Curried Butternut Squash Soup

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Butternut squash is a wonderful fall vegetable and I made this soup for the first time for Thanksgiving, 2006.   I had just gotten an immersion blender, and was anxious to try it out pureeing the soup.

I didn’t read any instructions or warnings, and just plopped the blender right in the hot pot of soup.  Hot squash soup, when it splashes up, is essentially vegetable napalm and it sticks and burns in a very dramatic way. I carry an oval  scar on my left forearm to this day.

Operator error aside, it’s a delicious soup and perfect on cold fall nights.

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced
1 cup chopped onion
4 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup half and half

Saute onion and squash in butter. Add spices and cook 10 minutees. Add broth and cook 30 more minutes. Remove from heat. Let cool a bit and then buzz it with an immersion blender, or in a regular blender.

Just before serving, check the salt and pepper, and stir in half and half.

Succotash with Cream

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This recipe is from “The Food Journal of Lewis & Clark: Recipes for an Expedition”, a fascinating cookbook by Mary Gunderson. Mary combed through the historical records of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, looking for details about their provisions and what they ate on the expedition and recreated dozens and dozens of recipes.

We met Mary in 2007 at a cooking demonstration at Niobrara State Park in Nebraska, on a blazing hot Saturday evening.  She made some wonderful food and I bought her cookbook on the spot.

Every year at Niobrara, I bring that cookbook and we have one dinner  by candlelight, with recipes from the Lewis and Clark cookbook.  This is one of the simplest and one of the kids’ favorites.

2 cups fresh corn
2 cups fresh or frozen lima beans
1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 Tbsp half and half

Cook the corn, lima beans and water until the water is completely dried up. Remove from heat. Add salt, pepper and half and half and stir gently.

Israeli Couscous with Chicken

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Israeli couscous is much bigger than regular couscous and takes a longer to cook. It’s often available in the Kosher section at the grocery store , and has a nice chewiness we really like.

1/2 lb Israeli Couscous
2 Vidalia onions, finely chopped (can also use regular yellow onions)
2 tsp garlic puree
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 heaping tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 lb. chicken tenders
salt and black pepper
2 cups chicken broth

Saute onions in oil and butter until soft and translucent. Add garlic and saute a little longer. The add cous-cous and saute for 2 minutes. Add everything else but the chicken and cook for 5 minutes.

Salt and pepper the chicken and lay it on top of the Couscous. Cover the pan and cook on low heat 10 more minutes, until chicken is done.

Toss gently with a fork and serve.

Spinach on Polenta

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More and more, we’re finding that we can’t resist the flavor of spinach that’s sauteed and just slightly wilted. This is a nice way to serve it and even people who don’t like spinach seem to like this.  (Check the prepared polenta label if you are being careful about Gluten.)

1 package of prepared polenta, sliced
2 Tbsp Butter

4 Tbsp butter (or 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp olive oil)
1/3 cup half and half
2 tsp crushed garlic (or a generous sprinkle of garlic powder)
1/3 cup good Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
Big bag of spinach (or two!)

Melt butter in your biggest frying pan. Saute the slices of polenta in butter until they’re warmed through. Remove and put on a platter and cover them to keep them warm. Add the 4 Tbsp of butter and garlic, and saute for a couple of minutes. Add spinach and start to turn it, using tongs or a big spoon. Keep adding spinach until it is all just wilted.

Add half and half, salt and pepper and parmesan cheese. Gently combine all the ingredients. Go easy on the salt at first, because the parmesan is pretty salty.

Ladle the spinach mixture over the polenta and serve hot.

Onion Soup

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I used to make french onion soup in Karachi quite often because I could get all the ingredients fairly easily and Kumy loved it. I used the only cheese available back then – “Greens”- which came in a wax cover. These days I use Gruyere.

3 onions, sliced very thin
1/4 cup butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp brown sugar
5-6 cups water
2 Tbsp white wine
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
French bread, cut into 1/2″ thick slices
Gruyere Cheese, cut into nice slices

Saute onions in oil and butter, until completely translucent and the onions are starting to brown. Add the flour and sugar and cook until the flour is starting to darken. This can happen fairly quickly so don’t let it burn.

Add water, wine, salt and pepper and cook 20 minutes, stirring to get up all the brown bits from the pan. Cook longer if you want to reduce the broth a bit.

Melt some more butter in a frying pan and fry the bread slices in it for a little bit.

Ladle soup into oven-proof bowls, and place the bread on top. Add just a bit more broth on top of the bread, then add cheese. Heat under a broiler until the cheese melts and starts to brown a little bit.

