Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup

My new photo of Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup (non-dairy) (The Souper 2012)

What do you do when there is a brisk chilly feel to the outside air and the wind is howling around the house but it is brilliantly sunny outside? You make soup, of course!
I took out from my refrigerator the very basics for a good hearty, spicy vegetable soup. There was a half of a large butternut squash sitting quietly in my refrigerator along with a large bag of carrots. I discovered a half of a large onion just waiting to jump into a food creation of mine. Supporting the major components of this throw-together soup are my spices always ready to flavor-up a dish.
With a full stock of staples in the pantry, I of course had a box of low-sodium chicken broth to blend into a pot of soup or rice stirfry sidedish.
There you have it. Chopping the vegetables, adding seasonings and broth blends into the most satisfying, creamy tummy-warming soup in just about one half an hour. Yes, from the chop to the blend I was eating not one but two bowls of this velvety smooth liquid meal in under an hour! How wonderful is that?
With the basic kitchen skills and tools, you too can impress yourself as well as your loved ones with a healthy, nutritious pleasure.

Prep time about five minutes. Cooking time about one half an hour.
Serving suggestions: Add soup crackers, or small cooked pasta to a bowl of soup. (If you can tolerate dairy, grate some melting cheese on top of the soup or a tiny bit of cream.)

What you will need:
Cutting board, large
Kitchen knife
Vegetable peeler
Small bowls for chopped vegetables
Large pot with matching cover
Wood spoon
Large soup spoon
Measuring spoons
Pot holders
Immersion blender or food processor (even a blender if soup is cooled.)

Ingredients:
Canola or Olive Oil, 3 tablespoons
1/2 large sweet onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 large butternut squash, cubed into small pieces
2 medium carrots, washed, peeled and cut into thin discs
1 box, 32 ounces of low-sodium chicken broth. (Swanson's)
Kosher salt, add during cooking and flavor cooked soup
(about 1 teaspoon during cooking onions, 1 teaspoon when butternut squash and carrots added to the cooking onions. Add 1 teaspoon if needed when soup is finished cooking and still in the pot if more flavoring is needed.)
Crushed black pepper, 1-2 teaspoons during the cooking process
Turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon on top of the cooking butternut squash and carrots
Smoked Papika, 1/2 teaspoon on top of the cooking butternut squash and carrots.

The process:
Wash, peel, cut the carrots and set aside until needed
Peel butternut squash and cut into small pieces
Peel the onion and chop into small pieces and set aside until needed
Peel clove of garlic and crush into small pieces
Add the oil into the large pot and put on the stove burner turned on medium-high heat
Add the chopped onions, some salt and stir with the wooden spoon often.
When the cooking onions look shiny and appear to be softer in texture, add the crushed garlic and keep stirring with the wooden spoon often.
Quickly add the cut butternut squash and cut carrots into the cooking mixture and keep stirring around often with the wooden spoon.
Add more salt, add crushed black pepper as well as the turmeric and smoked paprika and keep stirring with the wood spoon.
When the cooking vegetables appear to be softer, slowly add the chicken broth and keep stirring the mixture.
Reduce the heat under the pot to a low setting, cover slightly with the matching cover.
Check on the cooking soup in about 25-30 minutes, taste a little bit with the clean, large soup spoon and add more salt or crushed black pepper to your personal taste.
The flavors come together with a correct balance of seasonings. (Your tastebus will tell you if more seasonings are needed.)
With the stove burner off, use the immersion blender slowly to blend the cooked chunks of vegetables into a smooth, velvety texture.
If using a food processor or blender, let the soup cool a bit before blending.

Lasagne

This Lasagne is both Gluten-free and Non-dairy

It was exciting to find a lasagne pasta made of brown rice so that I could prepare a gluten-free lasagne for people on a restricted diet AND while thinking about dietary needs of others, I decided to make this recipe for lasagne to be dairy-free as well. Did I have concerns how this recipe was going to turn out? You bet I did. Did I have concerns about how a lasagne without cheese would hold up in the cooking process? You bet I did, again.

I am happy to report that this lasagne with ground beef and sauted vegetables turned out to be one of the best tasting culinary experiments I have prepared. There was an abundance of flavor in this meat lasagne from the spiced-up seasonings used during the cooking of the ground beef. The sauted veggies of choice for this recipe added their own flavor and texture to the entire lasagne. How surprised was I? Very surprised and satisfied with this homemade creation.

