Earthshattering Butternut Squash Soup

Hi ladies~ butternut squash is on sale at Kroger this week for 70 cents/lb, at least down here in Georgia, so I got some and made this soup recipe. Unbelievable--like fall in a pot. Hope you enjoy!

Unbelievable Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter (salted)
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced carrots
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups roasted butternut squash (I used 1 large and 1 medium squash)
3.5 cups chicken stock
2 beef bouillon cubes
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 425. Half butternut squashes, drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil, sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 45 minutes.
While letting squash cool, heat remainder of olive oil and butter in stockpot over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic for approximately 5 minutes.
Scoop out seeds from squash. Scoop roasted squash out of skins into stockpot (it’s okay if some skin remains on the flesh, since it’s all going into the blender eventually).
Add carrots, stock, and bouillon cubes; bring to boil, then reduce to simmer until carrots are tender.
During last few minutes of simmering, add bay leaves. Remove stockpot from heat and allow to cool for 30 minutes.
Remove bay leaves. Puree soup in blender or large food processor.

Chickpea Salad

Hi ladies~

I just freestyled this nice little salad in a moment of near-starvation. Very nice when it's too hot to cook. (Warning to those feeding husbands--probably a little girly--I wouldn't try to convince a man that this counts as a main dish):

~1 can chickpeas, drained
~1 tbsp crumbled feta cheese
~8 or so large fresh basil leaves, snipped into bits
~1 tsp olive oil
~1/2 to 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
~2-3 handfuls spring mix salad (best if you have the kind with herbs mixed in)

Combine in a bowl, eat, and be amazed at God's infinite variety of Stuff From The Earth That Tastes Good, Is Good For You, And Can Be Eaten Raw.

Scones!

In my opinion, scones should always have an exclamation point. They are exciting, so very British, and, as Nellie asserts, rather romantic. Also, I had always considered myself a wretched baker (not patient enough to be precise in measuring), and so when I first tried the below recipe (a combination of two I found online) last spring, I had low expectations - which were far exceeded when the scones came out near-perfect. A second try this weekend proved them even better and sconier than the scones before. I recommend you all give these a try, if nothing else to boost your self-esteem.

Basic Scone
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated white sugar (a similar recipe called for 1/3, but I went for the more conservative)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (the other recipe called for 1/2)
1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces (note: I used salted as it's what I had on hand, and the scones were better-than-fine. Also, the other recipe called for the butter to be frozen; I just used it straight from the fridge, and that was hard enough.)
2/3 cup buttermilk (or, add 1 Tablespoon lemon juice to 1 cup milk; let stand 5-10 minutes)

"Flavor" (I made lemon ginger scones; this could be adjusted for any ingredient)
1/2 cup crystalized (or candied) ginger, chopped into small pieces (Really inexpensive packs of candied ginger are available at the Chapel Hill Trader Joes.)
Zest of one large lemon

Egg Mixture for brushing top:
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 Tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place rack in middle of oven. (note: Based on type of baking sheet, I have moved the rack to middle/top of oven, so as not to scorch the scone bottoms.)

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like small, coarse crumbs. Stir in the chopped ginger and lemon zest (or other chosen ingredients). Add the buttermilk to the flour mixture and very lightly stir just until the dough comes together. Do not over-mix the dough.

Transfer to a lightly-floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 3/4 inch thick. (The other recipe called for dough circle to be 1 1/2 inches thick and bake longer.) Transfer the dough circle to a baking sheet that is either lined with parchment paper or lightly-floured. Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into 3 or 4 pie-shaped wedges (triangles). (note: I consider these to be American-Sized scones, and next time will cut them very small and more snackable, 5 wedges per half.)

Make an egg wash of one well-beaten egg mixed with 1 Tablespoon milk and brush the tops of the scones with this mixture. You may want to sprinkle the tops with sugar after applying the wash.

Bake for 14-17 minutes or until golden-brown and a toothpick or fork inserted in the middle comes out clean. (If making the thicker, 1 1/2 inch scones, bake 20-25 minutes.) Remove from oven and transfer scones to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 6-8 (or, Rebecca-style, 10) scones.


If you're interested, here is a recipe for Lemon Curd, which is fantastic with sweetly-flavored scones:

Juice fresh-squeezed from 2 large lemons
Zest of one large lemon
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed

In a 2-quart saucepan, combine lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, eggs, and butter. Cook over medium-low heat until thick enough to hold marks from whisk and first bubble appears on surface, about 6-10 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refridgerate. Keeps for about one week. (Note: I did not stir as regularly as I should, so there were little bits of cooked egg-white in my curd this time around. You can't taste it or tell a significant difference, so I didn't worry about it. If I were taking this to a fancy tea or something, though, I might have been a bit sheepish over it.)

