Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger

When I was young the word squash was a "bad" word to me. If my mother were to say "come on, we're having squash for dinner", my first inclination would be to run and hide!
First off the word itself conjures something that isn't whole, but that has either been stepped on, or dropped. When you squash food it becomes indistinct and unrecognizable. To top this off my early memory of squash was frozen zucchini, over-boiled, served in water with a medley of other "Italian vegetables". Then there was the winter squash that sat in a bowl on the kitchen counter like a decoration; I never wanted any part of it either.

But then one cold winter day when I was a teenager my mother offered me half of an acorn squash she had baked. After an initial refusal she told me she would put brown sugar, cinnamon and butter on it. This sounded adequately tempting and the fact that it was steamy hot on a cold Buffalo, NY winter day didn't hurt either. I remembered tasting it and being delightfully surprised! The deep earthy tones of the squash mixed with the exotic cinnamon and sweet brown sugar took me to a new place. All these years later I can still go to that place, and this recipe is one way to get there! Butternut squash in many ways has even more of the qualities that endeared me to squash that day. And a Butternut squash soup, if done right,also has a silky smooth texture that is unbeatable. Not to mention its beautiful orange color.

This recipe is one I came up with when I was trying to get the most out of butternut squash. The fresh ginger adds a nice, faintly spicy element, the nutmeg adds a bit of exotic warmth. On a whim I threw a potato in,to make the soup a bit more hearty and really like what if did for the texture.

Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small sweet onion, chopped fine
3 cloves of garlic, diced
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated, or diced.
1 tsp nutmeg
salt/pepper to taste
1 large Butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1' cubes
1 large potato, peeled and cut into 1' cubes
8 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
1 tsp brown sugar

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• Heat the olive oil in a soup pot on medium heat
• Add the onions and garlic, cook for 30 seconds, or until the onions are translucent
• Stir in the carrot, celery and ginger, butternut squash, potato, salt, pepper (to taste) and nutmeg, mix well and cook for two to four minutes, cover everything evenly on the spices and oil.
• Add the Chicken Stock and the brown sugar, mix everything together well and bring the heat to high until the pot boils
• Once the pot comes to a steady boil turn it down to simmer for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so
• After 45 minutes remove the pot from the heat and blend the soup in a food processor until smooth, but be careful it's very hot! if you don't have a blender large enough to hold the entire contents of the pot blend the soup in batches.
• Serve hot and enjoy!

Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger

Spicy Indian Lentil Soup

For our family Easter dinner this year I cooked a big ham. I have been really excited about the possibility of cooking lamb for weeks. It's been a while since I've eaten lamb and Easter has always been a great time to indulge on a whole leg of lamb roast. But after going back and forth we all decided ham would work better for our Easter meal.

Well, I quickly got over the disappointment of a lamb-less Easter once I realized that, "hey, we're going to have a big ol' ham-bone left over"! That can only mean one thing for me: soup's on! You can laugh at me, but I really do get excited about this stuff! So now I just had to decide what kind of soup to make with the ham bone. After going back between cannellini bean soup, pasta fazoli, and cuban black bean soup I finally decided on lentil soup. Now some of you may be thinking "what's so exciting about lentil soup?". Well after just eating a bowl, I'm here to tell you, forget the lamb, forget the cannellini, this soup is the bomb!
Maybe it's that I haven't tasted the rich aromatic and savory flavors of Indian food in some time, but my taste buds had a wakeup call tonight and I remember what I love about food. I love food that makes you stand up and take notice. A good meal is "eventful" and leaves you buzzing about it after it's done. This soup did just that for me and the best thing is that it took me off guard.
Now I've got to warn you, this soup is not for everyone, it's got a lot of strong flavors from the ginger, gram marsala, cardamom, and it's on the spicy side, but hey, your mouth deserves a wake up call today!