Coconut Milk Jelly

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Maya chose this for her birthday “cake” on her 7th birthday. I think the recipe came out of an old Canadian cookbook I had.

3 1/2 cups coconut water
1/2 cup half and half
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 knox gelatin packets
drop of red food coloring

Heat coconut water and sugar to boiling. Remove from heat.

Stir half and half, gelatin and food coloring together.

Pour boiled mix into gelatin, stir well and add vanilla. Pour into a pretty mold and refrigerate overnight.

Just before serving, loosen mold by gently going around the outside edge and flipping it on a platter.

Peach Crisp

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Yum!  That’s all I have to say.

4-5 peaches, sliced or two can peach slices, drained
1 1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup oatmeal (I use the quick-cooking kind.)
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup butter

Place peaches in a 9×9 baking dish. Mix everything else and drop onto peaches. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, or whipped heavy cream sweetened with a bit of brown sugar.

Pear-Blueberry Variation:

3-4 very ripe unpeeled pears, cored and cut into 1/2″ pieces
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

Substitute pears and blueberries for the peaches. If pears are very ripe, reduce brown sugar to 1 cup.

Blueberry Strawberry Variation:

I made this with over the 4th of July weekend with fresh blueberries and frozen strawberries, with a drizzle of plain half & half for serving and it was delicious. I skipped the cinnamon and added a teaspoon of vanilla.

Note that you can really add more fruit if you like – I would go with at least 5-6 cups of fruit in the pan, which you then top with the oatmeal mix. Even if it is really filling the pan, you should be fine.

Erum’s Spicy Baked Mince Squares

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This recipe comes from Kumy’s sister Erum and it’s both easy and delish.  Thanks, Emum!

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup plain yoghurt
2 jalapenos, ground (use less if you don’t want it too spicy.  1/2 pepper is fine.)
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ginger puree
1 tsp garlic puree
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (This makes it really spicy so add just a pinch if you don’t want it spicy!)
1 onion, thinly sliced and fried in oil until it’s nice and brown

Garnish:
2 jalapeno peppers (use less if you don’t want it too spicy)
1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
lemon juice

Mix all and spread in a baking dish about 1/2″ thick. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, then reduce to 300 and bake another 20 – 30 mninutes.

Remove from the oven and garnish with jalapenos, cilantro and lemon juice.  Slice into squares and serve with hot naan or pita bread.

St. Sophia’s Greek Orthodox Church’s Chicken Gyros

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I found this recipe on the internet once and noted it down, which is good because I couldn’t find it when I went to look for it again.   Also a great summer recipe when cucumbers and tomatoes are in the garden.

1 recipe Tatziki sauce (below)
1/2 lb. chicken meat, cut into thin slices
Greek seasoning mix (available in most grocery stores)
olive oil
pita bread
1/4 onion, sliced very thinly (slivered)
1/2 tomato, sliced very thinly

Sprinkle greek seasoning mix over chicken and saute chicken in a frying pan until cooked through.

Spread some olive oil on the pita bread and warm them in the oven for a couple of minutes. Cut them in half, and stuff with the chicken, onions and tomatoes.

Pour Tatziki sauce over and serve more on the table.

Tatziki sauce:

1 1/4 cup plain yoghurt
2 peeled & diced cucumbers
1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Mix all and check seasonings. Add salt to taste.

Colleen’s Blue Cheese Cheesecake

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This savory cheesecake is a specialty of my friend Colleen, who is such an amazing cook. It’s a beautiful appetizer (something I’m normally terrible at) and perfect for potlucks.

Most people are familiar with sweet cheesecake so this cheesy, tangy one is something totally new.    Colleen puts it on a large platter garnished with pretty globe grapes and serves it with crackers.  (She makes it with light cream cheese, light sour cream and light mayonnaise, and it’s delicious, too – so you can do that if you wish.)

Crust:
3/4 cup crushed club crackers (18-20 crackers)
2 Tbsp butter, melted

Mix in a bowl and press into one large or two smaller springform pans. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Mix:
2 8 oz. packages of cream cheese
8 oz. of blue cheese
1 cup sour cream
2/3 cup mayonnaise
3 eggs

Blend all ingredients very well and pour into baked crust. Smooth the top and bake at 300 for another 45 minutes. ( Check at 40 minutes if  you’re making two smaller ones.) Remove from oven and let rest one hour. Gently loosen edge with a butter knife and chill the cheesecake for several hours.

To serve, just remove the sides of the springform pan, and place the cheesecake on a large platter, with crackers and globe grapes. This would probably also be delicious with sliced apples.