Curried Acorn Butternut Squash Soup

 

Slightly sweet and spicy… Hearty and extremely easy to make.  Great for the winter season.  And most of all… this soup freezes well.  So you’ll always have soup whenever you feel like having some.

What you need…

What to do…?

Wash acorn and butternut squash under cold running water. And roast in a preheated oven at 375°F for 1 hour.

Cut both squashes in half.

Scope and discard the seeds. And scope out the flesh and place in a bowl.

Heat a large stew pot.  Saute onions, ginger and garlic.   Then add the green curry paste.

Add the can of coconut milk.

Add the 2 cans of chicken broth.

Bring to a boil.

Add the squash.  Stir and bring to another boil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Mash with a potato masher or blend with a hand held blender. Cover and bring to a boil. Again, simmer for another 5 minutes.

Taste to see if additional salt is needed.  Otherwise, add freshly ground black pepper.  Stir in chopped green onions and cilantro.

Serve hot with rice and other meat dishes.

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Acorn Butternut Squash Curried Soup

1 medium size acorn squash– about 2 – 3 pounds

1 medium size butternut squash – about 3 – 4 pounds

3 TBSPs. olive oil

1 medium size onion – chopped

2 TBSPs. finely chopped young ginger

4 large cloves garlic – minced

1 – 3 TBSPs. green curry paste

2 (14.5 ounces) cans low sodium chicken broth

1 (13.5 ounces) can Chaokoh coconut milk

½ – 1 tsp. coarse sea salt

Pinch freshly ground black pepper

3 stalks green onion

¼ cup chopped cilantro

Preheat oven at 375°F.

Line a heavy duty baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Wash acorn and butternut squash under cold running.  With a fork or a serrated steak knife, prick both squashes in the different in several areas – all around.

Line a heavy duty baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Place both squashes in the pan and bake for 1 hour.

Remove and cool.  Split both squashes in half.  Scope the and discard the seeds.  Scope the flesh and place in a large bowl.

Heat a large, 4 quart stew pot.    Add olive oil.

Sauté onions, ginger, and garlic until onions are translucent.  Add curry paste and sauté for a few minutes.

Add coconut oil.  Stir until curry paste is incorporated.  Add chicken broth.  Bring curried liquid to a boil.  Add acorn and butternut squash.  Stir and bring to another boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Mash the squash in the pot with a potato masher or hand held electric blender.  Taste to see how much salt is needed.  Add freshly ground black pepper.  Cover and simmer curried squash for another 5 minutes.  Add chopped and green onions and cilantro.  Serve hot. With rice and other meat dishes.

Tess Kitchen Secrets:

Green curry paste is hotter than red curry paste.  So start with 1 tablespoon.  You can always add more later once the chicken is cooked.  The 3 tablespoons of green curry paste I used here makes this chicken curry very spicy!  But my husband likes his curry this way. So here’s the scale of hotness in this curry, based on how the number of tablespoons of green curry paste you use on a scale of 1 – 10:

1 tablespoon = 4 (good average heat)

2 tablespoons = 7 (hot, a little medium heat)

3 tablespoons = 10 (superhot)

This soup can be divided into small portions and frozen.  When ready to enjoy the curried soup, simple take out a portion and leave in the fridge overnight.  Microwave for 2 – 3 minutes and serve.

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

Tess

 

 

Easy Green Chicken Curry

This is going to be the easiest green chicken curry you’ll ever make.  Can be done in less than 30 minutes with simple ingredients.  It’s like going to your favorite Thai restaurant… except more economical…

I could use some cilantro here… but I didn’t have it on hand.  And really… this was a last minute dish.  So… I have to live with what I don’t have…

Ingredients:

Season chicken with 1 tsp. kosher salt and ¼ tsp. ground black pepper.  Set aside.

Sauté garlic and ginger.

Add green curry paste sauté for a few minutes.  (As you can see… I am very generous with the green curry paste.  These are heaping tablespoons… So you can imagine how spicy this curry was!)

Add coconut milk.

Stir until curry paste is well incorporated with the coconut milk.

Bring coconut milk to a boil.

Add seasoned chicken and bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked.

Taste to see if you need more green curry paste.  Otherwise, stir in chopped cilantro.

Serve hot with a bowl of rice.

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Easy Green Chicken Curry

2 large chicken breasts – cut into bite size pieces

kosher salt and ground black pepper

4 garlic cloves – minced

2 inch piece ginger – minced

1 – 3 tablespoons green curry paste*

2 cans coconut milk

2 TBSPs. olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Season chicken with 1 tsp. kosher salt and ¼ tsp. ground black pepper.  Set aside.