Spicy Indian Lentil Soup
Serves 6-8

2 Tbsp vegatable oil
1 medium onion- chopped
3 cloves garlic- minced
2" piece of ginger root, peeled and minced
2 hot peppers(anaheim, jalepeno, etc..), seeded and chopped
sea salt and crushed black pepper to taste
1 Tbsp Garam Masala (note: you can make this spice mixture, or buy it pre-mixed, but the fresher the better)
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp cumin
1 bayleaf
1-15 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 cup frozen spinach- thawed
1 lb. dried lentils (dahl-red lentils or mung dahl-yellow lentils preferred) -washed and picked over
1 Tbsp sugar
8 cups filtered water
1 hambone with(or without) meat


plain yogurt (optional)
mint leaves (optional)

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• Heat a large pot to medium high with the vegatable oil
• Saute the onions for about a minute, until translucent
• Stir in the garlic, ginger and hot peppers, sprinkle with salt and pepper
• Next mix in the garam masala, cardamom, cumin, and bay leaf
• Add the tomatoes, carrots, and spinach and sugar, and lentils, and the hambone stir together well, cook for about 5 minutes
• Stir in the water and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally
• Once it comes to a boil reduce the heat to simmer and cook for 1 hour, loosely covered, stirring occasionally
• Discard the bay leaf and hambone- If your ham bone has meat on it, cut the meat off into bitesized pieces and return the pieces to the pot.
• Serve in a bowl with a dollop of plain yogurt and garnish with fresh mint leaves, or parsley (optional), Enjoy, (mandatory :-)

Spicy Indian Lentil Soup

Chicken and Rice Soup

I woke up this Saturday morning feeling not quite right. I wasn't hung-over and I didn't feel any flu symptoms so I guess it is just a cold. I believe in the old adage, "feed a cold, starve a fever" so the first thing that came to mind was to feed this cold some chicken soup!

Over the past months I have been collecting all of the unused parts from the whole chickens that I buy in my freezer. So I brought them all out along with a whole chicken breast and made a big pot of chicken stock which I let simmer for 3 hours. I strained the stock two times and put in the fridge. Once cooled a layer of solid fat formed on the top, which was easily removed. I discarded all of the chicken pieces except for the breast. I removed the bones from it and "pulled" the meat from it, in other words, I tore off bite sized pieces to use in the soup.

I used to like to make chicken noodle soup with egg noodles, but of course egg noodles aren't just egg, they're made with wheat flour. I'd be interested to see if there is a gluten-free noodle that is similar, but I haven't seen any. I've used gluten free pasta as a substitute in chicken noodle soup before and was less than thrilled with the result, the pasta either falls apart completely or is too rubbery, either way it wasn't the texture I was looking for in a noodle. I've also made chicken soup with potatoes which I always enjoy. This time I've chosen to use basmati rice as the grain in my soup and the result was great.


Chicken and Rice Soup
Serves 4

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 large onion- diced
2 stalks celery- diced
2 carrots- peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic- minced
Sea Salt and crushed black pepper to taste
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried parsley
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 cup of cooking sherry (or other dry white wine)
8-10 crimini mushrooms- sliced
1 cup of broccoli- cut to bite sized
9 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of uncooked basmati rice
one whole chicken breast- cooked, skin and bones removed and pulled (or cut-up)
1/2 cup heavy cream

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• Heat a large stock pot with the olive oil to medium heat
• Stir in the onion, celery, carrots and garlic saute for a few minutes until the onion becomes translucent
• Add the Salt and pepper, thyme, parsley, bay leaves and the sherry
• Next mix in the Mushrooms and broccoli, cook for another minute or two
•Add the Chicken broth and turn op the heat to medium high, bring to a boil
• Once boiling add the rice, reduce the heat to simmer and cook for 20 minutes loosely covered, stirring occasionally
• After 20 minutes stir in the chicken and cream, bring it back to a boil and then reduce to simmer for another 5 minutes
• Serve and enjoy!

Chicken and Rice Soup

Ginger Carrot Soup

This is a soup that begins underground. Down there in the soil the ginger and carrot, (as well as the onion, garlic and potatoes) slowly absorb vitamins and minerals that make this soup so good for you. Amoung other things, ginger is great for the digestive system,a great benefit for those of us with Celiac Disease. Carrots also have numerous benefits, the most notable being that they help your eyes. I can remember as a kid eating carrots and then focusing on an object and actually believing I can see it clearer. Look mom it really works!
Packed with nutrition and flavor, ginger and carrots are one of those pairs that just naturally want to be together, each bringing out the best in the other. I hate to dispute the wisdom of the venerable Forest Gump, but peas and carrots ain't got nothin' on ginger and carrots!

