Day 30

 

I'm grateful for a warm, dry house filled with the smells of fresh food and the sounds of family.

 

This was my first experience with Butternut squash soup. I modified a Martha Stewart recipe. Here's the recipe I used:

 

1 butternut squash cut in cubes

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

2 inches of peeled and chopped ginger

2 tablespoons of butter

3 cups of chicken broth

1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon coriander

 

I cut the butternut squash in half and placed it flesh side down, after removing seeds, in a baking dish with a small amount of water (1/2 cup or so). I then baked the squash at 350 degrees for almost an hour.

 

I then sliced the squash into strips and cut the skins off before cubing. I found cutting the skins off to be easier than peeling them. I chopped the onion, garlic and ginger next.

 

Put 2 tablespoons of butter in the bottom of the pot and once melted add the chopped onion cooking for about 2 minutes until softened. Add squash, garlic and ginger to the pot and cook all ingredients together until the squash is softened. This should take 6-9 minutes.

 

Add 3 cups of chicken broth to the pot, the cayenne pepper and coriander. Bring to a boil and then reduce and simmer for 20 minutes. When  you're done, run the soup through the blender until pureed. I found I had to do this in two batches.

 

The results are a flavorful soup with a kick.

 

Ken thougth it was a little too spicy but he has a very low tolerance for spicy foods.

 

I'm glad this was a successful experiment with new soups. I wish I had remembered to take my final picture of the completed, pureed soup!