A somewhat more high-maintenance squash soup

Not roasted, regrettably, since that seems to be this week's theme. Maybe simmering it, with skin on, in the vegetable stock gives it a little edge. The apples really make it shine. I used to make it with cream, which sedates it in a nice way. Voila:
In pot combine 4 c. stock, 1 c. chopt onion, 2 slices bread (I even served you this soup made with whole wheat bread), 2 tart apples (peeled, cored & chopt), the squash, seeded but not skinned, 1/4 t. each marjoram, rosemary and pepper (maybe this is where you can juice it up with some cayenne). Bring to boil; let simmer 45 minutes. Remove, cool and skin the squash, returning it to th soup.
Puree the whole thing. In a small bowl beat 1/4 c. skim milk & 1/4 c eggbeaters (or, for those who don't mess around, 1/4 c. cream and 2 egg yolks). Stir in some soup to this mixture, then pour the contents into the pot. Don't let the contents boil.

Squash Soup that tastes like Pumpkin Pie but you don't have to feel bad about eating it for dinner

This soup is spicy and delicious. Adapted from a WashPo article and a Vegetarian Times recipe.

Cut 2 large or 3 small (4 lbs) butternut squashes in half lengthwise.
Scoop out seeds
Place cut-side-down on cookie sheet (preferably one with sides) and roast at 400 for 1h10 or until the squash is soft and browned on the outside.
Scoop squash out of its skin.
Place into large saucepan.
Squash the squash (heh) with a potato masher or whisk (or squash squasher).
Add 4c. veggie stock, 2 c. water.
Add 4T brown sugar (I suppose this is the pumpkin pie part).
Season with 1/4t. cayenne pepper, 1/2t cinnamon, 1/2t nutmeg, 1t salt, ground pepper to taste.
Bring to a boil on medium heat.
Leave in fridge for ~8h before you eat it.

I had it with a hummus and cilantro sandwich for lunch today and it was delicious!! Mom I'd love to compare with your old recipe...

Boasting of Roasting

Excuse the title, but it aptly describes the post I intend to write. The highlights of the past few weeks of my cooking involve roasting. Last week I roasted a chicken, a la Robin, and it turned out perfectly, but we all know how to do that. I then made soup from said roasted chicken which I am still eating ... it just won't go away. 

The slightly more exotic roasting escapade took place two weeks ago. I roasted butternut squash. It was worth it just for the smell that came out of my oven. Let me give you some details. 

I was planning on cutting up my squash into cubes, but I couldn't seem to do this effectively. Maybe my knife sucks or I was being dense, but pieces of squash kept flying this way and that and I was sure I was about to cut off a finger. I found it much more manageable to cut it into thin half moons, so they looked sort of like potato chips. 

After the squash was cut up, I tossed it in a generous amount of hazelnut oil. I also coarsely chopped some fresh sage and tossed that in there as well. I spread the squash into a baking dish and put it in a 400 degree oven. I roasted it for about 25 mins, turning the slices occasionally, until they were brown and caramelized on the outside. 

It was really, really, good.

Speaking of roasting, though of another sort, Oliver and I watched the Alfred Smith memorial dinner roast on the internet the other night. It's some benefit were the presidential candidates roast one another. You should look it up if you get a chance. Now after the third debate, I no longer like John McCain at all. But the man is funny. I hate to say it, but he's funnier than Obama. If anything, this admission proves I remain somewhat objective about the election.

News of a Chocolate Torte

Jody mentioned that she'd made a chocolate torte for a dinner party . . . .

Cinnamon Rolls! Courtesy of Mackenzie

These are posted (by Mackenzie) on my other blog (gasp! I have another blog!), but I made them tonight and loved the so much I thought I'd share:

2 pkgs. yeast (2 T)
2 cups warm water
2 tsps. salt
1/4 cup sugar
4 T oil (1/4 cup)
5 cups flour
Butter (about 1/2 cup)
Sugar (about 3/4 cup)
Cinnamon
Molasses (about 1/4 cup)
Pyrex baking pan

1. Dissolve yeast into warm water

2. Add everything else, mix, and knead. Adjust flour as necessary to make a medium (not hard or soft) dough.

3. Roll out dough and brush with melted butter.

4. Mix cinnamon and sugar as desired, sprinkle over buttered dough.

5. Starting with one side of the long edge, roll the dough up into a roll. Cut into smaller rolls with a knife (make them maybe an inch and a half wide, but its mostly preference)

6. Drizzle the bottom of the baking pan with melted butter and molasses. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar mixture.

