Keeping hunger and the Boy at bay!

My new paradigm of weekday cooking:
1-racing after work to pick up C-boy at daycare before their clock starts ticking at their usurious rate of a ten spot for every five minutes late (like the college tuition I'm already paying them shouldn't buy me some fucking leeway)
2-stopping at the market to shop, hoping said boy maintains composure at the store as hunger and cranky end-of-the-day tiredness start to encroach on his usually sunny disposition
3-getting home, plopping him on his play mat while I whip out some homemade babyfood to stuff in his starting-to-scowl piehole
4-stuffing C-boy's piehole
5-doing dinner prep and cooking while he sits on the kitchen floor playing with various cooking utensils and plots new forms of parental torment to draw me away from the task at hand, which is making something to stuff in our pieholes after he-who-must-be-served goes to bed.

Is it any wonder that my new cooking life revolves around fast and easy? If I can throw in delicious then that's icing on the cake. Which is why this soup I cadged off of epicurious was so satisfying. With a couple of refinements (i.e.- adding more flavoring ingredients/less liquid) we ended up with a belly warming and palate tingling bowl of goodness, which along with its ease of prep drops it near the top of my list of do-overs. Plus should your soul need some warming on a cold winter evening, this does the trick beautifully!
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Curried Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Soup

The cilantro oil listed is optional, but really adds a nice pop, both visually and taste-wise, to the curry.- bb

yield: Makes 4 main course servings
active Time: 25 min/ Total Time: 1 1/4 hr

ingredients :
For soup:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons minced peeled ginger
2-1/2 tablespoons curry powder (a mix of 2 or 3 different curry powders really builds complexity if you can swing it)
1 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed
16 oz. water
16 oz. chicken stock
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste

For cilantro oil:
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup vegetable oil

accompaniment: cooked basmati rice

method:
Make soup:
Heat oil with butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat until foam subsides, then cook squash, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, ginger, and 1 teaspoon salt, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
Stir in curry powder and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring frequently, 2 minutes.
Add lentils and water and stock and simmer, covered, until lentils are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

Make cilantro oil:
While soup simmers, purée cilantro, oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a blender.
Serve soup over rice, drizzled with cilantro oil.

T-Day burnout? Relief is at hand: Curried Butternut Squash Soup!

You know and I know there's a good chance you'll be having turkey burnout after Thanksgiving....or just plain burnout leading up to the day. Given how heavy everything is going to be, you don't really need to be piling onto a body already screaming for relief. I mean how clogged can your artery's get? So for something a bit lighter, but still with more than enough flavor to make you feel like you're not cheating your tastebuds, this awesome curried butternut squash soup is the total deal. Insanely easy to make (and as I said this is the week to make it simple where you can), and so satisfying. The roasted squash gives it boatloads rich flavor, the curry paste kicks in just the right amount of heat, and the creamy texture gives it kind of a sexy, sensual feel in your mouth. Assuming you're in to that sort of thing!

I adapted this from an epicurious/Bon Appetit recipe (where they called it a "Bisque". Hey B.A., it's a fucking soup, okay? I don't need to call it anything else to validate myself....geez...posers!), making it a bit lighter than they called for in their usual heavy handed, satisfy "fat America" way. It would also be a killer make-ahead first course for a dinner party.
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Curried Butternut Squash Soup
adpated from Bon Appetit

makes 6 servings

ingredients:
2 2-pound butternut squash, halved lengthwise, seeded
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped peeled apple
2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
28 oz. low-salt chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup whole milk
1 tablespoons honey

6 tablespoons sour cream, stirred to loosen (optional)
Chopped fresh cilantro

method:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Brush cut side of squash with oil; place squash, cut side down, on large rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tender, about 1 hour. Cool slightly. Scoop squash out into large bowl. Measure 3 cups squash (reserve any remaining squash for another use).

Melt butter in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots, and apple; sauté 5 minutes. Add curry paste; stir 2 minutes. Add chicken broth, bay leaves, and 3 cups squash. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered 1 hour. Discard bay leaves. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return to same pot. Stir in cream and honey. Season with salt and pepper. Rewarm over medium-high heat.

Divide soup among bowls. Drizzle with sour cream; sprinkle with cilantro.

note: you can also hand blend it or use a food processor, although neither will give it as velvety a texture as a good upright blender. For so many soups, I think a blender is SO worth the investment! -bb