Roasted maple butternut squash soup

Or, what to eat on a Tuesday that feels like it should be a Friday...


Roasted maple butternut squash soup

1 butternut squash (medium/large, peeled and chopped)
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
 salt and pepper to taste
3 TBS butter
1 Tbs dried sage
1/4-1/2 tsp allspice
1/4-1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4-1/2 tsp powdered ginger
4 cups water
2 cubes of vegetable bouillon

Chop one medium/large butternut squash into 1-inch chunks.  Place in a baking dish, and toss with vegetable oil and maple syrup.  Add salt and pepper to taste, and bake at 375 until soft (about 40 minutes).

Once squash is ready, melt butter until bubbling in saucepan.  Add sage, and cook till sage is browned.

Add squash (including juice), allspice, cardamom and ginger to the saucepan.  Cook for about 2-3 minutes, then add 4 cups of water and the bouillon cubes.

Boil for about 15 minutes, then blend using an immersion blender or a blender.  

I liked it with cheesy bread (good cheese melted on toast).

SO GOOD.  Also, yay- butternut squash from McNeils, maple syrup from McNeils, sage from our garden!

Baked kale chips are OMG delicious

Take kale, rip it into bite-sized pieces and remove all stems (annoying, but worth it)

Mix the kale leaves with a little olive oil in a bowl to lightly coat the kale

Add salt and pepper, mix

Spread leaves out on a cookie sheet and bake at 330 for about 10 minutes. After 7 minutes or so you'll want to start checking them - they should be crispy but not burnt. If they're still kind of limp then put them back in.

So addictive and delicious, if you like crunchy/salty snacks!!

How to make totally awesome homemade bread with no work

It's so easy! And so much better than bread machine bread. Not that we don't love bread machine bread too- but our kitchen is too small for it, so I've been playing with not needing it.

Draw 1 1/2 cup warm water.
Dissolve 1/4 teaspoon active yeast in 3 tablespoons of warm water. Add the rest of the water to the mixture.
Beat in 3 cups of flour, and salt to taste, and stir till mixed.
Cover, and let sit for 12-18 hours at room temperature (at least 65 degrees F).

After 12-18 hours, the dough will rise considerably, and will be wet and full of bubbles. Tip it out onto a well-floured surface, and fold it twice (and only twice!). Then let it rest under a pot or bowl for 15 minutes. This is enough time for you to find corn meal or more flour and wash your hands and take the dog outside.

Once you're back in, move the dough onto a cloth (not a towel) that has been sprinkled with corn meal. Sprinkle some more corn meal on top of the dough, and then fold the cloth over the dough. Let sit for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, take a cast iron pot and lid, and put it in the oven at 450 degrees. Once the oven is preheated and the pot is hot, take the pot out of the oven (congratulations, you've cooked an empty pot!) Put the dough in the hot pot, and put the hot lid on the hot pot. Put the whole hot pot and lid and now dough into the oven.

Bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, take the lid off the pot, and bake for 10-15 more minutes until the bread is golden brown.

And there you go. Crusty, chewy, delicious bread for maybe 10 minutes work and clean-up.

Curried vegetable stew recipe

I think I'm just posting this for myself, so that when I come up with something that works, I'll remember it...

2 carrots, sliced thinly
1-2 potatoes, diced
1 bunch bok choy, chopped
1 head broccoli, chopped
1 green pepper
3 sticks celery
1 onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
16 oz diced tomatoes
vegetable oil
curry powder (or mix turmeric, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, allspice nutmeg, fenugreek, ginger, red pepper, black pepper, to taste)
mustard seeds
cumin seeds
cilantro, chopped

Heat oil with mustard seeds.
Add onions and garlic when seeds start to pop, cook till soft.
Add potatoes and carrots, curry powder/spices and cumin seeds, and cook covered for 10 or so minutes until softening.
Add celery, broccoli, green pepper and some more vegetable oil.
Cook for a few minutes and once oil is mostly gone add diced tomatoes.
Cook until soft. If it appears slightly dry and vegetables appear undercooked, add some water.
Serve with cilantro and rice.

New recipe- hot buttered rum

We took Shasta out for a six mile hike in 10 degree (F) weather. We rewarded ourselves with this:

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 cups cookie dough ice cream
Rum
Cinnamon
Allspice
Nutmeg
Cloves

1. Melt the sugar and butter together, and mix well.
2. Add the ice cream and mix well.
3. Add about 1 part mixture to 2-3 parts hot water and 1 ounce rum.
4. Top with spices to taste.

MMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm....