AL's Butternut Squash Soup

My dear friend Ann Lee is an amazing cook, and New Year’s was no exception. She is also the most generous person I know. She opened her home to celebrate the New Year with friends and made many delicious dishes. Among them was her butternut squash soup and it is the best I have ever had. I cannot think of a better way to bring in the New Year then with friends, food, and fun. Thank you Ann Lee for being such an amazing person and friend. I am looking forward to many adventures with you this year, both outside and in the kitchen!

Ingredients:

EVOO

1small onion chopped

1 piece (2inches) peeled fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves chopped

2 3/4lbs small butternut squash peeled, seeds removed, cut 3/4" cubes

1/4c fresh orange juice

S/P

Directions:

Sauté onion in EVOO until fragrant (2 min). Add ginger, garlic, squash. Cook, stir occasionally 6-8 min. Stir in 4c veggie broth, bring to boil, reduce heat. Simmer 20 min.

Purée soup on 2 batches. Stir in oj and salt.

Helpful Hit:

Pealing and cubing a butternut squash can be a very labor intensive task. To save your self great time and frustration roast the squash first and the skin will come right off. Place your squash on a baking sheet in the oven at 420 degrees for 20+min (depending on how big the squash is). When it is ready the skin will get a toasted feel to it and when you poke it the squash will be very soft. You will be able to cut it in half and scoop the meat right out.

Indian Spinach & Chickpeas

My husband and I love Indian food. Unfortunately our small mountain town only has 3 places to eat and an Indian restaurant is not one of them. Whenever we make it to Asheville, the nearest city we try to grab a meal at Mela, one of my favorites. But, in the mean time I am trying to add a few Indian recipes to the mix. I found a couple of fantastic books by Madhur Jaffrey that I am excited to start looking through but for now here is my first attempt at Indian cuisine, turned out pretty yummy.

Indian Spinach & Chickpeas

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 Tbsp grated ginger
• 1c golden raisins
• 1 cup Greek plain yogurt
• 3/4 cup half-and-half
• 1 zucchini, chopped into cubes
• 1 bunch of dark leafy greens (spinach, kale, or collards), chopped
• 2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 10oz couscous

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, zucchini, golden raisins, greens and saute until tender. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add spices and cook until fragrant. Add yogurt, half-and-half and chickpeas. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until heated through. Serve over couscous.

Red Cabbage Slaw & Black Bean Tacos

This is one of the fastest, most simple meals I have ever made. It is a perfect lite summer meal that is still filling. Even if you do not want to make the tacos the red cabbage slaw is an excellent side salad. Let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

- Corn Tortillas
- Feta

For the Red Cabbage Slaw:

1/2 head red cabbage, finely shredded
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup freshly squeeze orange juice
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4c lime juice
1/2c chopped peanuts

For the Black Beans:
2 cans or 2 c black beans
EVOO
Garlic Salt
Chili powder
Onion Powder
Crushed Red Pepper

For the Red Cabbage Slaw:
Combine honey, rice wine vinegar, orange juice, oil, black pepper, and lime juice. Stir well. Next mix in the rest of the ingredients coating well with the dressing. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for about 30min.

For the Black Beans:
Place EVOO in a skillet over medium heat. Add black beans and warm them in the skillet coating them lightly in EVOO. Then add the spices and stir to coat. For the spices add a little at a time to taste.

Build your tacos and top with a little feta. Bon Appetit!

Kale and Basil Pesto

Basil is one of my favorite herbs, it reminds me of summer. I try to use it whenever I can, especially when I can walk outside and pick it. So I could not resist adding it to the mix and keeping a hit of that traditional pesto flavor. I served the pesto over handmade roasted tomato fettucini from The Pasta Wench. It was delicious. Honestly her pasta is so good I could eat it plain, strait from the pot, but it was even more delicious with the pesto sauce. This is another recipe inspired by Farm+House+Table. I really like the vegetarian meal list on their site. They are very creative. Here is my version of a Kale and Basil Pesto, I hope you enjoy.

Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic, or more if you like garlic as much as I do
- 1/3c pecans, toasted
- 1/2c grated Parmesan
- 1/3c extra virgin olive oil
- 2/3c cottage cheese or Greek yogurt
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 1 Bunch fresh Kale
- 1 fist full of fresh basil

Toast the pecans in the oven. Then combine the kale, basil, garlic and pecans in a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse several times until kale is well chopped. Add Parmesan cheese and puree until blended. Next drizzle in the olive oil, while the food processor is still on, until the mixture becomes the consistency of a thick pesto sauce. Add in cottage cheese and begin to season with salt and pepper to taste.