In the making of this soup all of the ingredients are cooked and then they are run through the food processor. My advice here is to pay full attention when doing this to avoid hot blended carrot soup over every surface in your kitchen, something I did in the final stages of making this soup! It was remarkable how many places I found flecks of orange throughout the kitchen. I got myself so worked up cleaning up the kitchen that the only thing that finally relaxed me was a cup of this delicious soup!
















Ginger Carrot Soup
Serves 4-6

2 lbs of carrots- peeled and chopped up
3"-4" inch piece of ginger root- peeled and chopped fine
1 large or 2 small potatoes - peeled and chopped
1 medium onion- peeled and chopped fine
2 cloves garlic- minced
2 stalks of celery- chopped
8 cups chicken OR vegetable stock
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup dry sherry
1 bay leaf
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cardamom (or 3-4 cardamom pods)
sea salt and coarse black pepper to taste

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• Heat a large pot to medium-high, add the olive oil
• Saute the chopped onion for about one minute, add the garlic, celery and cook for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring.
• Stir in the sherry, ground coriander, ground cardamom (or cardamom pods), bay leaf, Salt and pepper.
• Mix in the carrots and potatoes, stir all together well, cook 3 or 4 minutes.
• Add the chicken (or vegetable) stock stir well, bring all to a slight boil,
• Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 40 minutes.
• Strain the soup, reserving the liquid and solids separately. Discard the bay leaf (and cardamom pods if you used them)
• Put the solids in a food processor and mix until smooth, pour back in the same bowl with the liquid, mix together.
• Serve hot, enjoy!

Optional: Stir in 3/4 cup of heavy cream 35 minutes into simmering to make this a creamy soup.

Ginger Carrot Soup

Black-eyed Pea Soup with Wild Mushrooms

This is one recipe that I would have never dreamed of cooking before I moved to the South. I honestly never had black-eyed peas or turnip greens (or any other kind of greens) until I was 25 years old. Black-eyed peas are supposed to bring good luck for the New Year. I've heard, and read several different versions of this, however, the one that sticks with me the most, is that black-eyed peas represent copper coins and turnip greens represent paper money; thereby bringing prosperity for the coming year. Some even say that you need to eat 365 black-eyed peas on New Years to guarantee good luck for every day! I really can't imagine eating 365 beans but I know that the result would be much less desirable than good luck!
Several years back I celebrated News Years with some friends at the beach, someone cooked up an awesome soup with black-eyed peas, collard greens and a ham hock. It was this soup that I had in mind when I bought some frozen black eyed peas and frozen turnip greens just before Christmas, intending to make this recipe for News Years Day. With the holidays being so hectic this year I never got around to actually making the soup until this past weekend. It proved to be a perfect soup to warm you up on a cold January day, with or with the superstitions! The earthiness of the black-eyed peas are complimented by the very earthy wild mushrooms, and the ham hock gives it a rich smoky flavor.

Black-eyed Pea Soup with Wild Mushrooms
Serves 4-6

2 cups of pre-soaked black-eyed peas (frozen or canned can be substituted)
2 cups of frozen Turnip Greens (16 oz package)
1 ham hock
@1/2 cup dried wild mushrooms
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium Onion- chopped fine
4 cloves of garlic- chopped fine
2 stalks of celery- diced
2 carrots- peeled and chopped to bite sized
1/2 cup cooking Sherry
4 cups chicken broth (or stock)
3 cups filtered water
1 dried chili pepper (optional)
2 bay leaves
1 Tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste
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• Place the wild mushrooms in a bowl and cover them with warm water. Let them soak for @ 40 minutes, save the water.
• Heat a large pot to medium-high with the olive oil, Stir in the onions, cook for about one minute.
• Mix in the garlic, celery and carrots cook for a few minutes, then add the dried chili pepper, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix all together well.
• Next add the ham hock, sherry, black-eyed peas, turnip greens, and wild mushrooms along with the liquid they were soaking in. Mix together and let cook for two or three minutes.
• Now add the chicken broth and water, bring to a boil on high heat. Stirring occasionally.
• Once it comes to a boil reduce heat to low, keeping it at a low boil. Cook it like this, uncovered, for about 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Once done remove the bay leaves, chili pepper and the ham hock.
• Cut the meat off of the ham hock. Discard the fat and bone, cut the good meat into bite-sized pieces and return them to the soup. (optional)
• Serve and enjoy!