7. Arrange cinnamon rolls on the pan and bake ~30 min at 350 until rolls have risen and are a light golden brown color.

California attitude

So yes, as Mom insinuated a while back, I am now an avocado snob. The fact of the matter is, I never really liked avocados before I came out hear. I just didn't get it. And when I did get out here, I made fun of Californians and their avocados. Seriously, they eat them like they were they are their own food group. But ... then I had some good avocados. And let me tell you they are something else. A really good avocado is like a creamy bit of heaven, fabulous in taste, texture and appearance. But that said, a blah avocado really doesn't it do it for me. Its just kind of slimy and bland. But a perfectly ripe haas avocado is like a king among common fruits. I could go on.

I happily encountered such an avocado at a produce stand on my way back from Tahoe this weekend. I must admit, I am still not an expert at picking ripe avocados, so maybe I lucked out or maybe the whole barrel was full of them, I don't know. Anyways, I took it back to Berkeley with the intention of making my standard avocado salsa chicken recipe. A twist of fate (namely me spacing and forgetting to buy chicken at the store) let to this vegetarian concoction. The combination of tofu and avocado is really, really good and I highly recommend it:

Warm pan fried tofu with avocado tomato salsa

For the salsa: Cut a perfect california avocado into medium size cubes. Squeeze the juice of a lemon over it. Add a coarsely diced tomato, three diced green onions, and a handful of chopped basil. Crack a little pepper in, mix gently, and set aside.

Cut a block of firm tofu (I like nesoya) into 1" cubes. Thoroughly dust with a mixture of cumin, salt and pepper. Pan fry in olive oil, turning the cubes periodically until the cubes are a pleasant golden color on the outside and the tofu is cooked through. 

Allow the tofu cubes to cool just a bit, and then serve with the salsa spooned over top. 

We had this dish with quinoa on the side. It was a fabulous hippy californian dinner!

Blessings from California and Memories of Childhood

I had promised Suzanne a quick chocolate fix, thinking back to how I used to make chocolate topping for ice cream. So I proceeded to grind (in the FP) ~1 oz Sharffenberger 99% cacao, first split somewhat with a knife. Then when it was getting somewhat ground, I added about 2 1/2 T. sugar. Meanwhile I microwaved about 1/4 cup milk to get it very hot. I poured the milk into the FP while it was running. Then - ! - I remembered that we still had a bit of the Peet's Panama Esmeralda that we'd made that morning, that Jody had given us for our birthdays. So I added 1 or 2 tsp. of that. I kept mixing it, then, in hopes of making it a bit more solid, whizzed it with Mr. Whizzy over some ice, then put it in the freezer while I made yet more coffee.
Making a chocolate fix reminded me of growing up with Jody Wright as sometime kitchen impresario. I remember 3 things she offered me during babysitting jaunts. (1) dog biscuits, (2) potato chips that had been left in the oven, in the bag, which had melted when someone had pre-heated the oven without checking its contents (they were marvelous), and (3) a chocolate icing made from confectioner's sugar, softened butter, cocoa and a bit of milk. We'd make bowls of it and eat the entirety.

curry for when you don't feel like going to the store for the special ingredients

The plan for tonight was to cook a simple, one-serving meal and get to work pretty quickly. After conversing about Spanish food and the various and colorful ways that it can make you feel ill during my medical Spanish class and then going to the gym, however, my stomach demanded more satisfaction than a simple veggie burger could provide. I also had a enormous head of cauliflower, a funky green pepper, and some cilantro that I felt I should at least make a dent in before I go home for the weekend. So, I adapted the following recipe from the Vegetarian Times cookbook:

Saute one onion, chopt, on medium-high heat.
Add one green pepper, chopt, when the onions start to clear.
When both are getting soft, add 1/2 cauliflower (in florets), 1 cup veggie stock, 1t curry powder, 1t cumin, and 1/2t cayenne pepper. Reduce heat to medium.
Once cauliflower is soft, add 1 can chick peas. Allow to simmer a few more minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup yogurt.
Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve with rice.

Enjoy!

PS--the original recipe calls for turmeric, which I did not have, but I expect would taste delicious. It also calls for chopped green chilis, which I replaced with cayenne pepper due to the green chili famine currently plaguing my house.

Jody, mom mentioned a while back that you had a delicious yellow split pea soup recipe. Would you be able to post it?