"Carrie's Squash Casserole"

Carrie gave the ultimate compliment for my squash casserole (she said it was possibly the best she's ever eaten), so I thought I'd honor her by naming the dish after my first out-of-town friend to visit my house. Here's the recipe; so simple ... I would've never thought y'all would've been interested! I ate it at least 3 times a week growing up.

- Slice and boil the desired amount of squash (about 1 per person or so) in salted water until it's soft (20-30 minutes or so). Drain really well.
- Preheat oven to 350
- Pour squash into a casserole dish and allow it to cool for a few minutes. Stir in one beaten egg (which is why you have to let the squash cool ... so it won't scramble the egg!), a tiny splash of milk (just 1 Tablespoon or so), grated cheddar cheese, pepper, salt if it needs it, and some garlic powder. Mine was a little soggy (I guess I didn't drain well), so I added a small amount of crushed saltines to the mix to soak up the extra liquid.
- Top with a little more cheese and some crumbled saltine crackers. Dab the top with little pieces of butter.
- Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or so, until the top has turned a golden brown. Serve immediately to super-cool houseguests who will shower you with compliments, whether they mean them or not. :)

That's it! Super simple, and tasty.

Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes & Pine Nuts

This is fast becoming a lunch favorite of mine because it is so . . . fast. And fresh. And relatively light (if you go easy on the olive oil) and healthy (if you use whole-wheat spaghetti). Kenton only likes it with meat in it (the one time I made it for him, I included beef strips usually reserved for stir-fry), so I consider this a girl meal. Fine by me.

- Course Salt & Ground Pepper, to taste
- 2 medium tomatoes, diced (when I reduce this recipe to one serving just for me, I just use a handful of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved; they're more flavorful, anyway)
- 1 Garlic Clove, minced (for one serving, I just go with a smaller clove. Can't get enough garlic.)
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil (for the measuring challenged like me, one-quarter of that is 1.5 tsp)
- 8 oz. angel-hair pasta
- 2 tablespoons Pine Nuts, toasted if desired

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, garlic, and oil in a medium bowl. Season with salt & pepper. Let stand at least 10 minutes.
2. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente; drain & return to pot. Add tomato mixture and toss to combine. Serve sprinkled with pine nuts.

Serves 4 / Prep time: 5 min / Total time: 15 min
From July/August '08 issue of Everyday Food Magazine

Rebecca's notes: As you can see, this recipe pretty easily makes one serving at a time, which is why I like it so much. I'd recommend going light on the olive oil. I am partial to grape tomatoes (so sweet and flavorful!), so prefer them to whole tomatoes in this. I found pine nuts hanging on the wall o' nuts in the cooking aisle of the regular grocery store. I'm prone to leave salt out of recipes, but this is one where you really need it; it's rather bland, otherwise. I've toyed with the idea of including a little wilted spinach or some other kind of green. It was good with the beef strips, but no longer a light meal.

Lentil Bacon Salad

Stolen again from Katy. Stolen by her from Everyday Food magazine. I haven't tried it yet, but intend to:

Lentil Salad with Bacon (serves 3-4, depending on appetite)

1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
4 strips bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
3 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
your choice of salad greens, enough for 3-4 people (the original recipe called for frisée, and while I do think that would be a lovely choice, I never have it on hand, and to buy it would somehow negate the inherent money-saving attributes of this meal)
In a medium saucepan, combine lentils and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce to simmer and cook until lentils are tender but not mushy, about 15-20 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain.

Pour off all but about 1 Tbsp of bacon fat from your pan. Add onions and carrots to pan, and cook over medium heat until carrots are tender, about 10 or so minutes. Add the garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 2 more minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, and olive oil, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Using about 1/4-1/3 of the dressing, dress your salad greens in a separate bowl. Add the lentils, onion mixture, and reserved bacon to the remaining dressing in the bowl, and toss to coat. To serve, divide the greens among serving bowls, and top with lentil salad.

Free Breakfast Recipes

Once again, I steal from Katy's blog to tell you that there are some yummy-looking (though untried-by-me) free recipes up right now on Cooks Illustrated.com . . . Unsure how long they'll stay available and free, so see if they're of interest.