Black-eyed Pea Soup with Wild Mushrooms

Split Pea Soup

We've been enjoying some unseasonably warm weather lately. Last week we broke several high temperature records here in Raleigh, NC with a high of eighty degrees! Well that all changed this weekend when the cold and wet weather set in. That's all the reason I needed to cook up a nice hot pot of soup, split pea to be exact. It's hot, hearty and bursting with flavor. You can find split peas in the grocery isle with the dried beans, but unlike the other dried beans, these don't have to soak before cooking, making this much less time-consuming than other bean soups. This recipe may also be a good use of the post-holiday ham bone that sits unused in most peoples refrigerators. I've added potatoes to this to make it even more hearty and filling, this is definitely a "soup that eats like a meal".

Split Pea Soup
serves 4-6

1Lb. dried split peas- rinsed and picked through for debris
2 Tbsp olive Oil
3 cloves garlic- smashed and chopped fine
1 medium onion- chopped fine
2 stalks celery- chopped fine
2 carrots- skinned and cut to bite-size
1 medium potatoes- skinned and cut to bite-sized
1 bay leaf
1 Tsp sea salt- or to taste
2 Tsp Pepper
1 Tsp dried Thyme
4 whole Cloves
1 Tsp Jamaican Allspice
1 Ham hock - or ham bone with meat
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups filtered water
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• Heat olive oil in a large pot to medium, stir in onions, cook about a minute until soft.
• Stir in garlic and celery, cook for another minute, add the salt, pepper thyme, cloves, bay leaf, allspice and ham hock.
• Add the rinsed split-peas, and carrots. Heat and mix all together well
• Pour in the chicken stock, water and potatoes, bring to a boil on medium-high heat.
• Once boiling reduce heat to to a simmer, cook uncovered for 1 hour stirring occasionally.
• Remove Bay leaves, 4 cloves and ham hock. Remove the meat from the ham-hock, cut to bite size and return it to the pot (optional)
• Take about 1/4 of the total soup and run it in a food processor or blender until smooth, return it to the pot and stir all together, serve.

Split Pea Soup

Pumpkin Soup

When did pumpkins stop becoming food in our culture and became strictly decoration? what a waste! When I was growing up we always carved several pumpkins, baked the seeds and threw out the rest. Then we would buy canned pumpkin to make pies with.

Tonight I made a great pumpkin soup with only the discarded parts (carved out mouth, nose, eyes) from our jack-o-lantern. I cut the tough skin off of the discarded pieces and pureed them in the food processor with a little water.

Not only does pumpkin taste good it is also really good for you!
The Nutrition of Pumpkins and Pumpkin Seeds

This is the fourth year in a row I have made this recipe. Each year it evolves a bit, and has become distinctly Asian in flavor. Once it was done I had to heavily persuade my 3 your old and my wife to try it. once they did they both finished their bowl and asked for more!

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Curried Pumpkin Soup

Preparation time: 15 min, cooking time: 30 min
Makes: serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1small onion- chopped
2 cloves garlic- minced
2 Tbsp butter
1Tbsp fresh ginger -chopped
2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp celery seed
2 tsp pepper (I prefer white pepper for this recipe, but black will work)
@ tsp salt
1 bay leaf
2 cups pureed pumpkin (or 1 can of pumpkin)
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp sugar
4 cups Chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1 1/2 cups milk
1 Tbsp cornstarch (or arrowroot or tapioca powder)

chopped chives, or green onion (as garnish) optional
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Preparation:

• Heat a large pot to medium, add the butter. add the onion, garlic,
ginger saute until the onion is translucent
• Mix in the curry, nutmeg, celery seed, salt, pepper and the bay leaf
• Stir in the pumpkin, sugar Stir in the broth and bring to a boil
• Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes
• lower the heat to simmer and remove the bay leaf
• Stir in 1 cup of the milk continue cook over low heat for
a few minutes.
• In another bowl, stir together the remaining milk and the cornstarch until dissolved, then add it to the pan.
• Stir until thickened and bubbly, cook a couple more minutes.

Serve in a bowl and sprinkle with chives, delicious!

Pumpkin Soup