Although I technically am not restricted to a gluten-free diet, I enjoy the wonderful new products appearing in the markets for those restricting gluten in their nutritional diets. A personal observation: when eating too much bread or white pasta, I find a bloated feeling after a meal and see more puffiness under my eyes. Again, this is just a personal observation. The same feeling is personally observed when eating a lot of dairy products. So, good to know that substitutions of ingredients still allows for a hearty flavor in favorite meals.

Noting here that I chose ingredients for this lasagne without promoting any products. I enjoy their flavors.

Gluten-free, brown rice lasagne pasta. Organic and Kosher, too.

Organic Tomato Sauce with Herbs (no cheese)

What you will need to prepare this dish:
Large pot with matching lid
Colander
Tongs
Large skillet
Large cutting board
Kitchen knife
Box grater
Wooden spoon, two
Pot holders
Large lasagne pan or high baking dish
Olive or Canola Oil spray
Baking sheet
Large spatula

Ingredients:
Lasagne pasta, gluten-free
Olive oil, 3-4 tbs for sauteing vegetables and ground beef.
Small onion, chopped
Garlic, 3 cloves, fresh and chopped
Carrot, 1 large, washed, peeled and grated
Red or Green pepper, 1 medium, washed and cut into small pieces
Butternut squash, 1 cup, fresh, cut into small pieces
Zucchini, 1 small, washed, cut into small pieces
Kosher salt, 1-4 tbs (add half of total amount during vegetable saute; add some salt to taste during cooking process after the ground beef is added but save some salt to add to boiling water for cooking pasta)
Black pepper, 1 tsp, crushed
Ground beef, 1 lb, lean OR White ground meat turkey, 1 lb.
Tomato sauce, one jar prepared tomato sauce of choice (with/without added herbs, but no cheese.)
Tomato paste, 4 tbs from tube or small can
Water, 1 cup, cold (add half of the water to determine thickness of mixture)
Tumeric, 1 tsp, powder
Smoked paprika, 1 tsp, powder
Oregano, 1 tsp, dried
Basil, 1 tsp, dried
Gluten-free bread crumbs

Lasagna Preperation Process:
Fill the large pot with cold water, put lid on the pot and put the pot on a stove burner, high heat, to bring water to a rolling boil. This will take 8-10 minutes depending on your stove temperature. When large bubbles appear in the boiling water, remove the lid, add some Kosher salt and carefully add the dried lasagne pasta. Stir gently to separate each noodle so they do not stick together.
When all the lasagne pasta is softer, but still firm, turn off the burner under the pot, put the colander in the sink and carefully lift the pot with pot holders and slowly drain the boiling water from the pot leaving the partially cooked lasagne pasta in the collander.
While the water is reaching a boiling temperature, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
At this time put the large skillet on another stove burner, add the olive oil into the skillet and turn the burner under the skillet to medium-high heat. In a minute or two, carefully add the chopped onion and stir around the skillet with a wooden spoon. When the onions look softer add the rest of the vegetables and keep stirring the mixture. Add some of the Kosher salt and all of the crushed black pepper. Keep stirring the mixture with the wooden spoon.
When all the vegetables look softer, add the uncooked ground beef (or ground turkey), add all of the herbs, the tomato paste and continue to stir with the wooden spoon until the ground beef (or ground turkey) turns brownish, more firm looking texture to the meat. Then, add 3/4 of the jar of tomato sauce. (save 1/4 of the tomato sauce for the top of the lasagne before baking)
Keep stirring the mixture above and then add the water, as much as needed for the desired consistancy of the mixture. The mixture of vegetables, meat and sauce should not be too watery.
Turn the temperature under the skillet with cooking mixture to a low setting and keep stirring with the wooden spoon until cooking mixture is fully heated and bubbles begin to form in the mixture.
Turn the burner off under the skillet after the mixture is hot and bubbly.
Spray the large baking dish with some olive oil spray to keep the bottom of the lasagne from burning while baking.

