced carrot (about 1 (8-inch) large carrot)
1/2 cup diced celery (about 1 (11-inch) large stalk)
2/3 cup diced onion (about 1 medium onion)
4 cups cubed butternut squash (about 1 medium squash)
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
4 to 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Add carrot, celery and onion. Cook until vegetables have begun to soften and onion turns translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add butternut squash and thyme. Stir to combine with vegetables. Stir in chicken broth and season with salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until squash is fork-tender, about 30 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree soup. Alternatively, let the soup cool slightly and carefully puree in batches in a traditional blender.

Staceys Additions:

Cube squash and roast it in the oven at 375-400 for 30 minutes or until crispy. She cut back on the thyme by about half. After the soup was pureed she added a little nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and a splash of apple cider. The next day she added a little fresh ginger. For a pretty presentation she also drizzled some heavy cream in each bowl.

Thank you Stacey for your help with this recipe. Mine was not as good as yours but I will try again!

Kamis, 06 Februari 2014

Quick and Easy Black Bean Soup – Something from Almost Nothing

This black bean soup saved me during a recent attack of, “Oh my God, there is nothing in kitchen to cook with!” Even though it sometimes seems that way, theres rarely, literally nothing to cook with. I quickly found a few slices of bacon, a couple cans of beans, and an onion, and with the help of a spicy lime and green onion relish, turned it into a very decent bowl of soup.

It got me thinking about all those long shelf life, must-have pantry and fridge staples you can count on to produce a meal when lacking supplies. My short list is olive oil, beans, pasta, bacon, Parmigiano-Reggiano, eggs, tomato sauce, anchovies, salami, capers, garlic, onions, potatoes, and fresh citrus. As long as those things are close by, I can still look forward to a great meal no matter how sparse the rest of the provisions.

By the way, this will work with any smashable bean, and rumor has it that a handful of sausage in place of the bacon is a great variation. With wet, chillier days ahead, I think you’ll have occasion to give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 Servings:

6 slices bacon

1 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups chicken broth or water

2 cans black beans, rinsed, plus 1 can of water

pinch dried oregano

pinch cayenne

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp black pepper

salt and pepper to taste

For the relish (note – I only made a little bit in the video. This is enough for 4 servings):

1/3 cup minced green onion

2 tsp crushed or minced red chilies

juice of one lime

green onions to garnish

sour cream to garnish

Jumat, 24 Januari 2014

Lentil Soup for Idly and Dosa Paruppu Thakkali Soup

Preparation time-5mins

Cooking time-25mins

Serves-5

This is one of our traditional family recipe, i had not tasted this soup anywhere else. This soup is served along with hot idlys and crispy dosas. I also like eating this soup with steamed rice. This soup will be mild and great in taste. This soup is perfect for all ages. Its great food for the toddlers too. When feeding the toddlers you need to mash the steamed rice very well and add this soup generously to the rice and feed them.

Ingredients

Toor dal/ Split pigeon peas-1cup( washed and soaked for 1/2 hour)

Tomatoe-100gms( finely chopped)

Onion small-1( finely chopped)

Ghee-2tbsp

Red chilly powder-1/2tsp

Turmeric powder-1/4tsp

Pepper powder-1/2tsp

Salt to taste

Vadagam-1/2tsp

Method

Pressure cook the toor dal and tomatoes for 15 mins. Once the toor dal is well done, allow to cool and mash well with lentil masher. Strain the juice of the mashed toor dal with help of fine hole strainer. Add water to the toor dal residue and strain again, follow this step again and again till you get enough juice form the toor dal. Throw away the toordal residue since all the nutrients has been extracted through the juice. Collect this lentil juice in a deep vessel, add red chilly powder, turmeric powder, pepper powder and salt. Place the vessel on heat and bring to boil, simmer the soup for 5 mins. In the meantime heat a tadka pan and add ghee, when hot add the vadagam and onions, fry for few seconds. Add the onion tempering to the simmering soup. Turn off the heat and Serve this hot soup with Idly, Dosas or Steamed rice.