Category Archives: Food

November 27, 2013 · 11:03 AM

A cold and rainy holiday …and curried butternut squash soup

A cold front has swept across the country and arrived in central North Carolina just as we began our Thanksgiving holiday. No gardening today! Sounds like a good day to cook!

Curried butternut squash soup

INGREDIENTS:
1 butternut squash- about 2-lb, peeled, seeded, diced into 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch cubes, yielding about 6 cups of cubed squash
Olive oil
1 teaspoon butter
Salt
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 teaspoons yellow curry powder
1 teaspoon whole mustard
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
4 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Instructions:

1 Coat the the bottom of a large, thick-bottomed stock pot with oil and warm on medium heat. Add a teaspoon of butter to the olive oil. Add the cubed butternut squash to the pan. Toss to coat all sides with oil. Sprinkle a little salt over the squash. Then spread out in an even layer and let cook, stirring only occasionally, so that the edges and sides get lightly browned. You may need to adjust the heat up to ensure browning, or down to prevent burning or drying out. Once it has browned remove the squash from pan and set aside.

2 Heat another tablespoon of olive oil in the pot, on medium heat. Add the chopped onions and cook, stirring now and then, until softened. Add the curry powder, mustard seeds, cumin, and fresh ginger, and cook for a minute or so longer. Use a flat bottomed wooden or metal spatula to scrape up any browned bits.

3 Return the butternut squash to the pot. Add the chicken stock and a teaspoon of salt. Increase the heat to bring to a simmer, then lower the heat to maintain a low simmer, cover the pot. Cook for 40 minutes until squash is completely tender. Use an immersion blender (or a stand up blender – work in batches) to blend the soup smooth. Add more salt to taste if needed.

You can serve it in individual bowls with a tablespoon of sour cream. I Only topped it with some dried parsley.

Adapted from Curried Squash Soup
Posted by Elise Bauer on February 22, 2010, http://www.simplyrecipes.com

13 Comments

Filed under cooking, Food, General Gardening

November 9, 2013 · 1:00 PM

Stracciatella with spinach (Italian egg drop soup)

As usual, for a day when I am not working, I was up early and after a latte at Cup A Joe I headed over to the Raleigh Farmers Market! I grabbed a bag off spinach, a bag of kale, and a butternut squash.

After a few hours of yard work I wanted something to warm me up. I love the Asian version of egg drop soup so the Italian version was perfect for the first cold day of Fall.

Stracciatella with spinach

Two boxes of chicken broth

Two large eggs

Two cups of spinich cut into ribbons.

Two tablespoons of fresh grated Parmesan

A handful of fresh basil- torn or cut into ribbons

Salt and pepper to taste

A clove of garlic – diced

One small onion- diced

1) Coat the bottom of a Dutch oven with olive oil and place on a medium high stove and add the onions and garlic. Stir to coat with the oil and cook until softened.

2) Add the broth and bring it to a boil. Roll the spinich leaves up and cut crosswise to form ribbons.

3) In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, cheese, and herbs.

4) Reduce the heat to medium low and stir to get the broth circulating in the pot.

5) Drizzle in the egg mixture in a thin ribbon. You may need to stir with a fork to break any long strands of eggs which form as the eggs cook quickly one they hit the hot broth.

6) Add the spinach leaves and stir to incorporate.

7) After a few minutes the leaves will wilt.

8) Ladle into bowls and top with more freshly graded Parmesan. Serve with bread.

I cooked the kale in water with some rice wine vinegar and served it on the side.

The squash will be served later in the week with the remainder of the kale and spinich!

8 Comments

Filed under cooking, Food

Tagged as Kale, Raleigh Famers Market, spinach, Stracciatella with spinach (Italian egg drop soup)

October 3, 2013 · 6:19 AM

StayCation: Day Four- kitchen time

Ok, I can only spend so much time in the garden. After a few weeks of chilly Autumn weather it has warmed back up in to the 80s. A few hours of work in the garden and I am drained, sweaty, and dirty! I felt it was time to stay in for a few hours and only one place is better than the garden: the kitchen.

This is my basic tomato sauce. You can add herbs or chilies or even meat such as pepperoni to change the taste. It cans well.

Basic Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

Olive Oil

5 cloves of garlic

1 (28 oz) Can of crushed tomatoes

1 (28 oz) Can of tomato Sauce

A few chilies

A few tablespoons of dried herbs such as oregano, thyme, and basil and fresh herbs from the garden. I used six or seven basil leaves roughly chopped along with a tablespoon of a herb mix of oregano, thyme and basil.

Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:

1) Coat the bottom of a pan with olive oil on medium high heat. I used a Dutch oven.

2) When the oil shimmers, add the garlic which has been sliced. Stir until the garlic has lightly browned – about 9 minutes. I added a few chilies for some heat!