The Layering Process Before Baking:
With a clean wooden spoon, add a little bit of the cooked mixture from the skillet to the bottom of the baking dish.
With tongs, carefully take several partially cooked lasagne pasta and put them on top of the first layer of cooked ground beef (or ground turkey) and vegetable mixture. Add a bit more cooked mixture on top of the lasagne pasta and repeat this process until the top layer is cooked meat and vegetable mixture.
Add a thin layer of gluten-free bread crumbs for a crunchy topping (optional)
Add last 1/4 of jar of tomato sauce to the top of the lasagna.
Put the baking dish on a clean baking sheet so oven will not get messed up if the cooking lasagne overflows with tomato sauce.
Put the baking sheet with the lasagne baking dish on it into the preheated oven.
Bake the lasagne for about 20-30 minutes until heated totally in the middle.

Serving suggestions:
Cut the cooked lasagne into large squares and serve each individual portion with a spatula on a dinner place.

Color Your World - the Spicy Way

Here in the Northeast with blustering winds and pristine white snowdrifts, eventually turning into ruddy mounds of grayish, granular ice blocks, I have fond memories of my herbal garden. Without seasonal fresh herbs to enhance my homecooked meals to come alive, I turn to my winter friends.

Chilly winter months have me craving warm, hearty meals. This is when I enter my Spice World. Vibrant colors and flavors heat up my culinary visions, inspiring me to crank-up my creations in the kitchen. Soups and stews emerge into pure comfort for my aching tastebuds. The visual depth of colors in my Spice World transport their flavors throughout my culinary endeavors and into an embrace of warmth.

Get to know your friends in your Spice World. Spice-up your winter months.

The Souper

Spice Swirl Soup

Colorful Ingredients in Spice Swirl Soup

Hearty, spicy and comforting. Soup base is non-dairy and gluten-free. Can be totally vegetarian by using vegetable broth. This recipe utilizes basic cooking techniques of roasting, pureeing and heating on stovetop. The best way to enjoy veggies.

Bowl of Roasted Vegetable Soup

Recipe Prep:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Food processor (or blender)
Large spoon or spatula
Wooden spoon
Kitchen knife
Vegetable peeler
Cutting board
Pot holders
Large soup pot with matching lid
Measuring cup
Two, large rimmed baking sheets
Parchment paper (for easy clean up)
Assorted veggies to roast

Floating The Spices While Soup Is Cooking In The Pot:
Before "The Swirl" Through The Soup

Ingredents:
Olive oil
Eggplant, small to medium, washed, peeled and cubed
Butternut squash, one small or half of large, peeled and cubed
Carrots, two or three, washed, peeled and cut into disc shapes
Red pepper, one large (washed, seeds taken out, cut into small pieces)
Onion, one large(Vidalia or red onion; peeled and sliced in strips)
Garlic, two cloves, not peeled and left whole
Chicken broth, three cups, boxed or canned, low-sodium
Water, 3-4 cups, cold
Spices: one teaspoon, dried, of the following
Cumin, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon, ginger, Kosher salt.
Red pepper flakes, 1/4 teaspoon
Bay leaves, two whole dried leaves
Kosher salt, added during the cooking process for personal taste.

Preparing to make Spice Swirl Soup:
After the veggies have been washed, dried and cut, put them on the lined baking sheets in one layer so they will roast more efficiently.
Drizzle the cut veggies with some olive oil before roasting.
Sprinkle the veggies with Kosher salt also before roasting.
Roast the veggies in the preheated oven for about 20-30 minutes, until browned.

When veggies have cooled from roasting, puree them in small batches in a food processor or blender along with some of the chicken or vegetable broth (one or the other.) Note: peel the roasted garlic and add to food processor.
After puree of each batch of roasted veggies, put the mixture into large soup pot.
Add remaining water, bay leaves and bring to low boil with cover on the pot.
Once the soup is boiling, turn heat down to low.
Add the spices to float on top of the soup in colorful piles and then with a wooden spoon, begin to slowly swirl around through the spices to blend them into the cooking soup.
Keep tasting the soup and adjust flavor to your liking by adding additional salt. (easier to correct flavor while cooking than adding too much salt at the beginning of the cooking process.)Salt helps with the blending of all the spice flavors.
When the soup is heated sufficiently, it is ready to serve in individual bowls.

Serving suggestions:
Serve with hearty tortilla chips, melting cheese, homemade croutons.
Add any cooked protein leftovers such as: chicken, sausage, ground beef, sauteed shrimp. This makes a complete meal-in-a-bowl.

