Butternut squash soup -a smooth and savory recipe

I enjoy a bowl eating of warm soup, chili or stew  when the temperatures begin to drop. Recently, I wanted butternut squash soup. I had a butternut squash in the refrigerator, but hadn't decided which recipe I would follow to make the soup. I stumbled upon a butternut squash soup created by Emeril Lagasse on Food Network.

Ingredients

• 1 Butternut squash, about 2 pounds
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced carrot
• 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon finely minced jalapeno pepper
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

I checked the recipe ingredients list and determined the only ingredients I would need to purchase were a second squash, a jalapeno pepper, chicken stock, and heavy cream - a quick trip to the nearby supermarket would suffice.

photo by TEP

Peeling and seeding the butternut squash took the most time.  After getting all the ingredients ready, I heated the peanut oil in a large pot. The onion and garlic were added to the pot first and cooked for about 5 minutes. Per the directions, I added the carrots, cumin, salt and pepper next. The next step was adding the squash, jalapeno and chicken. Once the mixture came to a boil, I reduced the heat. After 20 minutes I poured the mixture into my food processor and pureed it until it was smooth. The mixture was then returned to the pot; I added the cream and once well blended I poured myself a bowl.

photo by TEP

The soup was smooth and creamy, but the jalapeno pepper added a wonderfully  savory element to the soup. The soup was easy to store in the refrigerator and leftover soup retained the savory element.
 
I could see pairing this soup with a sandwich, salad or eating it alone.  I plan to make this easy to prepare, filling soup again very soon.

Do you have a favorite soup or stew? Share in the comments below.

Be well,

Technicolor girl

image created by Ink+ LLC

Simple pleasures - reacquainted with the wok

Reacquainted with the wok

The labyrinth of  boxes  has become easier to navigate as I continue to unpack boxes.  Today I opened the box containing my wok. I've had this wok  for a long time - let's just say I purchased it in the latter part of the 20th century.  Now that I have  a gas stove I can put the wok to use again!

Seeing the wok sparked the creative part of my brain and strong  desire to run to the supermarket. About an  hour later I returned with green, red and orange peppers, yellow onion, water chestnuts (canned), cornstarch , peanut oil and a package of chicken.

As I prepped the vegetables and chicken I was grateful to the kitchen gods for access to vegetables and meat. I found myself humming as I peeled and sliced the ginger that would be the added to this dish.  I washed, dried and oiled the wok (it had been boxed away for more than a year).

I poured peanut oil into the wok and turned the gas on and watched to see when the oil was hot. I added the vegetables, meat and stir fry sauce I made. It suddenly felt like old times.  Me cooking. Being creative.  Simple pleasures.

the finished product

The scent of stir fry filled the room. When the rice was ready I prepared a bowl of  hot rice and the stir fry mixture. There's enough for lunch and dinner in the upcoming days. I'm glad to have unpacked the wok and grateful to the kitchen gods for the simple pleasure of cooking. Xie Xie.

More boxes to unpack!

Be well,

Technicolor girl