Recipes

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1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cubed (about 3/4" cubes, but size isn't important!)

one chopped onion - again, size doesn't matter.

2-3T olive oil

saute squash and onions in oil - sometimes I add a little butter too but not required.

when you start to see a little browning, add the following spices. I give rough measurements, but you may have to experiment to see the right combo for you. start with small amounts, you can add more later.

1 T yellow curry powder

1t granulated garlic or garlic powder

1t ground cumin

1t ground white pepper

1t cayenne papper

1 t sea salt

stir in spices, saute for a minute or two more, to give the spices a chance to bloom.

add 1 box chicken broth or stock, bring to a boil. the broth should almost cover the squash - add more water or broth if needed. reduce heat and simmer until squash and onions are very tender.

with an immersion blender, blend until smooth - no lumps!

add a splash of half and half, if you like a creamier soup.

serve with shavings of fresh parmesan cheese. I also sprinkle scallion and a few slices of grilled italian sausage on top as a garnish.

This quick and easy recipe is cheerfully and thankfully adapted / adopted from my friend Sabrina. who made this for me when I was sick, a million years ago.

In a medium sauce pan, bring one box of chicken broth to a low boil. Add the following mandatory and optional ingredients:

Mandatory:

stir in one well beaten egg, so it cooks in threads

1/2 t or so white pepper

one splash of soy sauce

one T fresh lemon juice. serve immediately

Optional:

you can also add chopped chives, chopped chicken, frozen peas, firm tofu diced small - whatever you want. but the mandatory ingredients will clear your sinuses, give you much needed protein, and just taste good together.

In a large  saucepan, bring the following just to a boil, to dissolve sugar:

1c. sugar

1c. white/light corn syrup

1 pinch salt.

Remove from heat, add

1t. vanilla extract

1 1/3 c peanut butter

Blend well.

Pour over 4 cups Special K. Blend until well coated, then drop by teaspoons onto parchment paper. Store air-tight.

This recipe can be easily doubled – just have two people handy to scoop quickly – it’s gets a little tough as the stuff cools off.

OK, this may sound gross, and to be sure, it won't look pretty - but it is FANTASTIC and relatively great for you.

Cook one cup of black wild rice until tender in about three cups of water. It might need more, might need less. To be safe, cook it like spaghetti and just drain off the excess water when it's done.

Mix in all the following ingredients, and bring to bubbly in 350 degree oven:

1 diced red pepper and 1 diced onion, sauteed in olive oil until soft - mix in about 1/4 cup of water and a tablespoon of beef base, cook off much of the water

1 can white beans, rinsed and drained

1 can Campbells nearly fat free cream of mushroom soup

1 cup turkey sausage crumbles

a good shaking of a garlic herb spice blend

a wee bit of cayenne

that's it - pour in a casserole dish.

of course you could use cream of XXX soup, your preference

and maybe another sausage, or another kind of bean

but wild rice has half the cals and carbs, and it adds a nice nutty flavor and texture to this thing.

next time I would add more veggies - even some chopped fresh spinach - but the fridge is bare!

Or for the faint of heart, Spicy Tomato Soup with Cauliflower Croutons 

Chop (size doesn’t matter, but smaller cooks quicker):

• Three or four good sized carrots
• One large onion
• One large sweet red pepper
• If you have them, a few fresh tomatoes – I had four Campari tomatoes that needed to get used up so tossed them in

Saute

Saute in a glug of olive oil at medhigh heat until you see some browning on the veggies. Sprinkle with about a tablespoon of kosher salt and about a ½ teaspoon of pepper, or more/less to taste. Add dried minced garlic, or mince a few fresh cloves. When veggies are showing a good amount of browning, add about two cups of chicken STOCK – not BROTH. You can buy STOCK in those newfangled cardboard can thingies in the soup aisle. Add the whole thing.

Bring to a boil, and then simmer/lightly boil until all veggies are soft.

Combine

In a large soup pot, combine the following:

• 3 28oz cans good tomatoes – chopped, whole, pureed, doesn’t matter (just not SAUCE). Include the juices.
• One jar of Paul Newman medium salsa (optional, for the heat)
• Another sprinkle of salt and pepper to taste
• A little water or more chicken stock if it is really thick

This stuff can be warming on low while you cook the veggies.

• Add cooked veggies and broth, plus
• A few red pepper flakes or a hot pepper seasoning mix, to taste – skip if you don’t want spicy
• A few shakes of Worcestershire – don’t skip this.

Bring to a boil then immediately down to a simmer, and let cook as long as you want at this point, stirring occasionally.

Puree

Using a stick blender or a standard blender, puree until smooth.  I let it cool and then brought it to work at this stage, added to the crock pot with a little more chicken broth and some sugar, because it was a little acidic. I added 5 or 6 packets of sugar, so that’s maybe two tablespoons.

Options

Straining it is optional – I pulled about three or four cups of solids out of it before we had lunch to make it a little less spaghetti sauce and more soup.

You could add cream or ½ and ½ if you want, but I didn’t.

Croutons / Brains:

Break one head of cauliflower into small bite sized chunks – don’t cut – pull apart so they look like wee little brains.

Season and Roast

Toss with enough olive oil and a few good shakes of a garlic herb seasoning  mix to lightly coat all pieces. Sprinkle about ¼ cup whole wheat breadcrumbs on and toss again. Add @ ½ cup grated parmesan and toss again. Spread out on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and roast at 400, about 25 minutes or until browned lightly. If not fork tender, bake a little longer at 350 or so so they don’t dry out / burn until done.

Enjoy!

It'll be worth the wait!