Curried Butternut Squash Soup

“ The nuns taught us there were two ways through life – the way of nature and the way of grace. You have to choose which one you’ll follow. Grace doesn’t try to please itself. Accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked. Accepts insults and injuries. Nature only wants to please itself. Get others to please it too. Like to lord it over them. To have its own way. It finds reasons to be unhappy when all the world is shining around it. And love is smiling through all things. The nuns taught us that no one who loves the way of grace ever comes to a bad end. I will be true to you. Whatever comes.”

– Mrs. O’Brien from The Tree of Life

 

Too often I find myself struggling to control things that are not meant to be contained – these millions of images that race through my mind, flashing back to moments of time that somehow define the person I am today.

How much easier Life would be if only things happened with a simple command.

 

Winter came late this year. The Northerly winds howled their eerie song last night, ripping off the leaves that remained on the branches. I pray that it doesn’t stay long.

There’s something about the cold that changes me– the way it can slowly seep into your bones – a pain that resonates in every hollow crevice in your body. Constant comfort found in deep mugs of piping hot tea, oversized blankets pulled up to your nose, and the perfect bowl of a soul-warming soup that helps you feel alive again.

 

Few things grow during the Winter, it’s nap time for Nature. But for the few things that are available, they grow strong and plentiful like Butternut Squash and Sweet Potatoes. Cook with the seasons, accept what they offer you and embrace the connection of food to soul.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

#ratingval# from #reviews# reviews

Print

Recipe Type: Entree

Author: Joy Zhang

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 2 hours

Serves: 4-6

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

• 1 medium Butternut Squash, seeded, peeled and cut into big chunks
• 1 Sweet Potato, peeled and cut into chunks
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• Kosher salt
• Black Pepper
• Olive oil
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 can coconut milk
• 3 cups water
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• Salt pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line large baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. In a large bowl mix butternut squash, sweet potatoes and garlic together. Evenly coat with olive oil and place on large baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until squash and potatoes are very soft. Take out and set aside.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Place chopped onion and curry powder and sauté until fragrant and onion is caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add coconut milk along with 3 cups of water, mix well. Add roasted butternut and garlic. Remove from heat. Take hand-held blender and carefully mix all ingredients in pot until smooth (you may also use a normal blender to do this).
3. Return to heat and add fish sauce and taste with salt and pepper. If the soup is still too thick for your liking, you can thin it out with vegetable stock or water. Add ¼ cup amounts at a time until you reach desired consistency. Serve hot and garnish with croutons and drizzle with high-quality extra virgin olive oil if desired.

Notes

**** If the squash is too hard to cut, place into oven for 10 minutes to soften. This will facilitate the cutting process.
**** When caramelizing onions do not move the onions around too much, stir the pan every minute or so. If the onions are burning too fast, simply lower the heat.
**** To avoid kitchen injuries, never try blending soups when they are piping hot. Allow soup to cool a little before blending.
**** Leftover soup can be frozen and store for up to a month.

Google Recipe View Microformatting by Easy Recipe

2.1.7

Roasted Tomato Soup

My Mother’s Wonton Soup

Since my mother moved back to Shanghai a couple months back, I’ve found myself not only missing her (terribly) but reminiscing back to all the Chinese traditions that she’s instilled in me over all these years.  I almost feel less Chinese without her — no more ancient Chinese medicines, no more meditation practices, no one to speak Chinese to, no one yelling over my shoulder “AIYA JOY put that back, why you always buy buy buy??  SAVE MONEY!”   It feels weird to not have my mother completely accesible — I’ll pick up the phone to call her with a question only to realize she’s 13 hours ahead of me.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Glad to be back — I have been out of commission for the past week due to a gallbladder infection…ick.  December has been a riot thus far, first bronchitis then the gallbladder infection — thankfully the new year is only a few days away so I will be leaving all bad ju-ju behind. 🙂

I reviewed my resolutions from last year and realized that I have again only achieved a little less than half of my goals so this year opposed to making long-term goals (Running a 10K) I’ve made short-term, easier to reach goals (Run 1 mile/day for 5x a week).  One of my main goals for this year is to lead a healthier lifestyle, through exercise, a proper diet, and a peaceful spirit.  Seeing that I am only in my twenties and I frequently deal with malfunctions with my immune system, the only logical response would be to keep my body in better condition —Your body is your temple…

What are some of your New Year’s Resolutions?
I had a wonderful Christmas — I redecorated my kitchen so now it feels more like a real kitchen opposed to a small cramped horrible mess. I’ve been having a BLAST with my favorite present of all — my new Sony alpha 550 dSLR camera, all thanks to my one and only of course :)!! One of the upsides of being sick was being able to spend plenty of time with Collin’s family and grandparents (Hi Pearl!).  We spent time playing cards, watching movies, playing video games and of course, eating.

I did not have much time to cook but I did make this delicious soup from a leftover ham bone that Collin’s dad gave me!  Perfect for the weather we’re having here in Dallas, can you believe that it’s actually snowing? Anyways, the trick to making this soup delectable is making a stock out of the ham bone first — this is easily done by placing the ham bone and scraps in a large pot of water and simmering at a medium low heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours with some onion, a bay leaf and for this stock I used turnips and carrots as well.