Heat a medium size skillet and add olive oil.  Sauté garlic and ginger.  Add green curry paste sauté for a few minutes.  Add coconut milk.  Stir until curry paste is well incorporated with the coconut milk.  Bring coconut milk to a boil.

Add seasoned chicken and bring to boil.  Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked.  Taste to see if you need more green curry paste.  Otherwise, stir in chopped cilantro.

Serve hot with a bowl of rice.

Tess Kitchen Secret:

Green curry paste is hotter than red curry paste.  So start with 1 tablespoon.  You can always add more later once the chicken is cooked.  The 3 tablespoons of green curry paste I used here makes this chicken curry very spicy!  But my husband likes his curry this way.

So here’s the scale of hotness in this curry, based on the number of tablespoons of green curry paste you use on a scale of 1 – 10:

1 tablespoon = 4 (good average heat)

2 tablespoons = 7 (hot, above medium heat)

3 tablespoons = 10 (superhot)

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

Tess

Thai Beef Salad

I wasn’t sure what I was going to post today.

All I know is I wanted to share something easy.  Something good that everyone can make.

I should be spanked, because I had all week to think about this, but instead I have been burying my nose in a book I’ve been reading.  “Baby, Let’s Play House ~ Elvis Presley and the Women who Loved Him” by Alanna Nash.  A very interesting book.  A deeper look into the life of Elvis Presley.   I’m not a diehard fan of Elvis Presley.  I’ve only seen parts of his movies, and heard him sing a few songs.  Still, I simply couldn’t put this book down.  I am now on page 335, halfway through the book.  I learned one juicy information about him and his ex-wife Priscella Presley:  she wasn’t a virgin as everyone made to believed she was when Elvis married her, and even when he met her when she was 14 years old!

Anyway, I’ve decided on Thai Beef Salad.  Something spicy, tasty, simple and easy.

I first tasted Thai Beef Salad 23 years ago back in the Philippines.  But I did not make it until years later, when we moved to the U.S.

This is one my husband’s favorite dishes.  Since he loves spicy foods, I made this salad extra hot.  Though if you cannot handle the heat, you can still make this salad work for you by reducing the hot peppers or removing them all together.  Don’t worry, the only thing you’ll be missing it the fiery taste in your mouth, the salad will remain tasty!

I’ve made different versions of this salad, using romaine and lettuce heads.  I’ve also pan seared the steaks in a very hot skillet, without marinating the meat, and simply seasoning them with kosher salt, ground black pepper, ground coriander and monosodium glutamate.  But I think the best ones are when the steaks are marinated and grilled. But since I don’t have access to a patio with a grill, I’ve settled for broiling the steaks in the oven.

Here’s what you need…

Ingredients for Salad:

2 (1½ pound each) porterhouse steaks – marinated

½ large yellow onion – finely sliced – across

½ large red onion – finely sliced – across

3 large cucumbers – peeled and seeds removed and sliced.

4 medium size tomatoes – quartered

1 Romaine lettuce – chopped

Dressing:

½ cup chopped cilantro

2 – 6 red chili peppers – stems removed and chopped

2 Jalapenos – seeds and membranes removed; chopped

6 cloves garlic – peeled and halves

½ cup or juice of 2 limes

½ cup fish sauce

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. kosher salt

Place all dressing ingredients in a blender.  Pulse to grate.

Or you can simply chop all the ingredients and mix as shown in the picture below.

Drizzle over the salad.

Steak Marinade:

4 tsp. Montreal Steak Seasonings or Lemon Pepper

4 tsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. dried basil

½ tsp. MSG – optional

1 tsp. dried oregano

5 cloves garlic – smashed, peeled and finely chopped

¼ small onion – finely diced

4 TBSPs. balsamic vinegar

Juice of 2 large limes

Combine all marinade ingredients in a large measuring cup.

Wash the steaks and squeeze out excess water.

Place the steaks in a gallon size freezer bag and pour the marinade.

Swish the bag around until the steaks are well coated with the marinade.

Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes or an hour.

Cook over a hot grill or broil steaks in the oven.  As for broiling, preheat the broiler for about 10 minutes.  Then broil steaks for about 8 minutes on one side, and then turn the steaks over and broil for another 5 minutes.

When done transfer steaks to a plate and cover with foil.  Let it rest for 5 minutes.  This process will allow the steaks to recover its juices.

Slice the steaks across the grain into thin slices.

In a large mixing bowl, combine steaks, sliced onions, cucumbers and quartered tomatoes.  Add the dressing and toss to coat beef and salads.

Add the chopped lettuce and toss.

Serve with rice on the side.

I pan seared the steaks in this picture.

Enjoy and Happy Cooking!

Tess