November 2019 Recipes

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup from Carol Koball

 Adapted from Ahead of Thyme

1 large butternut squash peeled, seeded, and chopped into 1” squares

2 carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks

3 stalks of celery, chopped into 4-inch lengths

1 large onion, peeled. You can leave whole.

5 cloves of garlic, peeled. You can leave whole.

6 sage leaves

6 sprigs of thyme

1 sprig of rosemary

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 and 1/2 cups vegetable stock made from Better than Bouillon

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Put vegetables into large roasting pan.

Add the herbs (easier to puree later if stems are removed), cardamom, salt & pepper. Add olive oil and toss vegetables to coat.

Roast for 1 hour until veggies are soft and tender (check the carrots in particular).

Transfer cooked vegetables to food processor (or blender) with 1 cup of vegetable stock and puree until smooth and creamy, or until desired consistency is reached. I left it a little chunky. You will need to do this in batches.

Pour mixture into a large saucepan. Add the remaining vegetable stock and stir well. Simmer on low for at least 30 minutes to meld flavors. If the consistency of the soup is too thick, just thin it out with some water.

Garnish with additional fresh herbs (optional) and serve. Freezes very well.

Lighter Brownies from Beth Burgin

½ cup gluten-free all purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder 

2 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder 

1 tablespoon warm water 

1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

½ teaspoon instant espresso powder 

2 tablespoons unsalted butter 

3 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped  

½ cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon table salt 

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square metal baking pan with parchment paper, or foil lightly coated with vegetable oil spray. Create a sling of foil to aid in removing brownies from pan.
Whisk the flour and baking powder together in a small bowl; set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the cocoa, water, vanilla, and espresso powder together; set aside. Microwave the butter and chocolate together in a medium microwave-safe bowl on 50 percent power until melted, about 1 minute; whisk until the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the sugar and salt until completely incorporated. Whisk in the cocoa mixture, then whisk in the egg. Stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated (do not over-mix).
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking (do not over-bake). Cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 hour, lift the brownies out of the pan by grasping onto the parchment paper, and cut into 12 brownies.

PER BROWNIE:  Cal 130

Masala Chai from Beth Burgin

2 servings

2 cups water

1 ½ inch chunk of fresh ginger (+/- to suit)

10 green cardamom pods, cracked

1 ½ inch piece cinnamon stick

4 peppercorns (preferably white)

2 whole cloves

3 ½ tablespoons hearty brown sugar to taste

5 teaspoons loose orange pekoe tea or other black tea

1 ½ cups whole milk

Equipment: a mortar and pestle or an electric coffee/spice grinder

Macerate fresh ginger with mortar and pestle, same with cardamom and all of the other spices (or coarsely grind in a blender or coffee grinder.) Smaller pieces are good so they infuse properly, but you don't want to end up with a fine powder either. I do spice it up sometimes with a ready mixed Tea Masala from Laxmi Brand which has more black peppercorn so a little goes a long way.

Bring water to a boil with all the spices for several minutes. I like mine spicy so I allow this to boil the spice a little longer- makes it stronger, then add the tea and turn heat on low, steep for 4-5 minutes (or longer to suit) then add milk. Bring back to a low boil— another few minutes or until it gets a nice strength. Careful not to scald the milk. Sweeten and tweak to taste.