I always love using leftover bones, especially ham bones and chicken carcasses — they always make such a savory broth.  By keeping your broth at a low medium heat (the soup should be at a very slight boil), it slowly draws out the proteins (flavor) from the bones, thus ending in a rich decadent broth.  Because I am using mostly root vegetables in this soup, I simply used the scraps and remains of turnips, carrots, rutabagas and onions and later strained them out of the soup — this will add body and character to your broth as well. After straining your broth, don’t forget to reserve the ham meat for the soup!

Ingredients for Winter Vegetable Soup:

(serves 8-10)

• 8 cups ham broth (see directions above)
• 1/2 cup cauliflower, cut into small florets
• 1/2 cup carrots (I used baby carrots), diced
• 1 cup cabbage, thinly shredded
• 1 medium rutabaga, peeled and diced 1″
• 2 turnips, peeled and diced 1″
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon cream
• 1 tablespoon parsley, minced
• 1 tsp white pepper
• salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil at medium heat.  Place the onions in the pan once oil is heated and begin the “caramelization” process.  It is important to cook the onions at the prefect heat, do not burn them, it will ruin the flavor completely!  The key to caramelization is gradually cooking the onions down so that the sugar slowly begins to oxidize, producing a nutty and sweet flavor.  The onions will slowly turn a pale yellow, then eventually a rich brownish yellow or caramel color.  Once it reaches this state, remove from heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat your ham stock at medium heat in a large deep bottomed pot.  Add the cabbage and rutabagas and turnips and cook for 30 minutes, or until very soft.  Next add the carrots and cauliflower and cook for an additional 20 minutes.  By adding vegetables in at different times, it will give your soup a range of texture opposed to soft goopey vegetables at the end.  Since cabbage, turnips and rutabagas tend to taste better when cooked very soft I chose to add them first, then kept a slight firmness and crunch through the carrots and cauliflower.

Add the cream and white pepper along with the caramelized onions, and cook for an additional ten minutes — season with salt and pepper to taste.  I cannot stress this enough, always add salt at the end of cooking soups, this helps keep the delicacy of the broth as well as avoiding the common sin of “over-salting” food.  I like to add salt literally pinches at a time, and taste after each addition until I achieve what I feel is the best flavor.  I always say its better to undersalt food than oversalt it! Garnish with some fresh parsley and you are ready to go 🙂

Aaaah, nothing hits the spot like a good hearty vegetable soup — many thanks to my neighbor Michael for the beautiful cauliflower, it was by far the best one I’ve had all year.  The best part about soup is that it tastes even better after sitting in the fridge for a couple days, all the flavors marinate and develop into full and rich broth.  For once, leftovers taste better than they did initially!

This will probably be my last post for this year, I am looking forward to the New Year — I have good feelings about 2010 🙂  I hope everyone has a very safe and Happy New Year, see you next year yall!!!!!

Double Chicken Broth w/Vermicelli Tofu and Shiitake Mushrooms

It is finally starting to feel like Fall in Texas and I wasted no time unpacking my scarves, sweaters and jackets.  Cold weather is short-lived here, so the minute I feel the brisk breeze, the refreshing sense of a chill, I rush to embrace all that is Fall — my favorite season of the year.

With cold, comes the need for comfort.  The nights have dropped down to the low 40s recently so I figured, what better relief for your tummy (and soul) than a big giant bowl of chicken soup?  My mom often made this soup for me as a child.  I always enjoyed the perfect combination of aromas of shiitake, ginger and chicken slowly simmering away, filling the entire house of comforting goodness.  Usually this broth simmers for the entire day to draw the flavor out of the bones, but to save cooking time I am using a store-bought chicken broth.  “Double Chicken Broth” means that chicken broth is used to poach more chicken, resulting in a richer and more intensely flavored broth.

Ingredients for Double Chicken Broth:

• 1/2 pound chicken breast/thigh, boneless, skinless
• 2 quarts store bought chicken broth
• 1 quart of water
• 2 slices of ginger – about 1/2″ inch
• 4-6 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
• salt to taste
• 1 package of firm tofu – cut into 1″ cubes
• 1 package of rice vermicelli
• bean sprouts and scallions for garnish

For the Double Chicken Broth, rehydrate the shiitake mushrooms by placing them in a bowl of warm water for 15-20 minutes.  Trim any visible fat from the chicken breast/thigh and discard.  Place the chicken breast/thigh in a big pot and cover with stock and water.  Bring to a boil and add ginger and mushrooms.  Reduce to a medium-low heat and let simmer for 40 minutes.  Meanwhile place the tofu on absorbent paper and allow it to drain.  and prepare the noodles.  Different brands will differ in cooking time, but vermicelli noodles cook fast.  Once the water is boiling, don’t leave the noodles in for longer than a minute and immediately drain with cold water.  Prepare the garnishes and set aside.

Taste the broth and season with salt accordingly.  Add tofu and strain mushrooms and chicken from the broth.  Cut into strips when cool enough to handle and place in each serving bowl with 1/2 cup of vermicelli noodles.  Add hot broth and tofu over each bowl when ready to serve.  Garnish with cut scallions and bean sprouts and finish with a pinch of ground white pepper.

I really love the different textures in this soup — the crunchiness of the bean sprouts, the chewiness of the juicy shiitakes, paired with the thin rice noodles swimming in a supple delicate broth.  Simply divine.   If you have any questions on how to actually make double chicken broth from scratch, contact me and I can give you the recipe.