lex: (yeah toast)
Lex ([personal profile] lex) wrote2010-09-04 11:45 am

Seattle Sup

While I was visiting my darling twin, we had so much fun cooking delicious things! Her butternut soup is now a staple food for me - there's some in my freezer right at this very moment, and I just finished a big, lovely bowl of it. So good. So I thought I'd share the recipes for some of what we made!

Spacehussy's Squash Soup
1 butternut squash
garlic cloves (as many as your heart desires)
half a package of pearl onions (white or red) OR one whole medium size onion (chopped up)
1 green apple (peeled and sliced)
chicken broth or chicken bouillon cube, to make about 2 cups worth
chicken & apple sausage (cut into little slices or half-moons)
spices I use: rosemary, parsley, marjoram, pepper and sea salt. to taste, of course~

-Cut the squash in half, scoop out the goop, rub with olive oil. Cut the tips off the garlic cloves (or the whole bulb), drizzle with olive oil, and bake both the garlic and the squash for about an hour at 350. Depending on the size it'll take longer, so don't be afraid to poke the shit out of it with a fork. I put the majority of the squash aside to be blended, and save a few cuts to be sauteed with the sausage.

-Get the broth cooking, add the (peeled and chopped) apples and onions and cook at a low/medium heat until they smell delicious and are soft enough to blend.

-Sauté chicken sausage until browned, remove from pan and use the delicious fat to sauté (or sear) the leftover squash bits. (If you decide to blend all the squash, you will need about 1cup more broth.)

-Blend everything EXCEPT the sausage. You may need to blend in batches. Mix it all together in a big pot, stir until evenly mixed, and proceed to stuff face.


L's Whatevertheheck Pasta

1lb pasta of your choice
can of crushed tomatoes (15oz for just enough sauce to stick to the pasta, bigger for more sauce)
heavy cream (about 1/2 to 1 cup)
1-2 small/medium onions
2 cloves garlic
fresh basil (lots, about half a cup)
bell peppers/other veggies (I hate green bell peppers. You know why? THEY'RE NOT RIPE)
chicken or shrimp (about a pound, or more or less if you desire)

-Cut up everything that can be cut up.

-Start cooking the pasta. I usually forget this step.

-Use a very large, tall-sided pan. Sauté the chopped onion in olive oil or butter until soft,
or even until beginning to carmelize. Mmmm carmelized onion...

-When the onion is done, cook the chicken (if you're using that) and add any veggies you need to cook. Then add the garlic and the can of crushed tomatoes. Add enough cream to make it delicious and pink. Add a bunch of fresh basil, but keep some aside for later. Toss in some salt and pepper, and add the meat if it's not already in there. Shrimp can go in raw now, they'll cook in the sauce.

-Cover and let all the magic happen. When it's bubbly and delicious (and the shrimp is fully cooked if you're using shrimp), mix it with the pasta and top with the remaining basil. Devour.

Also, just to let you all know, Nostalgia is doing fabulously. She's started doing these acrobatic leaps to catch her toys when I toss them - she doesn't always land quite right, but she is having the time of her life. And tomorrow she will be one year old! Happy birthday, Nostalgia!
katarik: A bowl of greens in pot likker and a corn muffin. (Pot likker and cornbread.)

[personal profile] katarik 2010-09-04 06:02 pm (UTC)(link)
That butternut squash soup sounds *delicious*, though the idea of chicken sausage is still weird to me.

Happy birthday, Nostalgia!
swordage: A loaf of bread captioned "bread is kinda obvious." (asst BETA POWERS ACTIVATE)

[personal profile] swordage 2010-09-04 07:27 pm (UTC)(link)
It goes really well with the squash, though! It adds just the right umami. :3 I admit I was weirded out by chicken sausage at first, but when I stopped being able to eat pork or beef I gave it a try. So delicious~

She is celebrating her birthday by acting like a kitten. This would be hilarious, but she scratched up my hand in her excitement. Ah well. XD
katarik: DC Comics: Major Slade Wilson and Captain Adeline Kane, text but I can make you better (Default)

[personal profile] katarik 2010-09-04 07:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Well. One cannot argue with umami. If I spot some on sale, I know what to do with it! (tell me, please, I am not the only one weirded out by blueberry maple chicken sausage.)

*offers iodine*
swordage: Transformers: Animated Shockwave. (tf brain surgery)

[personal profile] swordage 2010-09-04 08:00 pm (UTC)(link)
okay yes blueberry maple chicken sausage is weird. Even for me. I put maple on EVERYTHING, but that is weird. I do like the apple chicken sausage, though. And the sun-dried-tomato and chicken sausage is good for jambalaya. Mmmm.

Thankee. D: I apparently need to trim her claws again.
katarik: DC Comics: Major Slade Wilson and Captain Adeline Kane, text but I can make you better (Default)

[personal profile] katarik 2010-09-05 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
I put maple syrup on spicy pork sausage! Blueberries? No.

Mmmmmmmm, jambalaya. *purrrrrrrrrrrrs*