Spice Swirl Soup tastes even better the next day. Have extra chicken or vegetable broth to loosen the thickened soup or just add more water. This soup freezes well, too.

Enjoy,
The Souper
Spice Swirl Soup

Rainy Day Saturday Soup - aka Veggie Soup

Description: My version of Minestrone Soup utilizing fresh veggies on-hand, reaching for pantry items to add into soup stock. This completed soup is built upon staples on hand for the day. My creative efforts produce a one-of-a-kind soup full of nutritious vegetables, pasta/beans. Can become a complete meal in a bowl.
Extra touches: grate cheese into an individual bowl (keeping the pot of soup non-dairy) and add-in homemade crouton or soup crackers.

Recipe Preparation: About an hour from chopping veggies to completed soup.
Pull any fresh veggies of choice from your refrigerator. Saturday’s veggies listed below. Chop into same-size pieces.
Peeled garlic clove(s), chop ready to include with sautéing veggies in olive oil.
Soup pot on the stove ready to sauté pieces of veggies in olive oil.
Wooden spoon available to stir veggies while sautéing.
Tube of tomato paste for a couple of squirts into sautéing veggies in pot.
Box of low-sodium chicken broth (32 oz.) ready to add slowly as veggies absorb olive oil.
Cold water in a measuring cup (2 cups at a time) to add slowly after the chicken broth.
(you might be adding up to 4 cups of water depending on other ingredients put into the soup that will absorb the liquids.)
Assorted spices & dried bay leaves, including salt & pepper ready to be added to the soup while veggies sauté in liquids.
Canned beans, washed & drained, ready to put into soup pot while soup cooks.
Small-size pasta or shells (uncooked) ready to put into the soup by a handful or two.

Ingredients:
Olive Oil: to drizzle into bottom of soup pot to sauté veggies.
Carrot or two, depending on size and desire. Cut into discs.
Celery, one or a couple of stalks. Peel to take tough, stringy outer layer off. Cut into small slices.
Butternut squash, peeled and cubed.
Asparagus: wash and cut tough bottom ends off, then cut upper part into small pieces.
Garlic clove(s) to taste. Chop.
One box of low sodium Chicken Broth (32 oz.)
One large can of crushed tomatoes with no salt added (28 oz.)
One tube of tomato paste for a couple of squirts into sautéing veggies.
One small can of Cannellini (white kidney beans), washed and drained.
Small pasta such as shells. (a couple of handfuls.)
Water, about four cups.
Spices (dried): Oregano, Basil, Cinnamon, Ginger, Red Pepper Flakes, Turmeric, Tarragon, Salt & Pepper.
Bay Leaves: two-three
Sugar: optional

Building the Soup:
Drizzle olive oil on the bottom of the pot, on stove burner.
Turn heat to medium-high, let it heat for a couple of minutes without burning and begin to add the chopped veggies. Should hear sizzle of veggies in heated oil.
Stir the veggies with a wooden spoon to get them soft.
Add chopped garlic on top of veggies sautéing.
Add salt, pepper and rest of spices. Stir with wooden spoon.
Add about three squirts of tomato paste (to taste) and stir into the sautéing veggies. Stir.
Add slowly the chicken broth to keep veggies from burning. Keep stirring.
Add water up to four cups if you will be adding pasta and beans. Keep stirring.
Add Bay Leaves (two – three).
Add small pasta (two – three handfuls). Keep stirring.
Add washed & drained Cannellini Beans (Red Kidney Beans work well, too.)
Add more salt & pepper to taste when pasta is cooked in the soup. (The beans and pasta absorb salt.)
Add some sugar if soup tastes bitter as canned tomatoes might be very acidic. (sugar & salt correct an acidic taste.)
Turn temperature of cooking soup to low and put a cover on soup loosely, leaving opening for steam to escape.
Sir and taste soup before serving.

Serving Suggestions:
Slice a baguette or hearty-grained bread, drizzle with olive oil, heat in oven (400 degrees on lined baking sheet) for homemade croutons.
Put a homemade crouton in the bottom of a soup mug/bowl or serve on the side.
Add a protein to the soup for a complete meal:
-left over cooked chicken, cooked sausage or cooked ground beef (meatballs/meatloaf.)
-add melting cheese to the soup bowl. (now it is a dairy soup.)

Be creative in building your own soup recipe. Enjoy and have fun.

The Souper